Planning Consultation;

Great Yarmouth Local Plan – ‘Call for Sites and Policy Suggestions’ 2016

Regulation 18 – Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012

Great Yarmouth Borough Council is preparing the Local Plan Part 2: Detailed Policies and Site Allocations, which (once finalised) will allocate land for new development and apply policies to meet local needs in the Borough up to 2030. As part of this process the Council is seeking suggestions of what should be included in the plan.

This call for suggestions is an opportunity (until Friday 30th September 2016) for developers, landowners, individuals or other interested parties to suggest sites for allocation for development for housing (including gypsy & traveller sites), employment, retail, tourism, community facilities, green infrastructure or other types of development.  Sites or localities/areas may also be suggested for special policy treatment (e.g. protection, designation or particular requirements for their development, etc.), and other matters suggested for inclusion in the Detailed Policies and Site Allocations document.

It is important to understand that

(a)    the choices of sites and policies will have to be compatible with the already adopted Core Strategy (the Local Plan Part 1), especially the overall scale, distribution and type of development identified in it, and have regard to the National Planning Policy Framework;

(b)   suggestions of policies and sites will have most chances of success if their relevance to the Core Strategy is demonstrated;

(c)    sites proposed for development will also be most likely to be successful if they are demonstrated to be available and developable;

(d)   sites within the designated Broads ‘national park’ area will not be included (the Broads Authority is the local planning authority for the Broads and produces a separate local plan for that area). 

How to Submit Suggestions

If you have a suggestion of a development site, area policy or other matter for inclusion, please click here to download and complete the ‘Call for Sites and Policy Suggestions’ form, further copies are available from Great Yarmouth Town Hall.  Completed forms should be returned, with a scaled site plan if a development site is proposed, to the Strategic Planning team or to localplan@greatyarmouth.gov.uk by Friday 30th September 2016.

If you have previously submitted a site for consideration, please indicate its continued availability by completing the form and provide the latest details, highlighting that it is a previously submitted site. New or more up-to-date information about previously submitted sites will help inform their reconsideration, such as changes in ownership or information in relation to their availability or deliverability. Sites which are not confirmed as still available for development will be assumed to be unavailable and not included or assessed in this process.  Except for this, all sites put forward will be considered to assess their potential suitability for allocation for development or special policy treatment in the Local Plan. 

What Happens Next?

All suggestion and sites put forward will be assessed, and the most suitable used in preparing the Local Plan Part 2: Detailed Policies and Site Allocations, which (once finalised) will allocate land for new development and apply policies to meet local needs in the Borough up to 2031.

Sites proposed for development will also be reviewed through a process known as the Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA).  This is intended to monitor whether the Borough has enough realistic housing and economic development land available at any time, and is expected to be completed in advance of the plan document. 

It is important to note that the inclusion of a site in the SHELAA does not represent policy, and does not provide any indication as to whether they may be allocated in the Local Plan or that it will be granted planning permission. (The SHELAA identifies land which might be developed, as opposed to the plan which will identify land which should be developed and will influence decisions on planning applications.)

Further Consultation

The Borough Council will publish a Consultation Draft of its Detailed Policies and Site Allocations Document (currently anticipated early in 2017), representing its initial thinking.  This will be publicised, providing an opportunity for comment by anyone interested. Those comments will be taken into account by the Borough Council before it finalises its proposals.  There will then be another opportunity for comments, which will be considered by an independent planning inspector who will decide whether the Borough Council can adopt the proposed plan document.

Further Queries

Should you have any further questions on this matter, please contact the Strategic Planning team on 01493 846688 or by email localplan@great-yarmouth.gov.uk.