Back to Contents - Back to Introduction     1.0 Introduction     The Borough of Chesterfield 1.1 Chesterfield is the largest town in the administrative county of Derbyshire. The borough of Chesterfield is the smallest district in Derbyshire by area, being a relatively compact, predominantly urban area.  It includes the settlements of Chesterfield, Brimington and Staveley which together had a population of just under 99,000 at the 2001 Census. 1.2 The town centre of Chesterfield is a sub-regional shopping and service centre for the whole of north eastern Derbyshire.  It has excellent rail services to London and other regions and the M1 motorway runs adjacent to the borough’s eastern boundary with road links via the A617 and A619 to junctions 29 and 30. 1.3 Chesterfield lies on the River Rother and its tributaries which flow from south to north through the borough.  The environs of these rivers and the Chesterfield Canal which runs parallel to the Rother for much of its length within the borough, offer major opportunities for further improvement.  The urban areas of the borough are defined by “green wedges” of open countryside which help to retain the separate identity of communities. Chesterfield is also contained to the north, west and south by the North East Derbyshire Green Belt.  1.4 The borough is part of the North Derbyshire/North Nottinghamshire coalfield area which has been subject to major industrial structural change resulting from the closure of deep mines and the decline in heavy engineering industries both in the borough and the surrounding districts of Bolsover and North East Derbyshire. 1.5 Unemployment levels have been falling steadily in the last five years, but still remain the second highest in Derbyshire.  The council has been investing in the restructuring of the town’s economy in order to attract new manufacturing industries and service based businesses. It is committed to working in partnership with the private sector and local and regional organisations to promote the regeneration of former industrial areas which lie derelict. 1.6 This will enable the borough to meet both its future housing and employment needs from the redevelopment of brownfield land within the urban area, thereby avoiding any further peripheral expansion of settlements on to greenfield land. 1.7 There remain significant concentrations of social and economic deprivation in parts of the borough, which the council is committed to tackling.     The Local Plan Process and the Plan Period 1.8 The council is required by law to prepare and keep up to date a local plan for its administrative area. The purpose of the local plan is to set out the council’s local planning policies and specific proposals for the development and use of land, in order to guide decisions on planning applications. 1.9 This plan is a replacement for the Chesterfield Borough Local Plan which was adopted in February 1996, covered the period up to 2001 and was prepared within the context of the Derbyshire Structure Plan (1990).  A new structure plan, the Joint Derby and Derbyshire Structure Plan (JSP), was adopted in January 2001, which covers the period up to 2011. It was necessary to review and replace the 1996 local plan in order to provide up to date policies and proposals which conform with the strategic policies of the JSP. 1.10 It is also necessary that the local plan policies and proposals accord with national and regional planning policy guidance.  National planning guidance in Planning Policy Guidance notes (PPGs) and Planning Policy Statements (PPSs) gives priority to achieving sustainable forms of development and thereby improving the quality of life for all sections of the community. Recent ministerial guidance also states that local plans should make provision for a 10 year supply of housing land from the date of adoption, which suggests that housing provision should be made in this plan for the period up to 2016. 1.11 In terms of regional planning policy, the current Regional Spatial Strategy for the East Midlands (RSS8) was approved in March 2005 and covers the period up to 2021. This now sets the strategic context for the borough beyond the JSP period and regard has been had to its proposals in preparing this revised version of the replacement local plan.  RSS8 promotes a sequential approach to the selection of land for development, prioritising the use of previously developed sites and buildings within urban areas, particularly where they are, or will be, well served by public transport and can make a contribution to strengthening local communities. It also proposes the Northern Sub-Area as a priority area for regeneration with its concentration of economic, social and environmental problems linked to the decline of the coal industry in the North Derbyshire/North Nottinghamshire coalfield area.  It requires that development plans should include proposals to assist the regeneration of these areas. 1.12 Therefore, to clarify, in the light of the adoption date of this local plan, the need to plan for a 10 year supply of housing and the changing strategic planning context, which under RSS8 now provides guidance up to 2021, the decision has been taken to extend the plan period to 2016. 1.13 The local plan has also been prepared within the context of the overall strategy and vision for Chesterfield as set out in the Community Strategy for Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire, which the borough council supports. The local plan accords with other detailed policies and strategies of the borough council such as the Housing Strategy, the joint Economic Development Strategy and the Parks and Open Spaces Strategy. Regard has also been paid to the Derbyshire Local Transport Plan. 1.14 This replacement plan was first placed on deposit for public consultation in October 2003. The council received a number of representations. In the light of these and other changes to proposals and government planning guidance, the plan has been revised further, including the roll forward of the plan period to 2016. 1.15 After the plan first went on deposit, the government’s proposals for the reform of the development plans system were enacted. The relevant provisions of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 commenced on 28th September 2004. This provides that Structure Plans will be replaced by the Regional Spatial Strategy and Local Plans by Local Development Frameworks. However, under the transitional arrangements the current adopted JSP and Chesterfield Borough Local Plan will be ‘saved’ for a period of 3 years from the commencement of the Act, whilst their replacements are being prepared. 1.16 Under the provisions of the new act, new or replacement local plans which were still under preparation and had reached first deposit stage when the Act came into force could be progressed through to adoption, but under slightly amended transitional procedures. This applies to this replacement of the Chesterfield Borough Local Plan. The transitional procedures state that the entire plan, including any changes proposed by the council, must be re-deposited to allow for objections to be made on the basis that there will be no modifications stage following the local plan public inquiry. 1.17 Therefore, the revised version of the replacement Chesterfield Borough Local Plan was re-deposited in its entirety in March 2005 and representations were invited on the whole plan.  A public inquiry into objections to the plan outstanding from the first and re-deposit stages was held in the autumn of 2005. The inquiry formally closed on 24th April 2006 and the inspector’s report was received on 10th May 2006. Under the 2004 Transitional Regulations, the inspector’s report was binding on the council. Therefore, the plan has been amended in line with the inspector’s decisions and was formally adopted by the council on 7th June 2006. Under the 2004 Act, the policies and proposals of the replacement plan are automatically saved for a period of 3 years from the date of adoption.     Format and content of the Plan 1.18 The replacement local plan consists of a Written Statement and accompanying Proposals Map indicating the site specific policies and proposals. Within the Written Statement, POLICIES ARE SET OUT IN BOLD TYPE AND CAPITALS to distinguish them from reasoned justifications and other supporting text.  1.19 In addition to a clearly stated strategy, the plan provides guidance on a range of topics, including housing; employment, economic regeneration and tourism; environment; transport; shopping; open space, sport and recreation and sites for education, health and community facilities. 1.20 The council has also produced a number of background papers, including an Urban Capacity Study, a retail capacity study, housing and market needs assessment and a statement of consultation carried out to determine opinions on key planning issues, based on an ‘Issues’ document published in September 2001. The revised plan may also be supplemented by a number of supplementary planning documents to provide detailed explanation of new policies and proposals.     top