City of Durham - Local Plan

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

City of Durham:	The whole administrative area of the District.

Durham City:	The main urban area of the District as well as Belmont, Carrville, Framwellgate Moor, Newton Hall and Pity Me.

Settlement Boundaries:	Settlement Boundaries mark the delineation between built up areas and rural areas. They form established limits within which most new development will be located in order to consolidate the existing settlement framework and avoid extension into the open countryside. They do not define settlements in an historical or community sense but are a planning tool. It should not be assumed that if an area of open land exists within a settlement boundary, planning permission will be granted for its development.

Affordable Housing:	Housing designed for those whose incomes generally deny them the opportunity to purchase or rent houses on the open market as a result of the local relationship between income and price.

Agenda 21:	The programme for achieving sustainable development world wide, as set out by the United Nations Earth Summit in 1992.

Ancient Woodland:	Woodland that has had continuous tree cover since at least 1600 AD and which now bears stands of native trees which were either not obviously planted (ancient semi-natural woodland) or were replanted (ancient replanted woodland).

Area of High Landscape Value (AHLV):	Area designated in the Durham County Structure Plan and included in the Local Plan because of its distinctive and attractive landscape character, considered in a Countywide context to give added weight to its protection from inappropriate development.

Area of Special Advertisement Control:	An area designated by an order made by the local planning authority and approved by the Secretary of State, within which special controls over the display of advertisements apply, including the prohibition of certain classes of advertisement.

Article 4 Direction:	A direction, made under the Town and Country Planning General Development Order, which enables the withdrawal of permitted development rights.

Assisted Area Status:	A tool of Government economic policy to encourage new investment in particular regions and areas which are in need of economic support, principally through the provision of grant aid or other forms of assistance to industry.

Backland Development:	Development to the rear of existing houses, usually in large back gardens or open areas.

Bridleways:	Rights of way over which the public have a right to pass on foot or on horseback. Cycling is also permitted providing cyclists give way to riders and pedestrians.

Built Environment:	All parts of the physical environment which are dominated by built features and hard surfaces, including buildings, roads, car parks and engineering structures, and which are not part of the green or natural environment (see below).

Census:	Census of population and household characteristics normally undertaken every ten years by the Office of Population, Census and Surveys.

Community Facilities:	Including health centres, creches, day centres, schools and colleges, art galleries and museums, public libraries, public halls and places of worship.

Commuted Payment:	A payment made by a developer to the Council to enable it to provide or maintain facilities required or provided as part of a development. It normally applies to car parking.

Comparison Goods:	Generally non-food goods which are purchased on an occasional basis. So called because shoppers may visit a number of shops to make comparisons of price and quality. They include electrical goods, furniture and clothes.

Conservation Area:	An area considered to be of special architectural or historical interest, the character of appearance of which it is desirable to preserve and enhance, designated under, and afforded special protection, by the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

Contaminated Land:	Land which represents an actual or potential hazard to health or the environment as a result of current or previous use.

Convenience Goods:	Goods which are purchased on a regular basis for immediate consumption. They include food products, alcohol, newspapers and tobacco products.

Countryside Agency:	National body, funded by the Government, which is responsible for conserving and enhancing the countryside, promoting social equity and economic opportunity for the public who live there and public enjoyment of it. It was formed on 1st April, 1999 from the merger of the Rural Development Commission and the Countryside Commission.

County Geological Site:	An area considered to be of County-wide geological importance, designated on a non-statutory basis by Durham County Council.

County Wildlife Site:	An area considered to be of County-wide nature conservation importance, designated on a non-statutory basis by Durham County Council.

Derelict Land:	Land so damaged by industrial or other development that is incapable of beneficial use without treatment.

Development:	The carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under the land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or land (Section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990).

Development Brief:	A document prepared by the Local Authority to guide the development of a particular site. It gives details of site characteristics and constraints, suitable land use(s) and any relevant policy considerations.

Dual Use (of school):	Use of school facilities by the community and community groups as well as by pupils.

Durham Wildlife Trust:	Charitable organisation promoting nature conservation in County Durham, Darlington, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

Durham Biodiversity Action Plan:	Document containing action plans for the maintenance, enhancement and re-establishment of species and habitat that are of conservation important in County Durham.

Durham T.E.C.	Durham Training and Enterprise Council.

English Heritage:	National body, funded by the Government, which manages some ancient monuments and provides specialist advice on conservation of the built environment.

English Nature:	Statutory advisor to the Government on nature conservation in England and promotes the conservation of England's wildlife and natural features.

Environment Agency:	Government appointed body charged with protection and enhancement of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development.

Environmental Assessment:	A study of the effect of a new development on its immediate and wider environment. It can include issues such as traffic impact, air/noise quality, effects on natural areas, habitats and ecosystems. E.A's are a statutory requirement for certain developments.

Essential Minor Recreation Facilities:	Essential minor and recreational facilities include; small changing rooms, unobtrusive spectator accommodation for outdoor sport, or small stables.

Farm Diversification:	The process of broadening the economic base of industrial farm businesses, within the overall structural changes in agriculture brought about by reform of the European Community's Common Agricultural Policy, through the development of tourism, crafts and small-scale business enterprises on farms.

Floodplain:	Periodically inundated part of a river valley floor.

General Development Order:	The Town and Country Planning (General Development) Orders.

Green Belt:	Area of land designated in Structure Plans and defined in detail in Local Plans which seeks to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open. It helps to protect the countryside from encroachment and can be used as a means of preserving the setting and special character of historic towns.

Health and Safety Executive:	Statutory agency exercising the functions of the Health and Safety Commission to enforce health and safety legislation.

Hectare:	Metric measure of land area, 100 metres x 100 metres, equivalent to 2.47 acres.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution:	Statutory agency co-ordinating controls over industrial emissions and discharges into air, water and on land and advising local pollution authorities on the discharge of their statutory responsibilities.

Highway Authority:	The authority with statutory responsibility for the maintenance and improvement of the highways network, including public rights of way. In the area covered by this Plan, Durham County Council is the Highway Authority.

Historic Parkland:	A landscape which is the product of a preconceived design and which is of local importance in visual and topographical terms.

House in Multiple Occupation:	A house occupied by persons who do not form a single household.
Household:	One person living alone or a group of people living or staying at the same address and sharing living expenses.

Housing Association:	An independent, non-profit making organisation whose purpose is to build, improve or manage subsidised housing for sale or rent.

Housing Investment Programme:	Annual statement by the Council of the extent of housing need and the strategy by which it hopes to deal with it, forming part of a request for capital allocation from the Government.

ICOMOS:	International Council on Monuments and Sites.

Infill:	Small scale developments incorporated into the existing pattern of development in a built-up area.

Informal Recreation:	Recreational activities which are not organised by a club or public organisation. Such activities are non-competitive.

Infrastructure:	Services which need to be in place to serve development e.g. roads and footpaths, electricity, water and sewerage.

Landscaping:	Works to enhance or protect the amenities of a site, or area in which a site is situated.

Large Food Stores:	Single level, self-service stores selling mainly food, or food and non-food goods, with at least 1,000 m� gross retail floorspace and often with their own car park. Includes larger supermarkets (up to 2,500 m�) and superstores (over 2,500 m�)

Listed Building:	A structure considered by the Secretary of State for National Heritage to be of special architectural or historic interest and given legal protection by the Government under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. Listed Building Consent must be obtained from the Local Planning Authority before it can be altered, extended or demolished.

Local Nature Reserve (LNR):	Habitats of local significance established to assist with nature conservation in terms of the management of habitat but also public access to it and education about local wildlife. They may be established by local authorities under Section 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.

Local Transport Plan:	Document produced by Local Highway Authorities which form the basis for resource allocation and local transport capital expenditure. LTPs cover all forms of transport provision and set out proposals for implementing the integrated approach towards transport over a five year period.

Mixed Use:	A 'mixed use' site is one where a mixture of uses (e.g. offices, housing, recreation and shopping) and deemed acceptable or desirable.

Multiple Occupation:	The occupation of a non-self contained accommodation in a flat or house by persons who do not form a single household.

National Nature Reserve (NNR):	A site of national and sometimes international importance which is owned or leased by English Nature or bodies approved by it, or is managed in accordance with Nature Reserve Agreements with landowners and occupiers. The essential characteristics of an NNR is that it is primarily used for nature conservation.

National Playing Field Association:	National voluntary body which campaigns for the provision of playing fields, public open space and playgrounds.

Natural Environment:	All those parts of the physical environment dominated by organic material and natural process. It includes geological and landform features.

Northumbrian Tourist Board:	Agency promoting tourism and tourism enterprises in the Northern Region.

Notifiable Installations:	Installations defined by the Health and Safety Executive which handle or store hazardous substances.

Occasional Markets:	The use of land for the holding of a market for not more than 14 days in total in any calendar year.

Park and Ride:	A scheme to enable private vehicle users to travel to a convenient location (usually on the edge of a main urban area) where they may park and transfer to public transport to complete their journey into the town or city centre. The objectives are to reduce congestion, improve the efficiency of the transport network and to enhance the environmental qualities of the main centres.

Permitted Development:	Certain forms of development, set out in the Town and Country Planning General Development Order, which are permitted without the need to obtain express planning permission under Sections 58-61 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. In some circumstances, the permission given is subject to extensive qualification and restrictions.

Plan Period:	The length of time that is covered for by the Plan. The City of Durham Local Plan covers the period to 2006.

Planning Policy Guidance notes (PPG�s):	Notes issued periodically by the Secretary of State for the Environment to determine the broad framework within which local planning authorities should decide policy on planning matters. (See Appendix 1).

Public Open Space:	A wide range of recreational land from playing fields to small play areas.

Reclamation:	The process of rendering derelict or contaminated land fit for beneficial use.

Regional Planning Guidance:	Regional Planning Guidance for the North East of England (RPG1) was published in November, 2002.

Regionally Important Geological/ Geomorphological Site (RIGS):	Earth Science Site of regional important designated on a non-statutory basis.

Residential Institutions:	Residential accommodation where care is given to residents in need for care, e.g. a nursing home or residential school, college or training college.

Retail Floorspace:	'Gross' retail floorspace is the total internal floor area occupied by a retail unit, including storage, offices, staff rooms and circulation space. 'Net' floorspace is the sales area alone.

Retail Warehouses:	Large single-level stores specialising in the sale of bulky household goods (such as carpets, furniture, electrical goods and bulky DIY items), catering mainly for car-borne customers and often in out-of-centre locations.

Retail Park:	A grouping of three or more retail warehouses.

Rights of Way:	Routes over which the public have a right to pass.

Rural Development Area:	Those parts of rural England suffering a concentration of economic and social needs, where rural regeneration activities are focused.

Safeguarding Corridor (Corridor of Interest):	Land identified as being required for the construction or improvement of roads or other infrastructure, and safeguarded for that purpose from other forms of development.

Section 106 Agreement:	A voluntary legal agreement between a Local Planning Authority and a developer, intended to regulate the development or use of land in a way that cannot be controlled by planning conditions.

Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI):	Sites designated in the Plan as being of local nature conservation importance, and including County Wildlife Sites, County Geological Sites, Ancient Woodlands and sites identified locally by the Council in consultation with local experts.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI):	Sites so designated because of their flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features by the English Nature under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and the Countryside Act 1968. Certain measures are afforded by this and subsequent legislation to conserve these sites.

Sites and Ancient Monument Record:	Database developed by Durham County Council identifying archaeological sites of all types, which are known or thought to exist in the District.

Stallriser:	The vertical panel between ground level and the underside of the display window in a traditional shop front.

Statutory Undertaker:	Provider of an essential service such as water, gas, electricity or telecommunications.

Structure Plan:	Strategic land use Plan produced by County Councils. The County Durham Structure Plan was adopted in March 1999 and will last until 2006.

Sustainable Development:	Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs; development which can be accommodated without resulting in unrecoverable environmental damage.

Tandem Development:	Tandem development consists of one house immediately behind another and sharing the same access. It is a generally unacceptable form of development.

Temporary Accommodation:	For the purpose of Policy H5, temporary accommodation can include residential caravans or portable wooden structures (which can be better suited than a caravan to family accommodation and adverse weather conditions).

Tree Preservation Order:	Order made by the Council under Section 198 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, to prevent the felling or pruning of trees of high amenity value without its consent.

Traffic Calming:	Methods of slowing down traffic, usually in residential areas, by means of 'road humps', narrowing the width of roads and other measures.

Traffic Management:	The promotion of the most efficient use of existing road capacity for all users, particularly pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. It usually involves rearranging traffic flows, controlling flows at inter-sections and regulating the times and places for on-street parking.

Travel to Work Area:	Geographic area defined by the Department of Employment having regard to travel to work patterns and used for employment data publication purposes (e.g. unemployment rates).

Traveller:	A person of nomadic lifestyle, whatever their race or origin. It does not include members of an organised ground of travelling showmen, or persons engaged in travelling circuses.

Use Class/Use Class Order:	The Town and Country (Use Classes) Order 1987, places uses of Classes Order land and buildings into a number of categories, or Classes, planning permission is generally required for changes of use between classes, but not within a class. (Refer to Appendix 2).

Visitor Accommodation:	Any permanent building or structure designed to provide accommodation for visitors e.g. hotels, travel lodges, guest houses, bed and breakfast accommodation, University accommodation (outside term time) and youth hostels.

Wildlife Corridors:	Linear areas of countryside or linear landscape features such as woods or rivers or, within built-up areas, corridors of open spaces. They provide important resources for wildlife and links that allow movement of wildlife between town and county.

Windfall Housing Site:	A site not identified in the Local Plan which may become available for development during the Plan period. It comprises a previously developed site or a site currently in another use which unexpectedly becomes available.

World Heritage Site:	A cultural or natural site of outstanding universal value whose protection should be a matter of concern to mankind as a whole. These sites are nominated by individual governments and there are currently 14 in England including Durham Cathedral and Castle.

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