Haringey UDP Development Plan


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INTRODUCTION

What is a Unitary Development Plan (UDP)?
1.	A UDP is a land use plan that seeks to make the most efficient and effective use of land in the public interest. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires that Councils provide plans to guide development and the determination of planning applications. Section 38(6) of the Act states:
	“The statutory Development Plan will continue to be the starting point in the consideration of planning applications for the development or use of land, unless material considerations indicate otherwise”.
2.	The UDP provides the statutory framework to guide development and protect and enhance the environment. It brings forward proposals for the development of land and sets out the Council’s policies for making decisions in planning applications. The policies in the UDP deal with land use development, the environment and transport and the plan seeks to balance social, economic and environmental considerations.

Why produce a new plan?
3.	This UDP replaces the existing plan adopted in March 1998. The Council is required to regularly review those matters that may be expected to affect the development of its area. In addition it is important that decisions on development in the borough reflect local situations and local needs and therefore the plan needs to be up to date.
4.	Since 1998 new government planning guidance and strategies have been produced and London has a new governing structure with the Mayor and Assembly who will be overseeing the development of the capital. The Mayor has produced a London Plan (adopted February 2004) and all UDPs must be “in general conformity” with it.
5.	The plan is being reviewed to:
	ensure that it remains up-to-date, effective and relevant to changing local circumstances and continues to meet local needs and aspirations; take account of new and emerging national and regional policies and guidance; and ensure a greater fit between the plan and the Council’s vision, policies and strategies.
6.	The preparation of the new plan has been guided by a variety of factors including sustainability principles which have an impact on people’s quality of life, regeneration aims and initiatives and national, regional and local strategies/policies. These are all outlined in Part 1 of the plan.

How the Plan is set out
7.	The plan is separated into two main sections known as Part 1 Strategic Policies and Part 2 Local Policies. It includes a proposals map. The proposals map covers the whole borough and shows designations/site specific proposals for areas or individual sites within the borough.
8.	Part 1 contains the plan’s vision and objectives, sets out an overall strategy for development within Haringey, provides a spatial interpretation of the Council’s main objectives and identifies areas that will experience significant change.
9.	Part 2 is divided into topic areas and contains core policies, which will guide the determination of any planning applications. Each policy is supported by a reasoned justification. The topic areas are:
	1.	Areas of Change
	2.	Development and Urban Design
	3.	Environment
	4.	Housing
	5.	Employment
	6.	Town Centres and Retailing
	7.	Movement
	8.	Open Space
	9.	Creative Leisure & Tourism
	10.	Community Well Being
	11.	Conservation
	12.	Implementation, Monitoring & Review
10.	The plan is also supplemented by a series of documents referred to as Supplementary Planning Guidance.

Supplementary Planning Guidance
11.	Supplementary planning guidance is produced to give more explanation on specific topic areas in order to assist both decision making and preparing a planning application. Supplementary planning guidance does not have the same weight as policies contained within the plan but will be a material planning consideration when deciding planning applications.

The Review Process
12.	The Haringey UDP has been prepared in accordance with the statutory procedures. The Council produced a 1st Deposit draft in September 2003 and a public consultation period followed. The representations were considered and the plan was revised as the 2nd Deposit draft UDP for Haringey. This revised draft was deposited for public consultation in September 2004. Between 19 April and 13 September 2005 a public inquiry was held by an Inspector into unresolved objections received during the two public consultation periods. The Council received the Inspector’s report and proposed modifications in response to his recommendations. The modifications were consulted on from 3 April to 15 May 2006. The Plan was adopted by the Full Council on 17th July 2006.

New planning arrangements
13.	In December 2001 the Government announced a range of reforms to the planning system in its Planning Green Paper ‘Planning – Delivering a Fundamental Change’. The bulk of these reforms have since been adopted as Government policy and are now embodied in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. The most significant reform is the introduction of Local Development Frameworks (LDF’s) which will replace Unitary Development Plans.
14.	To facilitate the timely transition of local planning authorities to the new framework the Government has introduced a regulation requiring local authorities to submit a Local Development Scheme (LDS). A LDS sets out document by document the mechanisms and processes that will enable the planning authority’s transition to the new framework. The UDP policies are now automatically saved for three years and provide the borough with an up-to-date set of planning policies. The process of replacing the adopted UDP policies and proposals should normally be completed within the prescribed three-year period. However, some UDP policies may be saved beyond the three years, if they meet set criteria. The saved UDP including the Proposals Map and relevant SPG will eventually be superseded by a number of Development Plan Documents and Supplementary Planning Documents. Haringey Council will review the saved UDP and work with the Government Office for London to move to the new LDF system.
15.	For further information, please contact:
	Planning Policy Team London Borough of Haringey Council 639 High Road Tottenham N17 8BD
	Tel:		020 8489 5269
	Email:		udp@haringey.gov.uk
	Internet:		www.haringey.gov.uk

MAP 1: HARINGEY CONTEXT MAP




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