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| Chapter 1 - Introduction |
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Newark and Sherwood |
| 1.1 |
The District of Newark and Sherwood, at
over 65,000 ha, is the largest in Nottinghamshire, covering nearly
one third of the County. The District comprises much of the central
and eastern parts of rural Nottinghamshire, with the more urbanised
parts of the County, including the Nottingham and Mansfield conurbations,
lying to the west. Lincolnshire adjoins the eastern boundary of the
District, with Lincoln to the north-east and Grantham to the south
east. Figure 1.1 illustrates the District's setting. |
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Figure 1.1 Newark
and Sherwood District |
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| 1.2 |
The District is home to approximately
105,000 people, just over 10% of the County's population. There is
a dispersed pattern of settlement. Newark is the largest town but
most of the settlements are small: 58 parishes having a population
of less than 500. |
| 1.3 |
The landscape of the District although
not protected by any national designations, is pleasant and diverse.
Most of the District is open countryside in agricultural use. The
remnants of Sherwood Forest in the west, and the Trent Valley in the
east, are the two most dominant natural features of the landscape. |
| 1.4 |
Sherwood Forest lies on an outcrop of
Sherwood sandstone. Soils here are light and relatively poor and consequently
extensive areas have been given over to Forestry Commission plantations.
The parklands of the Dukeries estates are also found in this part
of the County and Thoresby Hall and Rufford Park both lie within the
District. This concentration of woodland makes the north-western part
of the District particularly attractive and popular with locals and
visitors. Center Parc's Holiday Village is located here as well as
the Sherwood Forest Visitors' Centre. Coal measures also underlie
much of this area and reserves have been extensively worked since
the 1920s by means of a number of deep mines. The industry has had
a major impact both on the landscape and the settlement pattern. |
| 1.5 |
Mercia mudstone lies under the central
farming plateau of the District where there are substantial areas
of high quality agricultural land. To the south around Southwell,
the clay is dissected by a number of streams, forming steep sided,
wooded valleys and a pleasing undulating landscape, locally known
as The Dumbles. Around Gunthorpe and Hoveringham, the clay is cut
through by the River Trent to produce a narrow trench with river cliffs.
To the north of Newark, however, the valley profile changes and becomes
very flat, wide and open. Throughout the length of the river valley
there are substantial deposits of sand and gravel, whilst to the south
of Newark, there are large reserves of high quality gypsum. The effect
of both past and present working of these minerals is evident in the
landscape. |
| 1.6 |
The settlement pattern of the eastern
part of the District is dominated by the fine old market town of Newark
on Trent (pop 25,000). The town has a rich heritage of buildings and
archaeological remains from various periods. Newark has had a lively
and varied history, largely due to its commanding position at the
junction of the River Trent and the Fosse Way. The town acts as the
main shopping and service centre for the surrounding rural area. There
is a successful livestock market, a thriving open market, many interesting
small shops and a good representation of national multiples. Most
of the jobs in this part of the District are located within Newark,
with a significant proportion of these in the manufacturing sector.
The largest settlement in the eastern side of the District outside
the Newark urban area is Collingham (pop 2870) which acts as a rural
service centre. |
| 1.7 |
In the north-western part of the District
the main settlements are those which grew as a result of the exploitation
of the area's coal reserves from the 1920s onwards. The principal
colliery settlements are Ollerton/Boughton (pop 10250), Rainworth
(pop 6520), Edwinstowe (pop 4860), Blidworth (pop 4245), Clipstone
(pop 3405) and Bilsthorpe (pop 3095). The decline of the coal industry
has seen the loss of 6500 jobs since 1980. Collieries at Ollerton,
Rainworth, Blidworth and Bilsthorpe have closed, and now there are
only two operational pits within the District: Thoresby and Clipstone.
The need to combat unemployment, diversify the economic base, and
tackle the associated social and environmental problems of these communities
is therefore crucial. The Mansfield Travel to Work Area, which covers
most of the western part of the District, is a Development Area, whilst
nine parishes have been designated by the Rural Development Commission
as the Coalfield Rural Development Area. The area also benefits from
various grants from the European Community. All these designations
are under review and consequently may change during the Plan period. |
| 1.8 |
In the south-western part of the District
the attractive small market town of Southwell (pop 6595), with its
impressive 12th Century Minster, is the main shopping and service
centre. Farnsfield (pop 2540) and Lowdham (pop 2315) also have a limited
range of facilities. The southern part of the District has a number
of attractive villages, which are popular as a place of residence
for people working in Nottingham but there are few local employment
opportunities. The Nottinghamshire Green Belt, designed to protect
the open character of the land around Nottingham and restrain the
outward expansion of the conurbation, extends into the south-western
part of the District, and acts as a constraint on new development. |
| 1.9 |
Many of the District's settlements have
retained their traditional character and are extremely attractive.
There are 43 Conservation Areas (see Appendix A). Worthy of special
mention are the Conservation Areas covering the historic centres of
Newark and Southwell; and the village of Laxton, which is unique in
retaining the three-field system of agriculture. There are over 1350
buildings and structures listed as being of architectural or historic
value, ranging from buildings of major importance such as Southwell
Minster and Newark Castle, to more modest vernacular buildings. In
addition, there is a wealth of archaeological remains, including the
Roman settlements of Crococalana and Ad Pontem and various Civil War
earthworks around Newark. |
| 1.10 |
The District, however, also has areas
of poor environmental quality. Some of the colliery villages and larger
housing estates are uniform in appearance and would benefit from environmental
improvement. In addition, there are derelict sites and buildings in
Newark and the mining villages, which are in urgent need of restoration
and re-use. |
| 1.11 |
The eastern side of the District has excellent
road and rail connections with the rest of the country. The A1, A46
and A17 trunk roads all pass close to Newark, which also has railway
stations on both the East Coast main railway line and the Nottingham
to Lincoln line. Work on dualling the A46 between Newark and Lincoln
is due to commence in 2001/2002. By comparison the western part of
the District is not so well served by existing or proposed transport
infrastructure. Although the A614 trunk road passes through the area,
connections to the east and west along the A616 and A617 are in need
of improvement. |
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Background to the Plan |
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Purpose of Plan |
| 1.12 |
The Newark and Sherwood Local Plan sets
out the District Council's policies and proposals for the future development
of the District for the period 1991-2006. It identifies land for new
housing and employment development and provides guidance on the range
of activities which affect the use of land. The Plan creates a framework
for co-ordinating and controlling development and for influencing
the investment decisions of both private and public sectors. It will
provide a firm basis for rational and consistent decision making and
create a measure of certainty about what will and will not be granted
planning permission. |
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Need for the Plan |
| 1.13 |
Since February 1992, District Councils
are statutorily obliged to produce Local Plans that cover their entire
administrative area. When a Local Plan is adopted planning applications
will be determined in accordance with the Plan unless other material
considerations indicate otherwise (Section 54A of the Town and Country
Planning Act 1990). There is also a pressing need for the Plan due
to the problems brought about by colliery closures in the western
part of the District and the need to manage the Newark area's potential
for growth. |
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Policy Context for the
Plan |
| 1.14 |
The Newark and Sherwood Local Plan has
taken into account policy guidance from a number of sources. This
includes central government advice, Regional Planning Guidance, the
Nottinghamshire Structure Plan Review and existing Local Plans for
the area. |
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Central Government Advice |
| 1.15 |
The Government sets out the legislative
framework for the planning system and issues Planning Policy Guidance
Notes and Circulars. The Government provides planning policy advice
on particular topics which is a material consideration that must be
taken into account in preparing Local Plans and determining planning
applications. The Government also provides Regional Planning Guidance
which provides a framework for Structure Plans and where appropriate
should be taken into account when formulating Local Plan Policies.
The Regional Planning Guidance for the East Midlands Region (RPG8)
was issued in March 1994.The Guidance contains housing provision figures
for Nottinghamshire for the period 1991-2011. Work has commenced on
revising and rolling forward Regional Guidance. |
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Nottinghamshire Structure Plan Review |
| 1.16 |
The Nottinghamshire Structure Plan Review
was adopted by the County Council in November 1996. It provides the
strategic planning framework for the period 1991-2011. In particular,
guidance on the scale and location of new housing and employment development
is provided, together with policies for shopping, transportation and
improvement of the environment. |
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Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan |
| 1.17 |
The Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan,
prepared by the County Council, was adopted in November 1997. This
provides guidance on the extraction of minerals throughout the County.
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Existing Local Plans
to be superseded |
| 1.18 |
A significant part of the south-western
part of the District falls within the Nottinghamshire Green Belt.
The Nottinghamshire Green Belt Local Plan was adopted in July 1989
and sets out the policies to control development in the Green Belt.
The relevant policies within the Green Belt Local Plan have been incorporated
into this Local Plan which, now it is adopted, supersedes the Green
Belt Local Plan as it affects the District. |
| 1.19 |
The Newark Area Local Plan was formally
adopted on 30th September 1994 and covers Newark and the eastern half
of the District. The Newark and Sherwood Local Plan incorporates many
of the policies contained within the Newark Area Plan. The Newark
Area Local Plan has been superseded by the adopted District-wide Local
Plan. |
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Form of the Plan |
| 1.20 |
The Local Plan comprises a Written Statement
and Proposals Map. The Written Statement is divided into three sections.
The first section describes the District and the background to the
Plan and sets out the Plan's aims and strategy. The second section
contains policies and proposals on a range of topics including housing,
economy, the built and natural environments, shopping, transportation,
recreation, tourism, community facilities, public utilities and minerals.
The final section explains how the policies and proposals will be
implemented and the Plan monitored. |
| 1.21 |
The policies and proposals are in bold
(not italics in this web version) and surrounded by a box to
distinguish them from the rest of the text. They are followed by a
justification explaining the reasons for the policy or proposal. In
statutory terms the Plan consists of the whole of the Written Statement
and Proposals Map and not just the upper case planning policies. In
assessing any application for development all relevant policies will
have to be weighed before a judgment is made on the merits of the
proposal. Policies should not be read in isolation from the text to
which they relate or from each other. |
| 1.22 |
Those policies and proposals which affect
particular sites or areas are shown on the Proposals Map, which covers
the whole of the District. Where more detail is required, large scale
inset maps have been prepared. There are 64 of these and they cover
the Newark urban area, Newark town centre and the larger settlements. |
| 1.23 |
The Plan does not provide detailed guidance
on every small plot of land. Where land has been allocated for development
it does not mean that the Council intend to acquire and develop the
site itself, but rather that, if applied for, planning permission
would be looked upon favourably. |
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Local Plan Preparation |
| 1.24 |
The Newark and Sherwood Local Plan is
a statutory Local Plan and consequently has had to comply with the
rules and guidance laid down in Government Regulations, Planning Policy
Guidance Notes and Circulars. These place considerable emphasis on
the important role that local people and organisations have in the
formulation of planning policies. The programme or the production
of the Local Plan has involved people at a number of stages. |
| 1.25 |
The Newark and Sherwood Local Plan has
evolved over a number of years. The Council originally intended to
achieve statutory Local Plan coverage of the District through three
separate Local Plans for the Newark Area, Western Area and Southern
Area. However, since a single District-wide Plan became a mandatory
requirement these three Plans have been brought together into one
District-wide Plan. |
| 1.26 |
The Newark Area Local Plan was adopted
in September 1994. Consequently a number of the policies and proposals,
which are contained in the Newark Area Local Plan, have been incorporated
into the District-wide Local Plan. |
| 1.27 |
The Draft Local Plans for the Western
and Southern Areas were about to be published for consultation purposes
when the preparation of District-wide Local Plans became mandatory.
With the agreement of the Department of the Environment, it was decided
to continue consultations on an area basis as part of the preparation
of the District-wide Local Plan. This required some re-drafting of
the separate Plans to merge the policies and clarify the District
Council's intentions but enabled the Consultative Drafts to be published
in March and June 1992. The representations on these Consultative
Drafts were considered by the Council during 1993 and various amendments
to the policies and proposals were agreed. |
| 1.28 |
The Newark and Sherwood Local Plan is
consequently an amalgamation of the Newark Area Local Plan, together
with the Consultative Drafts, as amended, for the Western and Southern
Areas. |
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Consideration of Objections |
| 1.29 |
The Plan was placed "on deposit" in February
1995. Objections to the Plan were considered by an independent Inspector,
appointed by the Department of the Environment at a Local Plan Inquiry
in 1996. |
| 1.30 |
In 1997 the Inspector furnished the District
Council with a written report containing recommendations on each of
the objections. Each of the Inspector's recommendations were carefully
considered by the Council with the result that "Proposed Modifications"
to the Plan were published in the Summer of 1998. After considering
the objections to the "Proposed Modifications" the Council proceeded
to adopt the Plan. |
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Environmental Appraisal |
| 1.31 |
The gradual realisation that human activity
can have an adverse impact on the ecological balance of the planet
has pushed environment issues to the forefront of policy making. Local
Plans are expected to reflect this greater concern about the impact
of economic growth on the environment and provide a means of reconciling
the potential conflict between conservation and development. PPG12
recommends that plan preparation should include an Environmental Appraisal
of policies and proposals. The Appraisal can help to establish the
environmental impacts of growth and development. It also illustrates
how environmental concerns have been comprehensively and consistently
taken into account during the preparation of the Plan. |
| 1.32 |
The District Council collected information
on a variety of environmental matters as part of the preparation of
the Consultative Draft Plans. This work provided a sound basis for
the preparation of this Plan and enabled the development needs of
the area, established by the Structure Plan, to be reconciled with
various environmental concerns. |
| 1.33 |
The Deposit Draft Plan was formulated
on the basis of this information and is founded on a series of well-established
principles, such as conservation of the natural environment and built
heritage. In addition, the strategy for the distribution of development
has sought to create concentrated settlement patterns with housing,
employment and local services well related to transport networks.
These principles accord with what has recently been called "sustainable
development". |
| 1.34 |
The environmental implications of individual
policies and proposals were considered during their formulation. Individual
allocations were also examined and where appropriate mitigation measures
were identified to help ameliorate adverse environmental effects.
Environmental considerations appear prominently in the Plan and particularly
in the individual criteria considered important in the determination
of planning applications. |
| 1.35 |
The Draft Plans were subject to extensive
consultation. Additional information, such as the results of the Nottinghamshire
County Council's Countryside Appraisal, also became available during
this process. The results of the consultations and additional information
were fed into the Deposit Draft Plan. |
| 1.36 |
An Environmental Appraisal of the Deposit
Draft Plan was undertaken to assess its environmental impact. This
included consideration of the spatial strategy as well as an assessment
of the individual policies and proposals. Details of the methodology
employed and the results of the Appraisal are set out in "Technical
Report - Environmental Appraisal." |
| 1.37 |
The environmental impact of policies will
be monitored and the results fed into future reviews of the Local
Plan. |
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