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| 2. THE STRATEGIC PLANNING CONTEXT | |||
| Government Policies | |||
| 2.1 | There has been a major shift in public attitudes and Government planning policy since the Council’s existing local plans were drawn up in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. | ||
| 2.2 | Since the Government attended the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, planning advice on many issues has been modified in recognition of the importance of securing “sustainable development”. This is most commonly defined as: | ||
| “Development that meets the needs of today whilst not affecting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. | |||
| 2.3 | This new concept of stewardship has fundamental implications for the land-use planning system, principally an acceptance that development should not be entirely influenced by market forces but should take full account of environmental considerations. In particular it requires the adoption of policies which: | ||
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| 2.4 | There are many aspects in which structure and local plans can seek to ensure that new development adheres to these principles. The challenge is to develop policies which, at the same time, will cater for economic development and growth. | ||
| 2.5 | Particular aspects of government planning policy guidance are considered in the preface to each policy chapter but one warrants particular mention. PPG13: ‘Transport’, published in March 2001, requires that proposals for the location of development and for the improvement of transport facilities must seek to reduce reliance on the private car and to reduce growth in traffic levels. This represents the most radical departure from past advice and is, perhaps, the most difficult task for the Local Plan to address. | ||
| The Lancashire Structure Plan | |||
| 2.6 | Local plans for shire districts such as Preston must conform to the strategic policies set out in the County Structure Plan. The Lancashire Structure Plan seeks to concentrate future development within the existing main urban areas and transport corridors or at selected new growth points. It considers projected levels of, and pressures for, growth within the various parts of the county and sets out requirements for new land to provide housing and jobs within each district. | ||
| 2.7 | Preston is at the confluence of Lancashire’s North-South and East-West transport corridors and the Structure Plan (1991-2006) contends that it should continue to accommodate substantial development. The plan proposed that Preston should take a major share of the future demand for housing in Central Lancashire (represented by a requirement figure of some 7200 dwellings in Preston) because of perceived environmental constraints in South Ribble, Chorley and West Lancashire Districts. Proposals in the Local Plan have been drawn up to accommodate this level of housing provision up to the year 2006. | ||
| Preston's Geographical Context | |||
| 2.8 | Preston lies in the heart of Lancashire, situated at the hub of north-south communications links. The City is located at the lowest bridging point of the River Ribble, at a cross-roads of the North-West region’s major motorway networks, has easy access to the M6, M61, M55 and the extended M65. Preston railway station serves both local and national routes on the West Coast Line from London and Glasgow. Plan 2 shows the location of Preston and its relationship with other Lancashire districts. | ||
| 2.9 | The City has a population of approximately 132,700 and covers an area of 14,239 hectares. Preston was a traditional manufacturing centre particularly of textiles and engineering. With the decline of textiles and, more recently, of the aerospace industry Preston has adapted and diversified its employment structure into distribution, service and administration. | ||
| 2.10 | Preston is the administrative centre for Lancashire County Council with County Hall, the Crown Courts and numerous regional and sub-regional offices of public bodies, banks, insurance and other major commercial companies located in the City. The University of Central Lancashire is also based in the centre of the City with a student population approaching 27,000. | ||
| 2.11 | Preston's central shopping area is an expanding sub-regional centre serving a hinterland of over 350,000 people. Recent new shops and improvements like pedestrianisation, as well as traditional attractions, such as the outdoor markets, have helped to bolster Preston’s reputation as a premier shopping centre in the North-West. The City centre is circled by a densely developed inner urban area comprising a mixture of industry and older housing. In this area Preston’s environmental, social and economic problems are at their worst. Beyond the inner areas lie the post war and more modern suburban housing estates. | ||
| 2.12 | Preston also contains a large rural area which is of immense importance not only to those who live and work there but also to the quality of life enjoyed by residents of the City. Open countryside is within 10 minutes travel time of the City centre. Two thirds of the area is of a rural nature, with small villages, good quality agricultural land, Beacon Fell Country Park and the southern end of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Development within the rural areas should both benefit economic activity and maintain or enhance the environment. | ||
| The New Town Legacy | |||
| 2.13 | From the early seventies, the built-up area of Preston and a large part of the surrounding countryside have been included within Central Lancashire New Town, along with parts of Chorley and South Ribble districts to the south. This historical background has fundamentally affected Preston’s development. | ||
| 2.14 | The New Town was designated to take a significant amount of growth from throughout the North-West region and to act as a counter-magnet to the cities of Liverpool and Manchester. Effectively it was to become a new city of about half a million population. The Outline Plan which was drawn up to cater for this level of growth, inevitably, had significant proposals for Preston itself. New “townships” were proposed; one based on Preston with large scale expansion at Fulwood and Ingol and another based on the Haighton/Grimsargh area to the east of the M6 motorway. Together, these areas were to accommodate an additional 80,000 people | ||
| 2.15 | Towards the end of the seventies, the philosophy which had led to the New Town being established had changed. Growth points away from the big cities were being blamed for inner city decay and the lack of investment in regeneration. As a result the Government’s eventual decision on the Outline Plan, following a lengthy public inquiry held in Preston, was to cut back dramatically on the amount of growth to be catered for by the New Town. In Preston, this had the result of abandoning the Haighton/Grimsargh township concept, but retaining the more limited amount of growth around Preston itself. | ||
| 2.16 | Detailed Government approval was given to proposals for new housing areas at Ingol, Cottam, Sherwood and Longsands Lane and for employment areas at Roman Way, Red Scar and North Preston. By the time the Development Corporation was disbanded at the end of 1985, a significant amount of new building had already been carried out in these areas, but about three-quarters of the total area remained untouched. | ||
| 2.17 | Since then, the Commission for the New Towns (CNT) and its successor body, English Partnerships (EP), which took over the Development Corporation’s assets, has continued the development of these areas, but at a much slower rate. Substantial areas of land remain today at Cottam. These sites are greenfield, and as such their release is subject to sequential testing in accordance with PPG3: ‘Housing’. Due to this they will not be developed before 2006. | ||
| 2.18 | Employment sites remain at North Preston, Red Scar and Roman Way to accommodate new industrial and warehouse development, and a site owned by English Partnerships, known as Preston East has received planning permission. | ||
| 2.19 | The legacy of the New Town in Preston is, therefore, a substantial reservoir of land which is still available to cater for future development needs. Much of this land is covered by a type of planning permission, which unlike conventional planning permissions will remain valid as long as English Partnerships is in existence, and will not expire within a fixed time period. | ||
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