Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council - Unitary Development Plan 2006

Chapter 4

THE PLAN STRATEGY

THE AIM OF THE PLAN

THE AIM OF THE PLAN IS TO PROMOTE THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL WELL BEING AND REGENERATION OF ROCHDALE BOROUGH.

THE STRATEGY

4.1 Underpinning the Aim of the Plan are four Key Objectives:

4.2 These are derived from the four priorities in the Government's strategy for sustainable development, but modified to reflect the needs of Rochdale Borough and the development plan process.  While the Key Objectives are broadly mutually supportive, there is also the potential for some conflict between them.  The Plan aims to achieve a reasonable balance between the Key Objectives.  However, the broad priority is to strengthen the local economy and regenerate the urban area in order to foster social inclusion and an enhanced environment, whilst protecting resources and the countryside. 

4.3 The Plan’s Spatial Strategy, which follows, sets out the Council's approach to the distribution of development (i.e. the locational priorities for new development and land uses, and areas of constraint) having regard to the geography of the Borough, and the needs and opportunities in specific areas.

4.4 The Key Objectives, along with the Spatial Strategy, provide the basis for the formulation and assessment of all other policies in the Plan.

THE KEY OBJECTIVES

KO/1 IS “TO STRENGTHEN THE LOCAL ECONOMY”

4.5 Rochdale Borough has an economy that has for many years relatively under performed. A healthy economy is fundamental to maintaining and improving all aspects of the quality of life of the Borough's residents and workforce.

4.6 The plan, therefore, seeks to expand, modernise and diversify the local economy in a manner that improves the range and quality of employment opportunities, reduces local unemployment, generates wealth locally, assists urban and rural regeneration, and that does not damage the environment and that benefits the local population.

4.7 The plan seeks to achieve this objective by:-

KO/2 IS “TO FOSTER SOCIAL INCLUSION”

4.8 There are many communities in Rochdale Borough that experience social exclusion through social and economic deprivation. Promoting social inclusion through planning policies is a priority in the Borough. Everybody should be able to access the kind of everyday opportunities that most people take for granted.  Issues to be addressed include poverty, health, housing, education, crime and access to jobs and services.

4.9 The Plan seeks to achieve this objective by:

KO/3 IS “TO ENHANCE THE ENVIRONMENT”

4.10 Rochdale Borough has the legacy of an environment damaged by the industrial revolution.  However, it also has many attractive areas and offers many opportunities for improvement. Improving the quality of the physical environment in the Borough for the benefit of existing and future generations is an important objective for sustainable development.

4.11 The plan aims to create a cleaner, healthier, safer and more attractive place for people to live, work and spend their leisure time which will encourage new investment, the strengthening of the local economy and the regeneration of areas of need.

4.12 The Plan seeks to achieve this objective by:

KO/4 IS “TO USE RESOURCES PRUDENTLY”

4.13 Rochdale Borough has a finite supply of land and other resources.  The prudent use of resources is essential to the economic, social and environmental well being of future generations and the delivery of sustainable development.

4.14 The Plan seeks to achieve this objective by:

THE SPATIAL STRATEGY

Spatial Strategy Diagram

4.15 The Plan’s overall approach to the spatial distribution of development is set out in the three Part One Spatial Policies below. They represent the Plans ‘Spatial Strategy’ and provide the spatial framework for achieving the above Key Objectives and for formulating, assessing and implementing all the other policies in the plan.  The broad urban and rural policy areas, and major transport networks and nodes affecting accessibility are shown on the Spatial Strategy Map at the end of this chapter.

G/SP/1 (PART ONE POLICY) - URBAN CONCENTRATION AND REGENERATION

The promotion of urban regeneration will be achieved through the concentration of development in the urban area, through a sequential approach to allocations for new development.  Appropriate locations (in accordance with policy G/SP/3) for each type of development should be identified within the urban area firstly, based on the following priority order:

a. VACANT OR UNDERUSED BUILDINGS WITHIN URBAN AREAS;

b. PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED SITES, ESPECIALLY IN DESIGNATED PRIORITY AREAS AND TOWN AND OTHER CENTRES;

c. OTHER VACANT LAND WITHIN THE URBAN AREAS (INCLUDING GREENFIELD SITES) WHERE THE DEVELOPMENT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO URBAN REGENERATION OR IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT;

FOR EACH OF THE ABOVE, LOCATIONS THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE (I.E. IN OR ADJACENT TO TOWN CENTRES, PUBLIC TRANSPORT CORRIDORS OR TRANSPORT NODES) WILL BE THE FIRST PRIORITY FOR ALL DEVELOPMENT BUT ESPECIALLY HIGH DENSITY EMPLOYMENT, RETAIL SERVICE AND LEISURE USES AND HIGH DENSITY HOUSING.

4.16 The Government and the Council are committed to the physical, social and economic regeneration of urban areas.  In order to achieve this, future development should, as far as possible, be concentrated within existing urban areas. The emphasis will be on regenerating older run down housing and employment areas and town centres. Whilst the Council will seek to promote regeneration in its widest sense, some aspects of regeneration are beyond the scope of land use planning.

4.17 In addition to the application of this policy, the Plan promotes urban concentration and regeneration by:

G/SP/2 (PART ONE POLICY) - RURAL PROTECTION AND REGENERATION

The rural area will be protected and regenerated by only proposing plan allocations for new development, and through policies that only allow development, on:

a.PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED SITES OUTSIDE THE URBAN AREA WHERE THE DEVELOPMENT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO RURAL REGENERATION, OR IMPROVE OR PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT; OR

b.OPEN LAND OUTSIDE THE URBAN AREA WHEN URBAN SITES ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO MEET THE IDENTIFIED NEED FOR A PARTICULAR TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT AND THE ALLOCATION IS COMPATIBLE WITH POLICY G/SP/3.

ALLOCATIONS AND PROPOSALS, IN BOTH THE ABOVE INSTANCES, WILL TAKE ACCOUNT OF:

i.THE CAPACITY OF THE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING PUBLIC TRANSPORT, HIGHWAYS, UTILITIES AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE TO CATER FOR THE DEVELOPMENT;

ii.THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE SITE BY SUSTAINABLE FORMS OF TRANSPORT;

iii.THE IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENT ON AREAS OF AGRICULTURAL, CONSERVATION LANDSCAPE, RECREATIONAL AND CULTURAL IMPORTANCE;

iv.THE IMPACT ON THE ROLE OF GREEN BELT AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE DEVELOPMENT CONTRIBUTES TO THE OBJECTIVES FOR THE USE OF GREEN BELT LAND; AND

v.THE EXTENT TO WHICH NEGATIVE IMPACTS CAN BE MITIGATED AGAINST AND POSITIVE IMPACTS ACHIEVED.

4.18The Borough’s countryside is an important resource to be protected, enhanced and utilised more effectively.  It provides an attractive setting for the Borough's towns, contains important habitats and wildlife, offers opportunities for recreation and tourism close to centres of population, and for suitable forms of renewable energy.  It also contains degraded buildings and environments which it is desirable to enhance and regenerate. 

4.19 The rural economy is important to the economy of the borough as a whole and, whilst farming must remain a viable entity and a key land management instrument for protecting countryside character, agricultural diversification and new businesses are vital to maintain jobs and regenerate the rural area. 

4.20 Nearly all areas of countryside fall within the Green Belt which plays a strong role, especially in preventing neighbouring towns from merging into one another.  Although the Green Belt is a significant constraint on new built development, opportunities do exist to modernise, convert and, in some cases to redevelop, existing developed sites.

4.21 Rural protection and regeneration will by achieved through:

G/SP/3 (PART ONE POLICY) - MEETING THE NEEDS OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES

THE IDENTIFICATION OF SUITABLE LOCATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT AND ACTIVITIES, THROUGH THE ALLOCATION OF LAND IN THE PLAN FOR PARTICULAR USES AND THROUGH GENERAL POLICIES WHERE APPROPRIATE, WILL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT (IN ADDITION TO SPATIAL POLICIES G/SP/1 AND G/SP/2):

a.THE NEEDS OF, AND ISSUES AFFECTING, THE LOCAL AND WIDER COMMUNITY AROUND THE SITE, CONSIDERED AGAINST THE PLANS KEY OBJECTIVES AND OTHER PART ONE POLICIES;

b.THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT MEETS THE ABOVE NEEDS AND ADDRESSES THE ABOVE ISSUES;

c.WHETHER THERE ARE MORE APPROPRIATE USES FOR THE SITE IN QUESTION;

d.WHETHER THE PROPOSAL IS CONTRIBUTING TO URBAN OR RURAL REGENERATION;

e.THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE LOCATION ESPECIALLY BY SUSTAINABLE MEANS OF TRANSPORT AND THE NEED TO MINIMISE TRIP GENERATION.

4.22 The Plan seeks to achieve the most appropriate distribution of land uses to meet the needs of both local communities and the whole Borough. The Borough has a diversity of communities with different areas having their own physical, social and environmental characteristics and each having different development pressures, needs, problems and opportunities.

4.23 However, it is not practicable to define all of these local communities in the Plan.  Therefore, the four administrative Townships of Rochdale, Middleton, Heywood and Pennines are used to represent the four broad local communities that exist in the Borough. Whilst some problems and pressures are common to all the Townships, there are differences between the townships in terms of their nature and degree.  Consequently, whilst strategic planning issues must be tackled on a Borough-wide basis, some local issues need to be tackled in a way that meets the particular needs, character and circumstances of each township.

4.24 Examples of how the Plan seeks to meet local needs in each of the Townships are.

In Heywood:

In Middleton:

In Pennines:

In Rochdale: