Wealden District Council Local Plan

Chapter 20

Implementation and Monitoring

Introduction

20.01

The Council's intention has been to produce a Plan containing land use policies and proposals, which are realistic and capable of implementation, generally within the Plan period. It is recognised that social and economic circumstances change over time and the Plan's objectives and policies should be monitored, reviewed and adjusted if necessary.

Implementation

20.02

A number of agencies, both public and private, will be involved in implementing the Plan's policies and proposals.

20.03

The Plan's policies and proposals will be implemented by: -

(a)

the Council through the process of negotiations on proposed schemes and the determination of planning applications;

(b)

the public, private sector or partnerships undertaking a specific project, to deliver a proposal in the Plan;

(c)

creating the right conditions for appropriate new development, including the co-ordination of public and private investment; and

(d)

the utility companies and other agencies taking account of this Plan's policies and proposals when preparing their own financial programmes and priorities for community services.

Monitoring

20.04

Both the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 and PPG 12 (Development Plans) require that local authorities keep under review the matters, which may be expected to affect the development or planning of their area. As such, it is both necessary and appropriate to monitor the progress being made in implementing the Plan, to ensure that the policies are effective and relevant, and to respond to changing needs and circumstances.

20.05

In July 2002 the Government published “Making Plans – a practical guide”. This document, which provides advice on putting good development plans in place quickly and keeping them topical, builds on the recommendations advocated in the Planning Green Paper, “Planning – delivering a fundamental change.” It emphasizes that monitoring must be integrated into the local plan programme to ensure that it is adequately resourced. Monitoring should take into account the impact of policies both in terms of their implementation and the extent to which the desired real world outcomes have been achieved. It is considered to be particularly important to develop a clear link between the plan’s objectives, its policies, delivery tools and the output targets and indicators. Regard should also be had for other plans and strategies.

20.06

The Council fully recognises the importance of monitoring and already has a number of procedures and practices in place and a large number of key monitoring areas were included in the adopted Wealden Local Plan. It is intended to expand the existing monitoring procedures and practices in order to provide wider information for assessing the effectiveness of the Plan’s policies and the implementation of allocations and other proposals. This will also help to inform the emerging Local Development Documents. To this end relevant information will be collected and analysed on a regular basis, possibly in the form of an annual report once the Plan is adopted.

20.07

Monitoring will be concentrated on assessing performance of the Local Plan’s policies and proposals against the Plan’s objectives stated in each Chapter which are derived from the Council’s Corporate objectives, the Community Strategy, National, Regional and Structure Plan Planning Guidance and Community views. Targets will need to be set that can be measured through the monitoring of key areas or indicators which are in themselves quantifiable.

20.08

The level of monitoring to be undertaken will depend on the level of reserves available to this aspect of forward planning; a degree of selectivity will be required in order to be realistic.

20.09

The key areas or indicators for monitoring contained in the adopted Wealden Local Plan are listed below. In addition a list of further indicators under consideration is put forward which will be refined prior to the Plan being adopted for development control purposes. The Council will also give consideration to further advice in this area from the Government and to local performance indicators produced, by the Audit Commission and the Improvement and Development Agency.

20.10

It should be noted that a number of the policies notably in the Natural Environment and Built Environment chapters, are primarily concerned with protecting the high quality environment of the District, and their success will largely be judged on the retention and enhancement of this quality. Monitoring the effectiveness of these policies will therefore be fairly subjective compared with policies in other chapters, which can be measured in numeric terms. It will therefore be appropriate to seek views including those of the local community in order to establish how they perceive the environment to have changed over a given period.

Key Indicators for Monitoring

CHAPTER 3 - GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES
Indicators included in the adopted Local Plan or currently monitored.	Indicators that are being considered for monitoring purposes, subject to resources.
None	Planning applications refused due to location outside of development boundaries Planning applications approved outside of development boundaries, whilst being contrary to other policies

CHAPTER 4 - NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Indicators included in the adopted Local Plan or currently monitored.	Indicators that are being considered for monitoring purposes, subject to resources.
No specific indicators	The impact of development on the character of the natural environment (sample survey of permissions that have been implemented) Number of designated nature conservation sites – by type and area Development resulting in the loss of trees protected by a TPO Development in areas at risk from coastal erosion Development in areas of designated ecological/landscape value Number of nature conservation initiatives

CHAPTER 5 - BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Indicators included in the adopted Local Plan or currently monitored.	Indicators that are being considered for monitoring purposes, subject to resources.
No specific indicators	The impact of development on the setting and character of the built environment (sample survey of permissions that have been implemented) Conservation Area enhancement schemes The number of Listed Building applications granted/refused Conversion of Listed Buildings for re-use Development within Historic Parks and Gardens Development encompassing energy efficient designs/layout

CHAPTER 6 - DEVELOPMENT IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
Indicators included in the adopted Local Plan or currently monitored.	Indicators that are being considered for monitoring purposes, subject to resources.
New agricultural dwellings permitted Replacement dwellings and extensions permitted Applications to remove agricultural occupancy conditions Number of rural building conversions and their use Golf courses, equestrian activities, and gun or motor sports permitted New dwellings permitted in the countryside	Subdivision of larger properties permitted Commercial fishing lakes/ponds permitted Teleworking/ home working schemes permitted Gypsy and traveling showpeople sites permitted Loss of the best and most versatile agricultural land through planning permission

CHAPTER 7 – HOUSING
Indicators included in the adopted Local Plan or currently monitored.	Indicators that are being considered for monitoring purposes, subject to resources.
Numbers of dwellings provided in the plan area Numbers of dwellings provided on windfall sites Numbers of affordable dwellings provided The variety of types and mix of sizes of housing Incidence of 'unidentified' sites Affordable housing completions and commitments Rural “exception” site completions and commitments Forecast and estimates of population Forecast and estimates of households and household types Need of those unable to afford general market housing	The quality of new development (sample survey of permissions that have been implemented) Proportion of dwellings provided on previously developed land or by re-use of existing buildings Density of new development Car parking provision Affordable housing completions and commitments by type (i.e. social rented, shared ownership, low cost ownership) Proportion of affordable housing provided through s106 agreements Affordable housing provided as ‘off site’ units Commuted payments received in lieu of affordable housing Proportion of affordable housing which attracted Social Housing Grant/ Local Authority Social Housing Grant Empty homes brought back into use (by type) Affordable housing units lost from the affordable stock as a result of ‘right to buy’

CHAPTER 8 - BUSINESS
Indicators included in the adopted Local Plan or currently monitored.	Indicators that are being considered for monitoring purposes, subject to resources.
Industrial land availability Completions – size, use class and location (particularly in terms of previously developed land) The stock of vacant premises Take-up rates Loss of industrial land/premises to other uses Unemployment rates Commuting patterns	Density of new development Teleworking/ home working schemes permitted

CHAPTER 9 – TRANSPORT
Indicators included in the adopted Local Plan or currently monitored.	Indicators that are being considered for monitoring purposes, subject to resources.
The progress on Trunk Road schemes The progress on Primary Road schemes Implementation of traffic management/ calming schemes New/improved pedestrian/cyclist routes Car parking provision and usage Public transport services - routes and timetabling	Implementation of pedestrian priority areas Implementation of bus priority measures Implementation of Safe Routes to School Implementation of Home Zones Public transport patronage Implementation of Green Transport Plans

CHAPTER 10 – SHOPPING
Indicators included in the adopted Local Plan or currently monitored.	Indicators that are being considered for monitoring purposes, subject to resources.
New retail/service floorspace Loss of retail floorspace Ground floor change of use in main shopping areas Non-food retail warehouse planning applications	Diversity of uses in towns, neighbourhood and village centres Loss of village shops The ratio of convenience to comparison goods units Proportion of vacant street level property

CHAPTER 11 - TOURISM
Indicators included in the adopted Local Plan or currently monitored.	Indicators that are being considered for monitoring purposes, subject to resources.
The provision of new tourism attractions and facilities Tourist accommodation in converted rural buildings Number of touring caravan and tent pitches Information and interpretative facilities

CHAPTER 12 - LEISURE AND RECREATION
Indicators included in the adopted Local Plan or currently monitored.	Indicators that are being considered for monitoring purposes, subject to resources.
The overall provision of outdoor play space in the towns and villages The provision of outdoor play space in new housing developments The provision of new indoor community facilities	The loss of existing facilities, including recreational open space

CHAPTER 13 - COMMUNITY SERVICES
Indicators included in the adopted Local Plan or currently monitored.	Indicators that are being considered for monitoring purposes, subject to resources.
The ability of the community service providers to meet the demands placed on them	Provision of recycling facilities within large housing developments Development granted planning permission in areas at risk from flooding or exacerbating the risk of flooding elsewhere The provision of services with new development

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