CHAPTER 3: Implementation, Monitoring and Review

3.1

Introduction

3.1.1This Chapter sets out the how the Council will implement the Plan, how the effectiveness of the Plan will be monitored and how the Plan will be kept up-to-date.

3.2

Implementation

The UDP provides a statutory framework for the way in which land is used and development takes place in the City. It has been prepared on the basis of consultations with an extensive range of organisations and individuals and reflects widely held aspirations for the future of Wolverhampton. The main way that the Council can directly implement the objectives of the Plan is through its role as Local Planning Authority, responsible for determining planning applications and preparing Supplementary Planning Documents, both topic and area-based. The Council has also prepared a statement of protocol and procedures which provides guidance on the process used in the determination of planning applications.

However, what actually happens on the ground is also the outcome of a multiplicity of day to day decisions by a large number of public and voluntary sector agencies, private companies and individuals. All of these have their own distinctive objectives and all are in various ways constrained by the resources at their disposal. Therefore, if the policies and proposals of the UDP are to be achieved, a close partnership must be maintained between the Council and other bodies, with the Council providing a co-ordinating and enabling role.

The Council will continue to ensure that financial resources are directed towards the achievement of UDP objectives. The UDP will be an important consideration for the Council when it prepares its annual Capital Programme. In particular, the Plan will provide the basis for determining priorities for environmental and conservation programmes and the long-term context for the Council’s input to the West Midlands Local Transport Plan. Other Council capital programmes of relevance are the Housing Capital Programme, the Economic Development Programme and Parks and Recreation budgets.

Public sector resources are likely to continue to be scarce and so implementation will depend to a great extent on the private sector. Much of the underlying philosophy of the UDP is to provide the right circumstances to attract private sector investment of the right kind to the right places. Scarce public sector resources will, where necessary, be targeted to encourage further investment by the private sector.

To assist in the implementation process, there are occasions in the consideration of planning applications when there is a need to seek agreements with developers for measures that cannot be achieved through conditions attached to a planning permission. Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) enables local authorities to reach agreements with developers, or for developers to give undertakings, for such measures to be carried out in association with a development. Such obligations can enhance the quality of development and enable proposals to go ahead which might otherwise be refused planning permission. Government guidance in Circular 5/05 Planning Obligations advises that any obligations should be necessary, relevant to planning, directly related to the proposed development, fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the proposed development and reasonable in all other respects.

Obligations may be sought, for example, where a development will generate need for improved or additional infrastructure, facilities or services, or where measures are needed to offset the negative impact of a development on the environment or local amenity. Table 3.1 lists examples of planning obligations that may be sought. Reference to the use of planning obligations in specific circumstances is made in other chapters of the Plan. A development may be required to fund a number of related measures, which may be located on-site or nearby. In some cases, a number of developers may be asked to contribute jointly to an improved facility that will be of benefit to all of them and the wider community.

Table 3.1 Examples of Planning Obligations Which May Be Sought

Compulsory purchase powers are provided to allow authorities to compulsorily purchase land to carry out a function which Parliament has decided is in the public interest. Anyone who has land acquired is generally entitled to compensation. The greatest users of compulsory purchase powers are Local Authorities and the Highways Agency and the two most commonly used powers of compulsory purchase are:

• A Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) based on a specific Act of Parliament,
• An Order under the Transport and Works Act 1992.

Wherever possible the Council will negotiate with landowners to assemble key development sites. However, where negotiations are unsuccessful, the Council will consider the use of CPO powers, to ensure that key development opportunities are realised in the City and otherwise allow appropriate development to proceed.

3.4

Monitoring and Review

The Council is required by law to keep under review all matters that are expected to affect the development of the City – in particular (a) the principal physical and economic characteristics (b) the size, composition and distribution of population, and (c) the communications, transport system and traffic. Also of importance are the rate of house-building activity, changes in floorspace of retail and business premises, the impact of development in the Green Belt and any loss or creation of open space. Much of this information is currently monitored on an annual basis to meet regional and national requirements. There is also a specific requirement for the Council to monitor the effectiveness of the policies and proposals of the UDP.

The Council supports the Government’s commitment to maintaining relevant and up to date development plans and will ensure that its Development Plan is kept up to date through a continuous process of monitoring and review which actively involves local people and is co-ordinated with the monitoring and review of the Community Plan. Both topic and area-based Supplementary Planning Guidance will also be reviewed on a regular basis and new Supplementary Planning Documents prepared to complement UDP policies and proposals.

With the new planning legislation now in force, Plan policies and proposals will be reviewed more frequently. Instead of reviewing the whole Plan every ten years, as happened in the past, an up-date will take place at least once every three years. Some core elements of the Plan, such as Part I policies and Green Belt boundaries, may not need to change, whereas others, such as housing allocations, will need to be frequently reviewed. It will also become possible to supplement the Plan with new, area-based plans as and when necessary.

This more flexible system will allow the Plan to reflect changes in national, regional and local policy and changing local circumstances and trends more quickly and effectively. The next review of the Plan will need to take particular account of the requirements of new planning legislation and the contents of the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy.

Table 3.2   UDP Monitoring Indicators and Targets

4. Greenbelt and Rural Landscapes

5. Business and Industry

6. Shopping and the Role of Centres

7. Open Space. Sport and Recreation

9. Access and Mobility