Settlement Assessment Key Stakeholder Consultation
Details of the current work being undertaken with our partners regarding the Settlement Assessment portion of the Local Development Plan
Over the summer LDP officers have been busy assessing all the settlements within the National Park in order to determine how the LDP can best support their development over the next 15 years.
The assessment is comprised of two parts:
1) We visited the settlement to look at available land for development. This included looking at land submitted as candidate sites to the Authority and areas of potential expansion to the village. In villages where no candidate sites were submitted we looked to see if there was any land which could accommodate growth should this growth be seen as necessary.
This part of the assessment was intended to be an audit of available land for development. In making our assessments we mainly focused on the impact on the settlement should development proceed on that land. We were primarily interested in trying to determine whether development would be in keeping with the landscape and character of the settlement. We also used hard constraints maps to look at issues which may prevent land being developed such as flooding and access issues.
2) We undertook desk based studies to draw together a detailed set of evidence for each settlement. We wanted to paint a picture of the settlement by considering the social, economic and environmental elements which work together to create a sense of place. We looked at a diverse range of evidence to determine the nature of the settlement, how it functioned within the region and whether there was a need in the community to provide for specific types of growth.
The findings of this assessment have been used to define how we believe a settlement should develop over the next 15 years. The assessment enabled us to set out
a) What level in the settlement hierarchy the place is (for more information about the settlement hierarchy please click here)
B) What development does the settlement need
c) How this growth should be enabled
We have produced summary sheets on all our settlements which give an overview of the place, list key constraints and give an overview of the land assessment which took place in an area.
We are currently consulting with our partners on the findings of our assessment. We have given this information to relevant experts (such as Highways Authorities and the Environment Agency )for them to tell us if they believe there to be problems with development on these sites. What they report back to us will further refine our assessment prior to the completion of the Deposit plan in May 2010.
The summaries show all land we believe to be available for development. It is important to note that although land may be identified as available it may not be necessary to include it within the LDP. Inclusion is dependent upon an identified need within the area for growth. In some settlements a range of sites have been identified, these sites are put forward as options for development within a settlement. The currnet consultation with key stakeholders will enable us to decide which of these sites are the most preferable to accommodate the areas future development need.
We have also been working with our constituent Community and Town Councils to ensure that the community has a chance to feedback to us on our assessments. A number of Community Councils have signed up to be involved in this consultation. If your community is one of these areas then you can view the summary assessments for the towns and villages by clicking on the name of the place. Please note these assessments are not finalised and are for informal consultation purposes only. Finalised plans for each area will be published for formal consultation in the Deposit LDP May 2010. Any comments you may wish to make about any of our findings please get in contact with your community council who will be co-ordinating responses to the National Park
We will be adding other community’s summaries as soon as we can. Keep checking to see if your area has been added.
