Urban Regeneration

41. The urban areas of Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, are major social, economic and cultural resources. Their continuous renewal and prosperity is vital. Regeneration and redevelopment within the urban areas is an efficient and effective way of meeting development needs, maintaining investment, enhancing quality of life, sustaining the economy and reducing development pressures in more environmentally sensitive areas.

42. The wider benefits of regeneration and more compact urban development are consistent with the objectives of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy. Both forms of development provide the opportunity to reduce the need to travel, especially by car; and enable the maximum advantage to be made of locations most suited to the provision of public transport.

43. Portsmouth and Southampton are major centres providing shopping, entertainment, education and commercial facilities for a wide area extending into neighbouring counties. Each city lies at the hub of a much wider city region extending into adjoining counties. If the two cities are to retain their economic and social importance, provide higher order services, attract customers, and be desirable places in which to live and work, the freedom with which people gain access to services in the cities must be improved. The more successful urban areas are at adapting to changing needs, the more flexible the strategy will remain.

44. The capacity of urban areas, particularly the large areas of suburban residential development, to accommodate additional development is difficult to define and measure. There will be scope to increase the range of development opportunities provided by some towns and cities. However, increased activity in urban areas may increase pressure upon a whole range of public and private services. Accordingly, there may be a limit beyond which activity cannot be increased without diminishing the quality of life of residents. There will be no gain for future generations if the environment of existing urban areas is degraded through the overburdening of urban systems.

45. It is also vital that the urban areas maintain a balance in the use of land and re-development opportunities to enable them to fulfil all their functions. The provision of housing, for example, must be balanced with provision for employment, education and health for which there are no specific proposals in the Plan.

46. The regeneration of urban areas depends on the promotion of financial investment. Attracting this investment will require a partnership of public and private agencies working with a common aim. The circumstances and the time are right in Hampshire to demonstrate the advantages of urban life.

47. This Plan provides the strategic framework for that work by establishing a set of policies:

· to direct investment into the redevelopment or re-use of derelict or underused areas;

· for the improvement, maintenance and refurbishment of existing buildings and spaces to provide an attractive urban environment;

· for improving living conditions and the quality of life in residential areas and town centres;

· to gain access to and move around within urban areas; and

· to give priority to the infrastructure necessary to secure the development of key urban sites.

UB1 Priority will be given in local plans to policies and proposals which achieve urban regeneration by:

(i) the redevelopment of derelict, outworn or underused land or buildings;

(ii) an appropriate mix of land uses and activities, particularly in town centres and residential areas;

(iii) retaining, enhancing or creating open spaces, features important to the townscape important urban wildlife habitats;

(iv) improving the condition and/or settings of buildings of architectural or historic interest;

(v) maintaining and/or improving local community identity;

(vi) improving air quality and reducing the consumption of energy and water; and

(vii) reducing the conflict between people and traffic and environmental disturbance from vehicles.

48. Policy UB1 outlines the basic objectives of urban regeneration. In determining the appropriate use for derelict or underused land, it will be important to review the relationship between home and work, and encourage the development of mixed-use areas which provide the opportunity to live and work and reduce the local incidence of commuting. Implementing this policy will require care to avoid overdevelopment, congestion and pollution. Schemes will need to recognise the importance of open space; the need to enhance the built environment; and to explore opportunities to introduce environmentally friendly means of transport and access. Derelict land may, in some cases, be more suitable for introducing environmental improvements, rather than offices, shops or houses. A flexible approach to establishing appropriate uses will need to be adopted.

UB2 Policies for urban regeneration will, within the constraints imposed by the existing and proposed transport infrastructure, establish the appropriate mix of uses to meet the needs for local jobs and housing; maintain the vitality and viability of town centres; and provide facilities for recreation, tourism and cultural facilities.

49. The benefits of recycling urban land are that levels of in-commuting are reduced, the physical appearance and quality of the housing stock is improved and services are concentrated where they can be reached by a choice of different transport modes. The downside can be `town-cramming', as densities and the general level of activity increases, on-street car-parking proliferates and open spaces are lost. Parking control zones will be required and many town centre residents may not be able to park cars as close to their homes as they can today.

50. If urban areas are to remain desirable as places in which to live and work, the ability of all to move around efficiently and in comfort must be improved. Improvements must seek to reduce the volume of car journeys and cut the levels of pollution and physical impact of vehicular traffic. Proposals should include measures to promote the use of public transport, walking and cycling.

51. Redevelopment, conversions and small, infill development schemes make a major contribution to the supply of new dwellings. It will be important to ensure that such schemes include a mix of higher density housing combined, as far as possible, with employment and other uses designed to meet local needs and contribute to the quality of living and vitality of urban areas. The Urban Living initiative, led by Hampshire County Council, has the objective of improving the quality of urban and suburban areas to make them attractive and desirable places to live and work.

52. The provision of recreation, tourist and cultural facilities is a growing sector of the economy. In deciding the location of new facilities, care must be taken to ensure a balanced mix of uses.

UB3 All development permitted in accordance with other policies of this Plan should be appropriate in design, scale, layout and density to its surroundings and contribute to the quality of the built environment.

53. The authorities are determined that through the implementation of development plans and development control, and by the example set in carrying out their own development, the highest possible standards and quality of development are achieved.

54. In addition to the appearance and design of buildings or other built development, it is important that the environmental consequences of development are minimised and demonstrable harm to the environment avoided. When considering proposals for development, attention will need to be paid to the materials used, impact on water and other resources, emissions, energy consumption, traffic and waste generation.

55. The wide range of guidance and advice on the implementation of the subjects covered by this Policy available from the authorities, local planning authorities, statutory undertakers and environmental groups, should be used wherever possible.

56. Local plans will need to outline the measures to improve the quality of the built environment. Such measures should include:

· discouraging unnecessary traffic;

· improving and upgrading the housing stock;

· encouraging the development and improvement of open space and recreational facilities;

· enhancing landscape character; and

· encouraging the relocation, to more suitable sites, of uses which are noisy, noxious, or generate unacceptable volumes or types of traffic.

UB4 To assist the development of key or strategically important sites within existing urban areas, particularly `brownfield' (redevelopment) sites, local authorities may, where appropriate, give priority to providing the necessary on and off-site infrastructure where such facilities:

(i) are identified in the relevant local plan;

(ii) fall within the functions of the authority concerned; and

(iii) where the authority is satisfied that the development is dependent upon such resources and that these cannot be reasonably provided by other means including developer contributions.

57. Because of the nature of sites in existing urban areas, compared with development proposals on greenfield sites, such as the Major Development Areas, inherent difficulties in securing the necessary infrastructure can be a deterrent and an obstacle to successful implementation of urban regeneration initiatives by local authorities. The achievement of development required for urban regeneration is critical to the success of this Plan and Policy UB4 provides for the necessary infrastructure to be given appropriate priority. It will be important for local authorities to involve the other public and private sector institutions, utilities and service providers, at an early a stage as possible, to ensure that investment programmes and funding match the objectives of the development plan.