Contact: Nick Richardson, ext 5429

1. Summary

1.1 The process of reviewing the Winchester District Local Plan has reached the Deposit Plan stage at which consultation is undertaken. The Local Plan covers the whole of Winchester District, including the area covered by the Winchester Movement and Access Plan (WMAP). The Local Plan sets out policies for land use, many of which affect, or are affected by, transport issues. The objectives of WMAP are supported by the Local Plan Review in terms of encouraging walking, cycling and public transport where journeys can be undertaken by modes other than the car. The County Council issued a Certificate of Conformity with the Hampshire County Structure Plan in September 2001.

2. Introduction

2.1 The Winchester District Local Plan Review was `placed on deposit' on 12 October 2001 for a six-week period of formal consultation. At this stage formal representations of support or objection to the Plan are invited. The City Council has approved this version of the Plan for consultation purposes only and not as the City Council's policy for development control purposes. The content of the Plan relating to transport has been approved by the County Council, as highway authority.

2.2 Once it has considered representations made on the Deposit Plan, the City Council must consider what changes it proposes to make. These must be published as the 'Revised Deposit' Plan and it is at this stage that the Plan will start to be operated as development control policy. It will not become a statutory Plan until it has gone through a public inquiry and been formally adopted in accordance with the necessary statutory procedures, which will take some years. However, as each stage is concluded, the Plan will gradually carry more weight in the decision-making process, especially after the public inquiry Inspector's report is published.

3. Contents of the Review Plan

3.1 Although the Review Plan takes the current District Local Plan (adopted in 1998) as its starting point, it incorporates substantial changes in format and policy direction. These include significant changes relating to transport issues, where Government policies have developed and been clarified substantially since the current Plan was adopted and particularly since it was drafted and subject to a public inquiry in the mid-1990s. The following sections highlight the main transport-related aspects of the Plan that may be of interest in relation to this Panel's areas of responsibility.

Strategy (Chapter 2)

3.2 The Local Plan Review's strategy includes the aims of controlling the location of development so as to avoid the wasteful use of land, resources and energy. The role of the Plan in achieving sustainable development is noted, particularly in relation to the need to locate development so as to make the use of public transport, cycling and walking easier.

Design and Development Principles (Chapter 3)

3.3 This Chapter promotes a `design-led' approach to all new development, with proposals expected to include an assessment of the features of the site and its surroundings. This should include relationships to other uses and the existing rights of way and access points for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. The general criteria for new development (Proposal DP.3) require efficient use of land (at least 30 dwellings/hectare) and car parking to be kept to a minimum, in accordance with the latest County Council standards. Opportunities to maintain and increase `permeability' for pedestrians and cyclists are encouraged and developers are required to facilitate the development of adjoining sites by providing for access to them.

Town Centres, Shopping and Facilities (Chapter 8)

3.4 This Chapter applies the `sequential test' promoted in Government advice, whereby uses attracting large numbers of visitors are directed to town centres, where access by public transport, cycling and walking is easiest to achieve. Winchester is the main town centre in the District, but the approach is also applied to Bishops Waltham, Denmead, New Alresford, Whiteley and Wickham. Policies in this section also seek to resist the loss of commercial uses at ground floor level within the defined town centres and to retain retail uses within defined Primary Shopping Areas.

Transport (Chapter 10)

3.5 This Chapter has been updated substantially from the current (1998) Plan to reflect the changes in Government and highway authority policies since that Plan was drafted and adopted. The changes include the following:

(i) the application of maximum parking standards to limit parking provision, especially in town centres;

(ii) a requirement for financial contributions towards the relevant transport strategy (eg WMAP), where appropriate;

(iii) a proposal enabling the development of new rail freight interchange facilities and the retention of existing facilities at Micheldever and Botley Stations;

(iv) proposals for improvements to road safety, public transport and pedestrian/cycle provision along the B2177 corridor (Winchester to Wickham); and

(v) continuation of proposals for Botley Bypass and completion of Whiteley Way.

Winchester (Chapter 11)

3.6 This Chapter is based on the current Plan's Winchester Chapter, but many of the proposals contained in the current Plan have been deleted as they have now been implemented, and some are moved to the general Chapters of the Plan. Most of the proposals that remain are transport-related, including the following:

(i) W.3 - enabling Park and Ride development in or around Winchester and referring specifically to Bushfield Camp, where proposal W.2 provides for recreation and Park and Ride to be developed;

(ii) W.4 - promoting traffic management within the town centre to reduce traffic and W.5 - resisting the development of further public car parking in Winchester, other than Park and Ride;

(iii) W.6 - limiting parking provision to maximum standards for residential and commercial development and seeking contributions towards WMAP, where appropriate;

(iv) W.7 - requiring that commercial development is designed to minimise the impact of service vehicles and W.8 - requiring that development does not conflict with environmental improvement schemes and traffic management measures proposed in Winchester; and

(v) W.9 - proposing a series of new/improved footpaths/footways in various locations in the town centre and W.10 - which proposes a new bridleway linking Bar End with Bushfield.

New Communities (Chapter 12)

3.7 This Chapter includes proposals for Knowle, West of Waterlooville and Winchester City (North). In preparing the Plan, an evaluation was carried out of potential `areas of search' for the Winchester City (North) reserve Major Development Area (MDA). This concluded that the Barton Farm/South of A34 area should be identified as the area of search, excluding land east of the railway line. Proposal NC.3 identifies the area of search but makes it clear that development would not be permitted until a need for the housing is identified by the strategic planning authorities, further studies have been undertaken (including a transport assessment), and a comprehensive master plan has been prepared and adopted. The further studies will particularly consider how the matters on which the area `scored' less well can be ameliorated, and help in defining a specific development area in a future version of the Plan.

Settlements (Chapter 13)

3.8 This Chapter sets out site/settlement specific proposals in a similar way to the current Local Plan. Only settlements that have specific proposals are included and are dealt with in alphabetical order. As the settlements are not generally within the WMAP strategy area the proposals in this Chapter are not described in this report.

4. Public Consultation

4.1 The Local Plan Review was placed on deposit on 12 October 2001 for a six week period of formal consultation. Over 200 complimentary copies of the Plan were sent to statutory consultees, local authorities and local organisations and 2,500 contacts from the Local Plan Newsletter mailing list were informed of the Plan's publication. Leaflets summarising the key aspects of the Plan and listing exhibitions dates and venues were offered to all parish councils and amenity groups for distribution, although the take-up was a little disappointing.

4.2 A series of staffed exhibitions was held following publication over 22 days and at 12 venues, with further, unstaffed, displays at other venues and times. The whole Local Plan could be viewed on the City Council's web site, where an electronic comment form could be completed and returned. The City Council did not organise public meetings on the Plan itself, but did make available officers to attend meetings organised by parish councils and other groups, on request.

4.3 It is expected that many hundreds of comments will be received, especially on the West of Waterlooville and Winchester City (North) MDA proposals. At the time of writing the final number is not known, but an update will be given at the meeting.

5. Conclusion

5.1 The Winchester Local Plan Review process continues, having reached the Deposit Plan stage at which public comments are sought. The policies included in the Review are closely linked with WMAP and support development in locations where the principles of sustainable transport can be applied in preference to other locations.

Recommendation

That the Panel notes the position on the Winchester District Local Plan Review.

6826/NR