Regulation 19 - Proposed Draft Local Plan Submission

Part 1 of the policy should be amended to state ‘Wherever possible development must be designed to ensure a good
quality of experience for occupants and users and be easy to use for all, including people with disabilities, the elderly
and others with accessibility issues’.

Barratt David Wilson Homes North Midlands (‘BDWH’) consider part 1 of the policy should be amended to state
‘Wherever possible development must be designed to ensure a good quality of experience for occupants and users and be easy to use for all, including people with disabilities, the elderly and others with accessibility issues’. This would ensure that the policy is in accordance with paragraph 16 (b) of the National Planning Policy Framework (‘NPPF’) which states: ‘plans should be prepared positively in a way that it is aspirational but deliverable’ and NPPF paragraph 35 (c) which requires plans to be effective and avoids applying unnecessary blanket requirements to development sites and paragraph 35 (b) which requires plans to be positively prepared in order to be sound.

Part 1 of the policy should be amended to state ‘Wherever possible development must be designed to ensure a
good quality of experience for occupants and users and be easy to use for all, including people with disabilities, the
elderly and others with accessibility issues’.

Barratt David Wilson Homes North Midlands (‘BDWH’) consider part 1 of the policy should be amended to state
‘Wherever possible development must be designed to ensure a good quality of experience for occupants and users and be easy to use for all, including people with disabilities, the elderly and others with accessibility issues’. This would ensure that the policy is in accordance with paragraph 16 (b) of the National Planning Policy Framework (‘NPPF’) which states: ‘plans should be prepared positively in a way that it is aspirational but deliverable’ and NPPF paragraph 35 (c) which requires plans to be effective and avoids applying unnecessary blanket requirements to development sites and paragraph 35 (b) which requires plans to be positively prepared in order to be sound.

Remove part c) from the policy.

Barratt David Wilson Homes North Midlands (‘BDWH’) object to part c) of the policy which states ‘development must be located and designed in such a way that it is sensitive to its landscape setting and character area and will be permitted where it safeguards important public views, skylines and landmarks’. Views are not referenced in the National Planning Policy Framework (‘NPPF’) and therefore this is considered onerous and includes criteria that goes beyond National Policy. As written, the policy is therefore not in accordance with NPPF paragraph 35 (d) which requires plans to be consistent with national policy in order to be sound.

The table included within part 2 of the policy should be removed or moved to the supporting text. The requirement
for Natural and Semi Natural Greenspace should be reconsidered or sufficient evidence provided.

Barratt David Wilson Homes North Midlands (‘BDWH’) consider that the table included within part 2 of the policy
should be removed. As highlighted in part 1 of the policy, the Open Space Strategy (2021) only represents a ‘snap
shot in time’ and therefore is likely to be updated throughout the plan period, providing more up to date requirements that developments will be expected to comply with. Therefore, the table which sets out the Local Standards included in the Open Space Strategy should be removed to ensure the policy is written in accordance with National Planning Policy Framework (December 2023) (NPPF) paragraph 16 d), which requires plans to be clearly written and unambiguous and also in accordance with paragraph 35 (a) and (b) which considers plans should be positively prepared and justified in order to be sound .
Furthermore, the Natural and Semi Natural Greenspace Requirements are significant (8.5 ha per 1,000 population)
and BDWH do not consider that the requirement is justified in the Open Space Strategy and it is unclear why it is so high. This could have an impact on the net developable areas of schemes in sustainable locations. This is therefore not sound as it is not in accordance with paragraph 35 (b) of the NPPF which requires plans to be justified and based on evidence and the policy is also not in accordance with paragraph 123 NPPF as this requires plans to make efficient use of land.

Part 2 should be amended to only ‘encourage’ the production of WLCAs as part of Energy and Sustainability
Statements.

Part 2 of the policy states that a Whole Life Cycle Assessment (‘WLCA’) should be undertaken. It is not possible to create an accurate WLCA at an early stage and would be an live evolving document as developments are complex, materials and supply chains change throughout the lifecycle of the scheme. This is an aspirational monitoring tool. Energy and sustainability statements are more appropriate

Further clarify is requested in relation to part 3 of the policy.

Barratt David Wilson Homes North Midlands (‘BDWH’) object to part 3 of the policy which states that ‘development should be focused in the first instance on agricultural land not identified as the best and most versatile (i.e. on Grades 3b, 4 and 5). Development, outside of settlements or identified Site Allocations in Policy SA01, which is on highquality agricultural land (Grades 1, 2, and 3a) will be permitted where:
a) a thorough assessment to evaluate its impact on agricultural productivity has been undertaken; and
b) mitigation measures are implemented to minimise adverse effects, such as soil conservation techniques
and landscape buffering’.
It is considered that part a) should be clearer how the Council want the assessment presented. As written the policy is not clear and therefore is not in accordance with paragraph 16 d) of the National Planning Policy Framework (‘NPPF’) which requires plans to contain policies which are clearly written and unambiguous.

To avoid the need for a full or partial review of the plan once adopted the housing requirement figure should be
increased.
The reference to ‘significantly greater’ in part (a) of the policy needs to be clarified.

Barratt David Wilson Homes North Midlands (‘BDWH’) note that the Council have included a requirement for a full or partial update of the Local Plan in part 2 of Policy IM01. This states that ‘a full or partial update of the Local Plan will be commenced (defined as the publication of an invitation to make representations in accordance with Regulation 18 of the Town and County Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012) (or equivalent under any subsequent Regulations) within 6 months of the following:
a) The adoption by the Council of a Statement of Common Ground (SoCG), or equivalent, which proposes a
quantity of housing or employment development for the period to 2041 that is significantly greater than the
housing requirement or employment need identified and planned for in this Local Plan; or
b) In the absence of an adopted SoCG, or equivalent document, 12 months from the date of publication of a
Local Plan in the Leicester and Leicestershire Housing Market Area (defined as publication of an invitation to
make representations in accordance with Regulation 19 of the Town and Country (Local Planning) (England)
Regulations 2012) (or equivalent under any subsequent Regulations) that includes satisfactory evidence of an
unmet local housing need [Savills Emphasis].
The inclusion of this is welcomed, however it is considered, as set out in our response to Policy DS01, the housing requirement should in the first instance be increased to avoid having to undertake a full or partial update of the Local Plan once Leicester’s unmet need is confirmed (and how it will be distributed across the Housing Market Area).