Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006

Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006

• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
  • The Need to Replace the Existing UDP
  • The Plan Making Process
  • Understanding the Replacement Calderdale UDP
  • Strategic Environmental and Appropriate Assessment of the Replacement UDP
  • Future of the Development Plan in Calderdale
• 2 Calderdale in Context
• Strategic and Core Part One Policies
• 3 Guiding Principles and Key Themes
• 4 Employment, The Economy, Tourism and Regeneration
• 5 Housing
• 6 Retailing and Town Centres
• 7 Open Space, Sport and Recreation Facilities
• 8 The Built and Historic Environment
• 9 Transport
• 10 Infrastructure, Education and Community Facilities
• 11 Natural Environment and the Countryside
• 12 Environmental Protection
• 13 Minerals
• 14 Waste Management
• 15 Monitoring and Review of the Plan
• Annex A Privacy, Daylighting and Amenity Space
• Annex B Trees On or Adjacent to Development Sites
• Appendix 1 National Planning Policy
• Appendix 2 National Minerals Policy
• Appendix 3 Supporting Published Documents
• Appendix 4 Glossary of Terms
• Appendix 5 Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Appendix 6 Policy Topic Index
• Appendix 7 Policy Number Comparison
• Appendix 8 Supplementary Maps

1 Introduction

1.1 The Replacement Calderdale Unitary Development Plan (UDP) is the most important document prepared by Calderdale Council relating to the use of land and buildings. It has statutory weight and is used in determining planning applications and guiding investment decisions by both the public and private sectors for development. Its policies and proposals are intended to control and shape development and to provide certainty as to the circumstances in which development proposals will be supported. It is relevant to many people such as residents, employers and those who work here, investors and those who visit or own land in Calderdale. This new Plan looks forward to the year 2016 and provides a long-term vision of how the physical structure of the District should be shaped over the next 15 years (but see paragraph 1.17 below).

1.2 The UDP is a land-use strategy for the District and is the prime consideration when the Council considers planning applications for development. This primacy of consideration is set out in legislation where Section 38(6) of the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires: -

"If regard is to be had to the development plan for the purpose of any determination to be made under the Planning Acts the determination must be made in accordance with the plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise."

The UDP therefore provides a framework for rational and consistent decision making.

1.3 The main purposes of the UDP are:-

1. to control the location and quality of development;
2. to provide for new development particularly for employment, housing, open space, retailing and community facilities, where necessary and appropriate;
3. to protect and enhance the environment of Calderdale, to conserve its natural beauty and maintain the amenity of land;
4. to safeguard and improve the most important built and natural assets within the District;
5. to provide infrastructure and facilities for services to meet the needs of communities;
6. to plan the use of land in the interests of managing traffic, protecting communities from the effects of congestion and reducing the overall need to travel;
7. to reflect the land use needs and aspirations of all those with an interest in the use of Calderdale’s land and buildings, wherever possible and appropriate; and
8. to ensure that development is undertaken in the most sustainable way possible, recognising the needs of the community for new development and infrastructure but ensuring that it is not provided at the expense of future generations.

1.4 Many of the questions, which relate to the use of land, have no right or wrong answer, as there are many issues, viewpoints and matters to be taken into account. The UDP provides a framework for reconciling some of the competing pressures on the use of land and for ensuring consistency in the decision making process. Some of the conflicts that arise are irreconcilable, given differing viewpoints and have to be resolved by a political institution such as the Council. The UDP helps to provide a framework for considering the land use implications of developments, and reflects the concerns of local people as well as Government policy in terms of the matters to be reflected within the decision making process.

NOTE: The plan making process has taken four years to bring the Replacement UDP to Adoption. During this time new policy initiatives at the national and regional level have come forward. It has not been possible in all circumstances to reflect the most recent policy advice within the Replacement UDP.

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