Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006 (as amended August 2009)

Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006

• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Calderdale in Context
• Strategic and Core Part One Policies
• 3 Guiding Principles and Key Themes
• 4 Employment, The Economy, Tourism and Regeneration
  • Background to Economic Policy
  • Primary Employment Areas
  • Employment Development Outside the Primary Employment Areas
  • The Need for New Employment Land
  • The Allocation of New Employment Sites
  • Mixed Use Allocations
  • Safeguarding Employment Land and Buildings
  • Office Development
  • Warehouse Development
  • Tourism Attractions and Facilities
    • Hotels, Motels and Other Visitor Accommodation
    • Caravans and Camping Sites
  • Rural Diversification
  • Agricultural, Equestrian and Other Animal Based Uses
  • Regeneration of Derelict and Degraded Land and Buildings
  • The Piece Hall
• 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

Tourism Attractions and Facilities

4.45 Tourism has an important role to play in the economy of Calderdale’s towns and rural areas and brings considerable economic benefits to the region. A report commissioned by Calderdale Council concluded that the overall value of tourism in the Calderdale area in 1998 was an estimated £96 million and that it directly or indirectly supported an estimated 2,474 full-time jobs and 941 part-time and seasonal jobs.

4.46 Tourism is likely to be an important driver of the British economy with 1.4 million people directly employed nationally. Calderdale has a rich source of attractions that continue to attract people to the region. Eureka! and the Piece Hall were amongst the top ten tourist attractions in Yorkshire in 1998 attracting 320,000 and 350,000 visitors respectively. The largest tourism income generator along the M62 corridor is the business market, which accounts for a quarter of all tourist nights in Calderdale. The leisure tourism market is more important in the rest of Calderdale, comprising of overnight stays and day trips for both individuals and groups. Tourism and recreation can be major economic forces in rural areas, which is particularly relevant to the west of the District.

4.47 Farms may be suitable for appropriate forms of tourism and visitor development, such as holiday accommodation, farm trails, working holidays, rural leisure pursuits or rural crafts. Such developments assist rural economic diversification and provided that they are appropriate in scale and comply with other requirements of the Plan, particularly environmental and transport requirements, they are likely to be supported.

4.48 Whilst it is acknowledged that some types of tourism development have a functional need to locate within rural areas, it is unlikely to be appropriate to allow developments that would attract significant visitor numbers within those areas that are very remote from public transport facilities and the strategic road network. The volume of visitors to certain areas can cause localised environmental problems, particularly in the attractive Pennine uplands in the west. The concern is that visitor pressures need to be managed to ensure that the environment, quality of life for Calderdale residents and the qualities of tourism attractions themselves are not eroded. It is important to make sure that tourism and recreation opportunities grow to allow opportunities for everyone to enjoy the District’s towns and countryside, whilst sustaining and enhancing the environment, and maximising the economic benefits to the local area and economy. These aims can be achieved by seeking to maintain the environment that people come to enjoy and by promoting the regeneration of urban and rural communities and the conservation and enhancement of natural and environmental resources. The key therefore to future tourism policies and development is to balance the level of tourism with the capacity that the area can manage in order that the benefits accrue without causing major environmental problems.

4.49 The Yorkshire Tourist Board and the Heritage Strategy for the Southern Pennines consider that the greatest future tourism benefits will be obtained by focusing on:-

1. higher quality facilities;
2. development that seeks distinctiveness rooted in local and regional culture; and
3. more specialist activities.

4.50 Throughout most of Calderdale there is scope for the development of tourism which is based on these factors such as the diversification of farms, enjoyment of the landscape; industrial heritage; the river and canal network; and the District’s main towns. Appropriate development to provide more places to visit, suitable accommodation and supporting infrastructure such as shops, catering and transport facilities must be encouraged. The opening of the Rochdale Canal through to Manchester is recognised as offering increased potential for tourism development and stimulating economic regeneration. Suitable development along the canal that contributes towards tourism-led regeneration is supported.

4.51 Adequate provision of advice, information and interpretation is important if the heritage assets that provide the main attractions for both visitors and local people alike are to be sustainably promoted and managed. In order to achieve this the Council is participating in a South Pennine wide initiative to establish a Heritage Education and Access Network (HEAN). The HEAN initiative will incorporate and link existing information centres, visitor centres, museums, roadside information points and similar ‘gateways’ where people can gain information or advice about the heritage of the area. That heritage includes:-

1. the internationally designated moorland habitats.
2. the industrial archaeology of the District that is of world wide significance.
3. the cultural heritage that ranges from the co-operative movement and mechanics institutes through to modern day poets, writers, artists and theatre companies.
4. the landscape and the generations of farming and land management practices that have created it.
5. the communications heritage which includes an extensive footpath and rights of way network (including such significant routes as the Pennine Way, Pennine Bridleway, Mary Townley Loop and Calderdale Way), and the canal network.

4.52 This list is not exhaustive and Calderdale has many heritage features in common with other South Pennine authorities. The HEAN initiative seeks to promote the common heritage and promote a sustainable approach to its management through education, training, interpretation and information.

4.53 The aim of tourism policy is to provide an enabling framework that will allow appropriate and sustainable tourism development to take place. The Government strategy ‘Tomorrow's Tourism’ (1999) outlines that new tourism development should be more sustainable by ensuring that it:-

1. is located on public transport routes;
2. offers pedestrian and cycle access;
3. is linked to other infrastructure (such as hotels and restaurants);
4. is aesthetically attractive;
5. is in keeping with the quality of the built environment and identity of the area; and
6. causes the minimum of environmental damage during construction, adaptation and operation.

4.54 Proposals will be considered against the following Policy:-

Hotels, Motels and Other Visitor Accommodation

4.55 The provision of an adequate and varied supply of hotel, motel and other visitor accommodation ,for example bed and breakfast and self-catering accommodation, is an important element in securing economic and employment benefits for the District. By providing improved facilities to meet the needs of the business and leisure markets, such accommodation can make a significant contribution to tourist activity. Suitable sites for hotels, motels and other visitor accommodation may be found in both urban and rural locations. However, it is important that hotel developments are appropriate to their location in terms of their character, siting, scale and appearance and comply with all other requirements of the UDP.

4.56 Hotels, motels and other visitor accommodation can add vitality to a town centre area and help sustain its viability and as such, are regarded as appropriate uses in principle in the District’s defined town centres. Other locations within the urban areas or within suitable buildings within the Green Belt and the Area Around Todmorden are also considered to be appropriate locations in principle. However, new build hotels, motels and other visitor accommodation are not considered to be appropriate in the Green Belt and the Area Around Todmorden. Therefore proposals will be considered against the following Policy:-

Caravans and Camping Sites

4.57 Caravan and camping sites can make a valuable contribution to the rural economy. Developers usually seek sites in the more attractive outlying areas of the District, where they can be a particularly intrusive element in the open countryside as a result of their scale, siting and appearance. Their location in remoter areas can also lead to unsustainable vehicle movements and place an unacceptable demand on local services and facilities. It is therefore, essential that special care is given to the design and location of such sites in order to minimise their impact.

4.58 New sites or extensions to existing sites should integrate well within the landscape and not have a detrimental effect on the character or visual appearance of the countryside, sites of nature conservation value or wildlife interest, or the amenity of an area. Furthermore, proposals that place an excessive burden on service provision or cause highway danger will be resisted.

4.59 Riverside locations are also popular locations for caravan and camping sites and these may pose potential flood risk problems. PPG25 ‘Development and Flood Risk’ (2001), provides specific guidance in relation to this. In accordance with advice, proposals will be refused in areas of high flood risk, where it would be difficult to operate an effective flood warning system. The Council will consult the Environment Agency on proposals where there is likely to be a risk of flooding. Where proposals are acceptable, planning conditions will be attached requiring the erection of suitable warning notices and the preparation of effective warning and evacuation plans.

4.60 The location of gypsy sites is specifically covered under Policy H 17 ‘Gypsy Sites’ of the Housing Section. Proposals for caravan or camping sites will be considered against the following Policy:-

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