HILLINGDON UNITARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN - London Borough ...

OL18 WHERE APPROPRIATE NEW DEVELOPMENT SHOULD INCORPORATE SAFE AND
CONVENIENT NEW FOOTPATHS BOTH WITHIN THE SITE AND TO LINK WITH
ADJOINING AREAS. DEVELOPMENT AFFECTING EXISTING PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY
WILL NORMALLY BE EXPECTED TO INCORPORATE A CONVENIENT ALTERNATIVE
ROUTE.
Access for People with Disabilities
3.31 One section of the community often denied access to the countryside is people with disabilities.
Although the natural environment may itself present many obstacles which impede mobility, quite often
problems result from a lack of positive planning for and with people with disabilities. For example,
barriers across paths, or narrow gaps in fences, will not only deny access to motorcyclists, but also to
wheelchair users or those with prams, as will the use of the wrong surfacing material. Access will not be
possible in all cases, but as new countryside facilities are developed and public access to the countryside
increased, and as existing facilities are maintained and updated, consideration should be given to ways in
which they can be made accessible and enjoyed by as many people as possible.
OL19 THE COUNCIL WILL SEEK TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE
COUNTRYSIDE BY ALL SECTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING IMPROVING
ACCESS FOR WHEELCHAIRS AND PEOPLE WITH OTHER FORMS OF DISABILITY.
Horse Keeping and Grazing
3.32 The keeping of horses and horse grazing is an increasingly popular use in urban fringe locations,
sometimes resulting in a serious erosion of landscape quality and nature conservation interest due to over
use of land. High standards of design, construction and maintenance of buildings, and care of land are
therefore necessary to ensure that such activities do not have adverse effects on the countryside or indeed
the horses. The use of land primarily for the grazing of horses is generally accepted as an agricultural
activity and does not usually require planning permission, although associated buildings may do. However,
where the intensity of grazing is such that the grazing area is inadequate and the horses require
supplementary feeding in addition to that normally required during the winter months, then the primary use
should more correctly be considered as horse keeping, rather than grazing. This is an activity requiring
planning permission. In addition to landscape deterioration resulting from the breeding and/or keeping of
horses, when such activities are undertaken in areas without adequate access to suitable riding and exercise
areas, damage may occur to the public footpath system and traffic hazards created.
OL20 APPLICATIONS FOR HORSEKEEPING ESTABLISHMENTS OR THE BREEDING
AND KEEPING OF HORSES WILL NORMALLY BE PERMITTED PROVIDED IT CAN BE
SHOWN THAT:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
IT WILL NOT BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE APPEARANCE OR USE OF LAND;
IT WILL NOT REDUCE WILDLIFE DIVERSITY;
IT IS RELATED TO THE BRIDLEWAY NETWORK; AND
IT WOULD NOT RESULT IN AN INCREASED INCIDENCE OF HORSE RIDING ON
ROADS OR PUBLIC FOOTPATHS SUCH THAT HIGHWAY AND PEDESTRIAN
CONVENIENCE OR SAFETY IS PREJUDICED.
3.33 In extreme cases the Local Planning Authority may seek to prevent overgrazing which is causing
damage to pasture and the appearance of land by the imposition of an Article 4 Direction under the Town
and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995.
London Borough of Hillingdon Unitary Development Plan