Planning Policy Wales - Brecon Beacons National Park

the community strategy that relate to the development and use of land, provided that the elements
of the community strategy are in conformity with national and international policy and obligations.
When preparing revised community strategies a local authority must take account of the policies and
proposals in any existing adopted development plan.
2.3.3 Authorities should consider the relationship of their LDP to other local adopted
strategies 8 including economic development and regeneration strategies, Agenda 21 or
environmental strategies, Local Biodiversity Action Plans, Local Housing Strategies, and Local
Transport Plans (currently being replaced by the emerging Regional Transport Plans).
2.4 Sustainability appraisal, Strategic Environmental Assessment and
Appropriate Assessment in plan preparation
2.4.1 Sustainable development is our shared responsibility. As elected bodies, local authorities are
responsible for setting the framework for the development of sustainable communities in their areas
and integrating services and infrastructure requirements at a local level.
2.4.2 Section 39 of the 2004 Act requires authorities to prepare LDPs with the objective of
contributing to the achievement of sustainable development. Section 62(6) of the 2004 Act requires
an authority to carry out an appraisal of the sustainability of the LDP and to prepare a report of
the findings as an integral part of the process of plan preparation. Sustainability appraisal may
be defined as: ‘a systematic and iterative process undertaken during the preparation (and review) of
a plan which identifies and reports on the extent to which implementation of the plan will achieve the
environmental, social and economic objectives by which sustainable development can be defined and
identifies opportunities for improving plan performance in relation to these 9 .’
2.4.3 The purpose of sustainability appraisal is to assess the economic, environmental and social
effects of the strategy and policies in an LDP from the outset of the process. This will ensure that
decisions are made that accord with sustainable development principles.
2.4.4 An appraisal needs to expose the full range of economic, social and environmental
considerations.
• With regard to economic considerations, LDPs will only be effective if they are realistic and
practical and provide developers and others with scope to make choices to secure the efficient
and effective use of resources. LDPs (and development control decisions later based upon them)
should take account of European, national and local economic and development policies.
LDPs should include an indication, in broad terms, of the assumptions made about the resources
likely to be available for effecting the policies and proposals formulated.
• LDPs (and later development control decisions) should take account of social considerations
relevant to land use issues, such as the relationship of planning policies and proposals to
social needs and problems, including the likely impact of policies and proposals on the whole
community, on women and men, on children and families, or on groups such as elderly and
disabled people, single parent families, ethnic minorities, disadvantaged and deprived people.
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Planning Policy Wales Edition 3 - July 2010 - Chapter 2 Development Plans