CPRE Herefordshire Annual Report October 2012
CPRE Herefordshire Annual Report October 2012
CPRE Herefordshire Annual Report October 2012
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NPPF AT A GLANCE...<br />
GREEN<br />
Improved/Good<br />
AMBER<br />
Unchanged/Caution<br />
RED<br />
Poor/Area for Concern<br />
GREEN: INTRINSIC VALUE<br />
One of the most worrying aspects of the<br />
draft NPPF was its omission of the previous<br />
policy requirement that all countryside<br />
should be recognised as intrinsically<br />
valuable for its own sake, not just specially<br />
designated sites. Minister Greg Clark<br />
confirmed that the final policy recognises<br />
the intrinsic character and beauty of the<br />
countryside, ‘whether specifically<br />
designated or not’. While this does not mean<br />
no development in the countryside, it should<br />
help ensure that building on green fields is<br />
not a first resort.<br />
GREEN: LOCAL PLANS<br />
The NPPF clearly stressed that all decisions<br />
on development must be taken in line with<br />
locally agreed plans and policies, unless<br />
other relevant issues indicate otherwise. We<br />
also welcomed the Government’s response to<br />
calls to allow local authorities time to get<br />
their local plans up to date before the<br />
presumption in favour of sustainable<br />
development kicks in, although it will be a<br />
challenge for many authorities to finalise<br />
their plans within the new 12 month<br />
deadline.<br />
GREEN: LIGHT POLLUTION AND<br />
TRANQUILLITY<br />
The inclusion of policies to enable local<br />
authorities to combat light pollution, by<br />
encouraging good design and planning and<br />
better lighting controls is a good thing. We<br />
hope that more local authorities will now<br />
seek to limit the impact from artificial light<br />
on local amenity, intrinsically dark<br />
landscapes and the natural environment.<br />
Also welcome is the first reference in<br />
national policy to the need to identify and<br />
protect areas of tranquillity. We will be<br />
supporting this policy to protect and<br />
enhance areas of tranquillity for their<br />
contribution to health and quality of life.<br />
AMBER: SUSTAINABLE<br />
DEVELOPMENT<br />
Many were concerned that while the draft<br />
NPPF championed ‘sustainable<br />
development’ at all costs, it signally failed<br />
to spell out exactly what that meant. The<br />
final NPPF provides rather more detail on<br />
what such development should entail,<br />
referencing the key principles of the UK<br />
Sustainable Development Strategy, and<br />
Greg Clark reiterated to Parliament that<br />
environmental and social aspects were key<br />
elements of sustainable projects. However,<br />
there was still a lack of clarity over what<br />
sustainable development might mean in<br />
practice, and a lack of UK-specific<br />
environmental limits.<br />
AMBER: BUILDING ON<br />
BROWNFIELD<br />
The draft NPPF dispensed with the old<br />
requirement that previously developed<br />
brownfield land should be prioritised for<br />
development, so we were pleased to note<br />
that the final document explicitly<br />
acknowledged that building on brownfield<br />
should be a priority. However, the new<br />
NPPF does not go as far as previous<br />
policies in making sure that brownfield is<br />
always prioritised over greenfield.<br />
RED: GREEN VERSUS GROWTH?<br />
While the Government has removed much<br />
of the alarming language in the draft<br />
NPPF, including the notorious ‘default yes’<br />
to sustainable development, it continues<br />
to call for ‘significant weight’ to be placed<br />
on delivering economic growth, implying<br />
that strong planning regulations are an<br />
impediment to such growth. This is<br />
something that <strong>CPRE</strong> has long questioned,<br />
as our research shows that far from<br />
holding back growth, sensible planning<br />
has huge and lasting benefits for the<br />
economy.<br />
RED: HOUSING PRESSURE<br />
Under the NPPF, the Government has still<br />
retained its misguided approach to<br />
requiring the planning system to make<br />
available a five year supply of ‘deliverable’<br />
housing land, plus an additional ‘buffer’<br />
requirement of 5-20%, based on the<br />
performance of local planning authorities.<br />
While the approach is not new, the extra<br />
buffer requirement can only increase<br />
pressure to develop on lower-cost green<br />
field and rural housing sites.<br />
COULD<br />
YOU<br />
HELP?<br />
If you have just a few<br />
hours a month to spare,<br />
we can find a valuable<br />
role for you. We offer<br />
appropriate training and<br />
can reimburse all relevant<br />
expenses.<br />
All our volunteers work from home and keep in<br />
touch by e-mail, telephone and through the<br />
linked “members’ area” at<br />
www.cpreherefordshire.org.uk<br />
We have monthly meetings. Job holders are<br />
most welcome to attend as often as they wish,<br />
although in practice some of the roles<br />
described below do not require regular<br />
attendance.<br />
Job Descriptions are available on our website<br />
for the jobs listed: just click on the relevant<br />
link.<br />
We currently have specific vacancies for:<br />
• Press Officer: to provide support to the<br />
branch in drafting Press releases and<br />
publicising <strong>CPRE</strong> <strong>Herefordshire</strong>’s work<br />
• Planning Watchdogs: to help monitor<br />
planning applications across the county<br />
• Policy Volunteers: to help formulate <strong>CPRE</strong><br />
<strong>Herefordshire</strong>’s position on issues like, the<br />
emerging development plan, the Local<br />
Development Framework, polytunnels,<br />
Telecommunications masts and windfarms<br />
• Public Relations Volunteers: to help man<br />
<strong>CPRE</strong> information stands at public events<br />
• Volunteers to join our Executive<br />
Committee<br />
If you are interested in finding out more about<br />
becoming a committee member, or would like<br />
more information on any of the other<br />
volunteer posts then email us at:<br />
contactus@cpreherefordshire.org.uk<br />
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