St Edmundsbury Core Strategy (December 2010)

4 Framework for Sustainable Development4.1 The past 20 years have seen a growing realisation that the current model ofdevelopment is unsustainable. We are seeing the increasing burden our way of lifeplaces on the planet on which we depend:the consequences of already unavoidable climate changeincreasing stress on resources and environmental systems – water, land andair – from the way we produce, consume and waste resources; andincreasing loss of biodiversity locally and globally.4.2 The goal of sustainable development is to enable all people throughout theworld to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life, withoutcompromising the quality of life of future generations.4.3 The Government published its Sustainable Development Strategy, “Securingthe Future”, in 2005 in which it set out four aims for sustainable development.These are:social progress which recognises the needs of everyone;effective protection of the environment;the prudent use of natural resources; and,the maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth andemployment.4.4 These aims should be pursued in an integrated way through a sustainable,innovative and productive economy that delivers high levels of employment, and ajust society that promotes social inclusion, sustainable communities and personalwell being, in ways that protect and enhance the physical environment andoptimise resource and energy use.4.5 Planning policies should promote high quality inclusive design in the layout ofnew developments and individual buildings in terms of function and impact, notjust for the short term but over the lifetime of the development.Policy CS1 - St Edmundsbury Spatial StrategyRegional Spatial Strategy context4.6 In putting together our strategy, we have conformed to the proposed levels ofgrowth in housing and jobs prescribed in the East of England Plan. The Planrequires a minimum of 10,000 new homes to be built in St Edmundsbury between2001 and 2021, with a minimum of a further 5,400 between 2021 and 2031. Inaddition, there is a requirement to provide a proportion of the identified 18,000new jobs that the regional plan identifies will be required in Forest Heath, MidSuffolk and St Edmundsbury between 2001 and 2021.4.7 In terms of housing, a number of the 10,000 new homes have already beenbuilt and more have got planning permission but have not yet been finished. Inaddition, a number of sites have been allocated in the Replacement Local Plan forhousing, and we have examined whether the circumstances have changed sincethe local plan was published, that would mean some of these sites will not bedeveloped. With this information in mind, Policy CS1 illustrates the minimumnumber of new homes the Local Development Framework will need to cater for.28