Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas

50
Planning Guidelines
match the scale and grain of existing development within an
overall development boundary. For example, where a small
town or village has grown rapidly in recent years, the LAP
might recommend the phased development of a variety of sites
over time, subject to a proviso that no one proposal for
residential development should increase the existing housing
stock20 by more than 10-15% within the lifetime of the
development plan or local area plan. For villages of under 400
in population, the typical pattern and grain of existing
development suggests that any individual scheme for new
housing should not be larger than about 10-12 units21 due to an
absence of a sufficiently developed local infrastructure such as
schools and community facilities to cater for development.
(f) Local authorities have a vital role to play in encouraging
development through the provision of essential services, in
carrying out local planning functions (see below), in utilising
their extensive local knowledge in identifying new development
opportunities such as backlands development and harnessing
the extensive array of powers available to them under planning,
urban renewal and derelict sites legislation in facilitating and
encouraging sustainable forms of development.
Getting the form & density of development right - the importance
of local planning
6.4 Planning authorities must take account of the wider development
context in preparing plans for smaller towns and villages.
(i) For those towns and villages within the 45minute - 1 hour travel
time range from major cities and which are experiencing
significant levels of new largely commuter-driven development.
It is vitally important that planning authorities channel
development through their small town and village plans in a
way that is consistent with higher level plans such as the
development plan of the county they are situated within, any
regional planning guidelines that are in force and the National
Spatial Strategy in order to build up the critical mass of the key
cities and towns.
20 Including permitted and committed development.
21 Allowing for more than one scheme.