Reviewing the Plan for Solihull’s Future

Reviewing the Plan for Solihull’s Future
Draft Local Plan
sustainable travel choices.
• Improving the quality and access to the strategic and local green
infrastructure network in the Borough, particularly in the North Solihull
Regeneration Area and in areas where accessible green spaces and
infrastructure is identified as lacking.
• Supporting the retention and protection of facilities which promote healthy
lifestyles such as open space, including public rights of way to open space,
playing pitches and allotments;
• Supporting safe and inclusive design that discourage crime and anti-social
behaviour, and encourage social cohesion.
• Delivering new and improved health services and facilities in areas accessed
by sustainable transport modes (facilities for primary medical care should be
identified and planned for);
• Supporting initiatives which enable or improve access to healthy food. For
example, provide opportunities for growing local produce and encouraging
people to make healthy food choices;
• Encouraging initiatives to promote the energy efficiency of housing;
• Seeking to retain and enhance, where appropriate, green spaces and
incorporate planting, trees, open spaces and soft surfaces wherever possible
in order to secure a variety of spaces for residents, visitors or employees to
use and observe and;
• Resisting proposals for hot food takeaways being located in areas that could
lead to an undue influence on poor diet choices.
Health Impact Assessments
Formal consideration of health impacts through the use of Health Impact Assessments will
provide opportunity to maximise positive impacts of the proposed development and
minimise potential adverse impacts. For significant developments, such as large scale
housing sites and significant commercial developments, a Health Impact Assessment
should be submitted. The Council will develop an HIA tool to assist developers to assess the
impacts of a proposal and recommend measures to address negative impacts and
maximise benefits. The tool will include measures to assist scoping a more comprehensive
assessment for the particularly significant and complex proposals and will be based upon a
principle of proportionality to the nature and scale of development being proposed.
Justification
376. The Marmot Review (February 2010) highlighted that socio-economic inequalities, including
the built environment, have a clear effect on the health outcomes of the population. One of
the key policy objectives aimed at reducing the gap in life expectancy between people of
lower and higher socio-economic backgrounds, is to “create and develop healthy and
sustainable places and communities”.
377. The Solihull Health and Wellbeing Board in their Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2016-19 set
four priority areas for Solihull to improve health and wellbeing. One of these priorities is to
create ‘Healthy & Sustainable Places and Communities’ through maximising opportunities to
address the social determinants of health through greater integration of the planning,
transport, housing, environmental and health systems.
Solihull MBC - 124 - November 2016