Preferred Options November 2021
Appendix H
Glossary
Adoption – The final stage of the plan making process. The plan is adopted by resolution of a full meeting of the Local Planning Authority (LPA). This formally confirms the plan as council policy.
Affordable Housing(or sub-market housing) – As per the Government NPPF definition: housing for sale or rent, for those whose needs are not bet by the market. This includes: affordable housing for rent (such as social rent, affordable rent or at least 20% below local market rents), starter homes, discounted market sales housing, and other affordable routes to home ownership (such as shared ownership).
Authority Monitoring Report (AMR)– A report produced by the LPA to show how the Authority is performing against all agreed targets.
Appropriate Assessment (AA) – An assessment of the potential effects of a proposed plan – in combination with other plans and projects – on sites designated as part of a European network of designated nature conservation areas including Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). The Assessment itself is a statement that says whether the plan does, or does not, affect the integrity of the European site. The appropriate assessment forms part of the Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) process.
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) - An area with statutory national landscape designation, the primary purpose of which is to conserve and enhance natural beauty.
Authorised social site – An authorised traveller site owned by either the local authority or a Registered Housing Provider.
Authorised private site – An authorised traveller site owned by a private individual (who may or may not be a Gypsy or a Traveller). These sites can be owner-occupied, rented or a mixture of owner-occupied and rented pitches. They may also have either permanent or temporary planning permission.
Biodiversity - The whole variety of life encompassing all genetics, species and ecosystem variations, including plants and animals.
Brownfield Land and Sites - See 'Previously-Developed Land'.
Climate Change - Long-term changes in temperature, precipitation, wind and all other aspects of the Earth's climate, primarily considered to be the consequence of human activity and fossil fuel consumption.
Community Facilities
Community facilities provide for the health, welfare, social, educational, spiritual, recreational, leisure and cultural needs of the community.
Community Forest - A large area of land transformed into a wooded landscape by a partnership of local authorities, national agencies and private, voluntary and community organisations to support employment, recreation, education and wildlife. The Forest of Mercia is a Community Forest.
Conservation Area - Areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character, appearance or setting of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance.
Core Strategy– A Development Plan Document (DPD) which forms part of the Local Plan, that sets out the long-term spatial vision and spatial objectives for the LPA area and the strategic policies and proposals to deliver that vision.
Cultural Strategy - A Cultural Strategy aims to "promote the cultural well-being" of the area it covers.
Cycle Network - An integrated network of both on and off road routes to facilitate an easier and safer journey for cyclists.
Density - In the case of residential development, a measurement of either the number of habitable rooms per hectare or the number of dwellings per hectare.
Design guide - A document providing guidance on how development can be carried out in accordance with the design policies of a local authority or other organisation often with a view to enhancing local character.
Development - Development is defined under the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act as "the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operation in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any building or other land." Most forms of development require planning permission (see also "permitted development").
Development Brief - A document identifying the constraints and opportunities presented by a potential development site.
Development Management - The process whereby a local planning authority manages, shapes, and considers the merits of a planning application and whether it should be given permission having regard to the development plan.
Development Plan– Also known as the Local Plan, the term given to the documents setting out the adopted planning policies to guide development within the District. Decisions on planning applications are to be taken in accordance with the Development Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Development Plan Documents (DPDs) – Spatial planning documents prepared by the LPA and subject to Independent Examination. For South Staffordshire, they include the Core Strategy, the Site Allocations Document (SAD), and the Policies Map. DPDs are required to have a Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).
District Centres - Usually comprising groups of shops and some services, separate from the town centre, but with more variety than local centres. Can include suburban centres.
EDNA - An objective assessment of the quantity and type of employment space required within the Local Planning Authority area
Employment Land Study – An assessment of the suitability of sites for employment development. The study is used to inform decisions on which sites should be safeguarded in the face of competition from other higher value uses and which sites may be considered suitable for other alternative uses.
European Site Nature conservation sites afforded the highest level of protection in the UK through European legislation. They include Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), candidate (cSAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA), proposed (pSPA), European offshore Marine Sites and Ramsar.
Evidence Base– The researched, documented, analysed and verified basis for all the components of a Local Plan. The work used to create the Local Plan can be published in the form of background papers.
Flood Plain - Generally flat-lying areas adjacent to a watercourse, tidal lengths of a river or the sea where water flows in times of flood or would flow but for the presence of flood defences.
Flood Risk Assessment - An assessment of the likelihood of flooding in a particular area so that development needs and mitigation measures can be carefully considered.
Front-loading- The important pre-production community participation processes involved in preparation of a Local Plan. The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), Local Development Scheme (LDS) and the Authority Monitoring Report (AMR) play a large part in ensuring front-loading.
Green Belt (not to be confused with the term 'greenfield') – A statutory planning designation for open land around certain cities and large built-up areas, which aims to keep land permanently open or largely undeveloped. The purposes of Green Belt are to:
- check the unrestricted sprawl of large built up areas;
- prevent neighbouring towns from merging;
- safeguard the countryside from encroachment;
- preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and
- assist urban regeneration by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.
Greenfield Land or Site - Land (or a defined site) which has never been built on before or where the remains of any structure or activity have blended into the landscape over time.
Green Infrastructure - a network of green spaces and other environmental features including street trees, gardens, green roofs, community forests, parks, rivers, canals and wetlands. Green Infrastructure includes established green spaces and new sites and should thread through and surround the built environment and connect the urban area to its wider rural hinterland.
Gypsy and Travellers – The Government defines Gypsies and Travellers for planning purposes as 'Persons of a nomadic habit of life whatever their race or origin, including such persons who on grounds only of their own or their family's or dependants' educational or health needs or old age have ceased to travel temporarily, but excluding members of an organised group of travelling showpeople or circus people travelling together as such.
Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment (GTAA) – An assessment of the accommodation needs of Gypsy and Traveller's which establishes the pitch requirements over the lifetime of the plan period.
Habitat– An area of nature conservation interest.
Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) – An assessment of the potential impacts of plans and programmes on sites designated as of European Importance for their nature conservation value.
Heritage Asset – A building, monument, site, place, area or landscape identified as have a degree of merit because of its heritage interest.
Historic Landscape Assessment (HLA) – seeks to identify, and as far as possible, understand the historic development of today's landscape. It places emphasis on the contribution that past historic processes make to the character of the landscape as a whole, not just selected 'special sites' and can contribute to a wider landscape assessment.
Historic Environment Record (HER) – A comprehensive resource of the historic environment of Staffordshire. It provides information about archaeological sites, historic buildings, historic landscape and other heritage features within Staffordshire. The baseline historic environment data contained in the HER underpins a wide range of work undertaken for the Historic Environment and decision making.
Historic Parks and Gardens - A park or garden of special historic interest. Graded I (highest quality), II* or II. Designated by Historic England.
Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessments – An objective assessment of the quantity and type of housing and employment space required within the Local Planning Authority area. This assessment incorporates the requirement within the NPPF to produce a Strategic Housing Market Assessment.
Independent Examination– An examination held in public by an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State into the policies and proposals within a Development Plan Document (DPDs). The examination will consider the "soundness" of the document. Following the inspection, the Inspector will were relevant submit a report to the Local Planning Authority proposing possible amendments to the submitted plan.
Irish Traveller – Member of one of the main groups of Gypsies and Travellers in Britain. Distinct from Gypsies but sharing a nomadic tradition, Irish Travellers were recognised as an ethnic group in England in 2000.
Issues and Options – a non-statutory stage of the plan making process during which different site and policy options may be considered and issued for consultation.
Infrastructure – The key services necessary to support development for example roads, sewerage, water, electricity, education and health facilities.
Key Diagram - The diagrammatic interpretation of the Spatial Strategy as set out in the Core Strategy Development Plan Document.
Landscape Character - The distinct and recognisable pattern of elements that occur consistently in a particular type of landscape. It reflects particular combinations of geology, landform, soils, vegetation, land use and human settlement.
Lifetime Homes – A standard comprising a range of design features to enable new housing to meet the changing needs of occupiers.
Listed Building - A building of special architectural or historic interest. Graded I (highest quality), II* or II.
Local Centre - Includes a range of small shops and perhaps limited services of a local nature, serving a small catchment. Sometimes also referred to as a local neighbourhood centre.
Local Development Document (LDD)– A local planning document which can be either a statutory Development Plan Document (DPD) or a non-statutory Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).
Local Development Scheme (LDS) – A document setting out the LPAs programme for the preparation of the Local Development Documents (LDDs) within a three-year period and a timetable for their production and review. It will also state which policies will be saved from the existing Local Plan.
Local Nature Reserve (LNR) – Sites of importance for wildlife, geology, education or public enjoyment.
Local Plan – A collection of statutory Development Plan Documents (DPDs)prepared by the LPA that sets out policies and allocations for delivering the economic, environmental and social aims of the area. A number of SPDs will also provide additional guidance to the policies contained in the Local Plan.
For South Staffordshire the Local Plan consists of the following DPDs:
- The Core Strategy,
- The Site Allocations Document (SAD); and
- The Policies Map.
Local Planning Authority (LPA) - The local authority or council that is empowered by law to exercise planning functions. Often the local borough or district council.
Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) - An overall partnership of people that brings together organisations from the public, private, community and voluntary sector within a local authority area, with the objective of improving people's quality of life.
Local Transport Plan - A five-year integrated transport strategy, prepared by local authorities in partnership with the community, seeking funding to help provide local transport projects. The plan sets out the resources predicted for delivery of the targets identified in the strategy.
Material Consideration – A matter that should be taken into account in formulating planning policy and when determining a planning application.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) – It is the aim of the Government to create sustainable communities. The HCLG is responsible for housing, planning, regional and local government, regeneration, social exclusion, neighbourhood renewal and the fire and rescue service.
Mixed Use (or mixed use development) - Provision of a mix of complementary uses, such as say residential, community and leisure uses, on a site or within a particular area.
Monitoring (and review) – The process of measuring (in terms of quantity and quality) the changes in conditions and trends, impact of policies, performance of the plan against its objectives and targets, and progress in delivering outputs. Please also refer to Annual Monitoring Report (AMR).
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) - The NPPF sets out the Government's planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied. It sets out the Government's requirements for the planning system only to the extent that it is relevant, proportionate and necessary to do so. It provides a framework within which local people and their accountable councils can produce their own distinctive local and neighbourhood plans, which reflect the needs and priorities of their communities.
Nature Conservation - The protection, management and promotion of wildlife habitat for the benefit of wild species, as well as the communities that use and enjoy them.
Neighbourhood Centre - A number of shops serving a local neighbourhood and separate from the district centre. Sometimes referred to as a Local Centre.
Open Space - All space of public value, including not just land, but also areas of water such as rivers, canals, lakes and reservoirs, which can offer opportunities for sport and recreation. They can also act as a visual amenity and a haven for wildlife.
Open Space Audit – An audit of the open spaces within the District including an assessment of facilities and character.
Out-of-Centre - In retailing terms, a location that is clearly separate from the primary shopping area of a town centre but not necessarily outside the urban area.
Plan-led System - The principle that decisions upon planning applications should be made in accordance with adopted development plans (and DPDs), unless there are other material considerations that may indicate otherwise.
Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 - The Act updates elements of the 1990 Town & Country Planning Act. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 introduced a statutory system for regional planning; and a system for local planning known as Local Development Frameworks (LDFs). The local planning system has since been subject to government reforms and the details of which were set out in the Localism Act 2011 and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
Planning Out Crime - The planning and design of street layouts, open space, and buildings so as to reduce the actual likelihood or fear of crime, for example by creating natural surveillance.
Planning Practice Guidance
National online planning guidance which gives greater detail to the national planning policy framework.
Pitch/plot– Area of land on a site/development generally home to one license household. Can be varying sizes and have varying caravan occupancy levels. Often also referred to as a plot, particularly in relation to Travelling Showpeople. There is no agreed definition as to the size of a pitch.
Planning Obligations/S106 Agreements – Contributions secured by the council to help provide or fund infrastructure items or services that will help to make development acceptable in planning terms.
Preferred Options– During formal public consultation on a Development Plan Document (DPD), the LPA will offer preferred options and proposals. The Council will offer those options, which are reasoned to be the most appropriate.
Previously Developed Land (PDL) or 'Brownfield' Land - Previously developed land is that which is or was occupied by a permanent structure including the curtilage of the developed land (although it should not be assumed that the whole of the curtilage should be developed) and any associated fixed surface infrastructure. This excludes: land that is or has been occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings; land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill purposes where provision for restoration has been made through development control procedures; land in built-up areas such as private residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments; and land that was previously-developed but where the remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape in the process of time.
Policies Map– The component of a local plan showing the location of proposals in the plan, on an Ordnance Survey base map.
Public Open Space - Urban space, designated by a Council, where public access may or may not be formally established, but which fulfils or can fulfil a recreational or non-recreational role (for example, amenity, ecological, educational, social or cultural usages).
Renewable Energy – Energy produced from a sustainable source that avoids the depletion of the earth's finite natural resources, such as oil or gas. Sources in use or in development include energy from the sun, wind, hydropower, ocean energy and biomass.
Rural Diversification - The expansion, enlargement or variation of the range of products or fields of operation of a rural business (branching out from traditional farming activities, for example new income generating enterprise like renewable energy).
Rural Exceptions Policy/Site - A development plan or Development Plan Document may allocate small sites within rural areas solely for affordable housing, which would not otherwise be released for general market housing.
Safeguarded Land – A term to describe land that has been removed from the Green Belt to meet possible longer term development needs, beyond the current plan period.
Sequential approach/sequential test - A planning principle that seeks to identify, allocate or development certain types or locations of land before the consideration of others. For example, Brownfield housing sites before Greenfield sites, or town centre retail sites before out-of-centre sites.
Site Allocations – Sites that are proposed for development to meet the LPAs requirements set out in the Local Plan. Policies will identify any specific requirements for individual proposals.
Soundness - A term referring to the justification of a Development Plan Document. A DPD is considered "sound" and based upon good evidence unless it can be shown to be unsound.
Spatial Development - Changes in the distribution of activities in space and the linkages between them in terms of the use and development of land.
Spatial Planning - Spatial planning goes beyond traditional land use planning to bring together and integrate policies for the development and use of land with other policies and programmes which influence the nature of places and how they function. That will include policies which can impact on land use, for example by influencing the demands on, or needs for, development, but which are not capable of being delivered solely or mainly through the granting or refusal of planning permission and which may be implemented by other means.
Spatial Vision - A brief description of how the area will be changed at the end of the plan period (often 10 – 15 years).
Special Area of Conservation – A site designated under the EC Habitats Directive and protected for its significant nature conservation value.
Stakeholders – People who have an interest in the activities and achievements of the Council, including residents, local communities of interest, partners, employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, opinion leaders, regulators and "hard to reach" groups.
Statement of Community Involvement (SCI)– A Local Development Document (LDD) that sets out the standards which the LPA intends to achieve in relation to involving the community in the preparation, alteration and continuing review of all Local Development Documents (LDDs) and in significant development control decisions, and also how the local planning authority intends to achieve those standards.
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)- A generic term used internationally to describe environmental assessment as applied to policies, plans and programmes. The SEA will form an integral part of the preparation process for all Local Development Documents (LDDs) and will be used to explain the environmental implications of policies and development as part of a Sustainability Appraisal (SA).
Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) – Strategic Flood Risk Assessment is a tool used by the Local Planning Authority to assess flood risk for spatial planning, producing development briefs, setting constraints, informing sustainability appraisals, identifying locations of emergency planning measures and requirements for flood risk assessments.
Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA)– Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessments are a key component of the evidence base to support the delivery of sufficient land for housing and employment to meet an identified need. These assessments are required by national policy set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
Submission Stage – The formal passing of the Development Plan Document to the Government for their assessment and examination.
Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) – Measures to increase the permeability of surfaces therefore allowing a slower release of water.
Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) – A guidance document that supplements policies and proposals in the Local Plan. It will be subject to public consultation, but will not form part of the Development Plan or be subject to Independent Examination.
Sustainability Appraisal (SA)– The examination of a Local Development Document (LDDs) to ascertain whether its policies and proposals accord with the principles of sustainable development. The Sustainability Appraisal will incorporate a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).
Sustainable Communities – Places where people want to live and work, now and in the future.
Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) - A strategy prepared by local authorities to help deliver local community aspirations, under the Local Government Act 2000.
Sustainable Development - A widely used definition drawn up by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987: "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". The Government has set out four aims for sustainable development in its strategy "A Better Quality of Life, a Strategy for Sustainable Development in the UK". The four aims, to be achieved at the same time, are: social progress which recognises the needs of everyone; effective protection of the environment; the prudent use of natural resources; and maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment.
Sustainable Travel/Sustainable Transport - Often meaning walking, cycling and public transport (and in some circumstances "car sharing"), which is considered to be less damaging to the environment and which contributes less to traffic congestion than one-person car journeys.
Transit site – Gypsy/Traveller Site intended for short stays. Such sites are usually permanent, but there is a limit on the length of time residents can stay.
Travel Plan (sometimes called a 'green travel' or 'commuter' plan) - A travel plan aims to promote sustainable travel choices (for example cycling) as an alternative to single occupancy car journeys that may impact negatively on the environment, congestion and road safety. Travel Plans can be required when granting planning permission for new developments.
Travelling Showpeople - Commonly referred to as Showmen, these are a group of occupational Travellers who work on travelling shows and fairs across the UK and abroad.
Vitality - In terms of retailing, the capacity of a centre to grow or develop.
Windfall Site - A site not specifically identified in the planning process, but which unexpectedly becomes available for development during the lifetime of a plan. Most "windfalls" are referred to in a housing context.
Written Representations - A procedure by which representations on development plans and DPDs can be dealt with without the need for a full public inquiry or independent examination.
Written Statement - A documentary statement supplementing and explaining policy, forming part of a development plan.
