Object

Representation ID: 4937

Received: 20/12/2022

Respondent: Barratt West Midlands

Agent: Savills

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Policy DS2 states that Green Belt compensatory improvements will be delivered as part of future applications on development sites which have been removed from the Green Belt and allocated in the plan. This aligns with the requirements of NPPF paragraph 142. However, Policy DS2 does not provide any detail on the type or scale of compensatory improvements required. Any requirement should accord with the wording of the Planning Practice Guidance (‘PPG’) which states that policies for green belt compensatory improvements should be “informed by supporting evidence of landscape, biodiversity or recreational needs and opportunities” [Savills emphasis] (Reference ID: 64-002-20190722). Compensatory improvements should not necessarily have to improve access, landscape and biodiversity.

The Policy states that compensatory improvements will be delivered in accordance with a hierarchy, with the preferred approach being on land adjacent to or in close proximity to the development site. National policy requires plans and decision making to make effective use of land (chapter 11 of the NPPF) and NPPF paragraph 143 requires plans to demonstrate that the Green Belt boundaries will not need to be altered at the end of the plan period. Most Green Belt release is on land immediately adjacent to settlement boundaries and primarily in highly sustainable and accessible locations. Therefore, it is important that the provision of Green Belt compensation near these sites should not be proposed on land which could be more suitable for development in the future.