Object

Representation ID: 5102

Received: 23/12/2022

Respondent: Heyford Developments

Agent: Harris Lamb Property Consultancy

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

Policy DS2 puts in place a series of potentially undeliverable requirements for Green Belt compensation. Policy DS2 is ambiguous and simply suggests that S.106 agreements will be used to secure “compensatory improvements” to the environmental quality of land that remains in the Green Belt. What constitutes a “compensatory improvement” is not clear, which provides no certainty to developers.

Similarly, it is also unclear how the local authority can be sure that the applicants have control over any adjoining land required to deliver the compensatory improvements.

A simpler approach would be to use the “key requirements” of the various allocation proformas to identify the specific Green Belt compensatory measures for each relevant allocation. This will negate the need for policy DS2 and provide clarity for developers.