Object
Publication Plan November 2022
Representation ID: 5110
Received: 22/12/2022
Respondent: Redrow Homes
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.
The Framework advises at paragraph 1.2 that Local Plans should set out ways in which the impact of removing land from the Green Belt can be offset through
compensatory improvements to the environmental quality and accessibility of the remaining Green Belt land. This is not achieved by policy DS2. Policy DS2 is ambiguous and simply suggests that S.106 agreements will be used to secure “compensatory improvements” to the environmental quality. What constitutes a
“compensatory improvement” is not clear, which provides no certainty to developers.
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. If the land is not in the control of an applicant, it cannot be subject to a S.106 agreement.
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.