INTRODUCTION

1.1 This District Local Plan Review has been prepared by Wyre Forest District Council under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended). District planning authorities are under a statutory requirement to prepare and keep under review a district-wide Local Plan for their areas so that an up to date, development plan-led, planning system is maintained. The need for up to date coverage of Local Plans is important due to the requirement (under Section 54A of the Act) that planning applications have to be determined in accordance with the Development Plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

1.2 This District Local Plan, as its name implies, covers the whole of the administrative area of Wyre Forest District and sets out the detailed land use policies to guide development up to the year 2011. The strategic planning framework for the Local Plan is provided by the Worcestershire County Structure Plan which also has an end date of 2011. Further general guidance on national planning policy is provided by Office of Deputy Prime Minister PPGs and Circulars, to which regard has been had in preparing this Local Plan.

1.3 The full range of land use issues that are expected to arise within the District over the next 10 years are covered, with the notable exception of the topics of Minerals and Waste Planning which are the responsibility of Worcestershire County Council. A county-wide Minerals Local Plan was adopted by the former Hereford and Worcester County Council in April 1997. Worcestershire County Council are in the process of preparing a Waste Local Plan.

Development Plan Context

1996 Adopted District Local Plan

1.4 The previous District Local Plan was adopted in May 1996 and included time specific policies for housing and employment provision, covering the period up to March 2001, in accordance with the Hereford and Worcester County Structure Plan 1986 - 2001. The plan was the first to provide District-wide local plan coverage and replaced the Wyre Forest Urban Areas Local Plan (which covered the towns of Kidderminster, Stourport on Severn and Bewdley and was adopted in 1989) and Town Centre Local Plans for Kidderminster (adopted 1985) and Stourport on Severn (adopted 1982).

Worcestershire County Structure Plan

1.5 Worcestershire County Council published Deposit Draft Structure Plan proposals in January 2000 in order to replace the Hereford and Worcester County Structure Plan 1986 - 2001.

1.6 The Worcestershire County Structure Plan proposals cover the period up to 2011 and were subject to an Examination in Public into selected issues in July 2000. The County Council considered the Panel Report and recommendations at the beginning of 2001. Proposed Modifications were published in February 2001 and following consideration of representations the County Council adopted the Structure Plan with effect from 4th June 2001. This Local Plan has been prepared in accordance with the Adopted Structure Plan.

Regional Planning Guidance

1.7 The framework for the preparation of Structure Plans is at present provided by a system of Regional Planning Guidance. The current RPG11 for the West Midlands Region was approved in April 1998 and covers the period up to 2011. The Worcestershire Structure Plan was prepared in accordance with this guidance.

1.8 In order to provide a long term vision and spatial strategy for the Region up to 2021 a review of RPG is currently underway. The proposed changes to RPG11 were published in September 2003 and the Revised RPG is expected to be approved in Spring 2004. Under the Government's proposed changes to the Development Plan System, this RPG will become the Regional Spatial Strategy for the West Midlands, and, with the abolition of Structure Plans, it will provide guidance for the preparation of Local Development Frameworks to replace District Local Plans.

Local Plan Context

1.9 The Local Plan has been informed by and will have implications for the development of other Council policies and strategies. The key strategies include:

Wyre Forest Housing Strategy
Wyre Forest Economic Development Strategy
Wyre Forest Tourism Strategy
Wyre Forest Leisure/Cultural Strategy
Wyre Forest Contaminated Land Strategy
Wyre Forest Air Quality Management Strategy
Wyre Forest Sustainable Development Strategy
Wyre Forest Community Strategy
Wyre Forest Cycling Strategy Town Centre Strategies and Action Plans for Kidderminster, Stourport on Severn and Bewdley

1.10 In addition, regard has been had to the following strategies prepared by other agencies or in partnership with the District Council:

Worcestershire Local Transport Plan
Worcestershire Biodiversity Action Plan
Wyre Forest Community Safety Partnership Strategy

1.11 Reference is made to the various strategies in the appropriate chapters of the Local Plan as part of the background text in order to highlight the relevant linkage and provide a context for certain policies.

Main Changes to the previous adopted Local Plan

1.12 This plan replaces the original District Local Plan and sets out policies and proposals for the period up to 2011.

1.13 Although some policies have been revised significantly and others have been subject to minor amendments, some key policies such as the existing Green Belt boundary remain unaltered.

1.14 The main changes to policy content are:

* the inclusion of specific aims and objectives under each topic heading;
* explicit recognition of the concept of sustainable development;
* increased emphasis on urban regeneration and re-use of brownfield land;
* inclusion of mixed use development sites and areas;
* increased emphasis on the importance of high quality design reflecting local distinctiveness;
* closer integration of transport and land use policies, with a particular emphasis on support for measures to promote alternative means of travel to the private car;
* clearer definition of town centres for retail purposes and the operation of a sequential approach to retail and other town centre uses;
* recognition of the need to protect the biodiversity of the district;
* identification of new brownfield sites for housing and employment development;
* additional revised housing policies to provide a clearer framework for residential development applications and to seek to deliver higher densities and more affordable housing;
* inclusion of landscape character and local distinctiveness within the countryside section to supplement the existing established landscape designations;
* greater protection of floodplains and additional natural resources protection policies;
* increased emphasis on the protection and enhancement of the local built historic environment including recognition of locally listed buildings.
* Recognition of the need to ensure that development proposals do not worsen the quality of life of people with disabilities.

Preparing the Plan

Pre-Deposit Consultation

1.15 In July 2000 the District Council published a consultation paper on the Local Plan review setting out why a replacement plan was needed, highlighting the emphasis on sustainable development and identifying a number of draft aims and objectives. A number of issues and questions relating to the draft objectives were also identified.

1.16 Copies of the consultation paper were widely distributed to consultees and interested parties and some 40,000 summary leaflets were distributed to households within the District.

1.17 The consultation period lasted for 10 weeks and during that time some 840 responses were received from 196 respondents. These responses were considered by the District Council during the preparation of the Deposit Proposals and resulted in a number of additions and alterations to the aims and objectives as well as specific policies and proposals. Full details of the pre-deposit consultation are set out in a separate pre-deposit consultation statement.

Deposit Consultation

1.18 The Deposit Plan proposals were published for public consultation on 30th August 2001. Over 45,000 copies of a summary leaflet giving details of the key proposals were distributed throughout the District. Exhibitions were held in each of the three towns and a number of the villages. The closing date for receipt of formal representations was 11th October 2001 and 222 respondents submitted a total of 966 representations. These responses were considered by the District Council and Revised Deposit Proposals were approved on 27th February 2002.

Revised Deposit Consultation

1.19 The Proposals were placed on formal public Deposit for six weeks commencing on April 4th 2002. Again, some 45,000 copies of a summary leaflet were distributed and the local press carried articles. Exhibitions were held in the three towns as well as in Cookley. A total of 58 respondents submitted 196 representations.

Local Plan Inquiry

1.20 The Local Plan Inquiry into the outstanding objections opened on October 29th 2002. A total of 477 objections were considered by the Inspector. The Inquiry closed on December 12th 2002 and the Inspector's Report was published on May 16th 2003.

Proposed Modifications

1.21 The Council put forward 43 Modifications to the Revised Deposit Plan as a result of the Inspector's recommendations. These were published for a six week consultation period on August 7th 2003. Again, exhibitions were held and publicity was undertaken as in April 2002.

Sustainability Appraisal

1.22 All development plans are expected to be subjected to an environmental appraisal to assess the impact of policies and proposals on the local environment. More recently with the government's commitment to sustainable development, authorities have been encouraged to undertake a sustainability appraisal of their plans in order to assess not only environmental impacts, but also economic and social issues.

1.23 Sustainability appraisals are designed to be an integral part of the plan preparation process, in order to inform the development of appropriate policies and proposals. A sustainability appraisal has been undertaken of the Plan proposals drawing broadly on a methodology used by Worcestershire County Council to appraise the Structure Plan proposals. A separate document setting out the Local Plan sustainability appraisal was published for public consultation.

Format of the Local Plan

1.24 This Adopted Local Plan consists of a written statement and a Proposals Map. The Proposals Map consists of the District Map at 1:25,000 scale together with 12 larger scale Inset Plans. Inset 1 is at 1:10,000 scale and covers the towns of Kidderminster, Stourport on Severn and Bewdley except their town centres. Insets 2-4 are printed on the reverse of Inset 1 and cover the three town centres at a scale of 1:25,000. Insets 5-12 at 1:5,000 scale cover the rural settlements and are printed on the reverse of the Proposals Map.The Adopted map sheets are located in the map pocket inside the rear cover of this document.

1.25 Chapters 3-13 of the Written Statement set out the policies and proposals of the Local Plan on a topic basis and are generally applicable to the whole District. Chapter 14 contains more detailed policies and proposals relating to the three town centres. Throughout the plan policies are set out in bold type to distinguish them from the accompanying reasoned justification and other background information.

How to use the Local Plan

1.26 Whilst the Local Plan has been written to be as clear and interesting as possible, it is traditionally not a document to be read from cover to cover. It is a working document that provides the development framework for different land uses throughout the District. The sections of the Plan that are relevant to a particular proposal will depend on the nature of the scheme in question. For example, for a scheme involving a retail shop in a conservation area, the Built Heritage and Retail sections will be particularly relevant. However, certain sections such as Design will be relevant to most, if not all, development proposals.

1.27 Using the Proposal Map it is possible to pin point a site and establish the policy issues that apply specifically to that part of the District. However, it is important to be aware that development proposals will be judged against all relevant policies. Alternatively, depending on the nature of your interests, the individual sections of the Local Plan focus on a number of key issues which you can read to gain an understanding of the main considerations. Where policies apply throughout the District they are not shown on the Proposals Map.

1.28 The Local Plan refers to Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG), which is prepared to provide additional information and guidance in support of Local Plan policies. A number of adopted Supplementary Planning Guidance Documents are specifically mentioned within the text, including Severn Road Development Brief, Lichfield Basin Design Guidance and KTC.1 Planning Brief. Other SPGs will be prepared during the Plan period, through a public consultation process. Once adopted by the Council, SPGs will be afforded considerable weight as a material planning consideration.