Core Strategy
Contents of page
Introduction
The Core Strategy for the Borough of Redditch
is currently in the process of preparation, and will form a key
part of the Local Development Framework (LDF).
Eventually the LDF will comprise of a series
of Development Plan Documents (DPDs) and Supplementary Planning
Documents (SPDs). All of these will need to be consistent, in their
policies and proposals, with the Core Strategy.
For details on the timetable for preparing the
Core Strategy, please see the text underneath the Local Development Scheme No.3 heading, click here to
view this.
Evidence published since past consultation phases
Employment Land Review
update 2010
Special Wildlife Site Review
The Special Wildlife Site Review was conducted
by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust in May 2009.
Following the review of the SWS it was
considered that the majority of the sites are of substantive nature
and conservation value, and are protected by saved Policy B(NE).10b
‘Sites of Regional or Local Wildlife Importance’.
There are four SWS that have been removed,
these are:
Brook Coppice
Mill Coppice
The Rough
Lady’s Coppice and Martin Bank
These SWS's have been deleted because they are
deemed not of a good enough quality to be retained as SWS's. This
does not mean they do not have some value in terms of biodiversity
but overall and in comparison to other SWS's they are of a lower
quality. Research has shown that all of the deleted SWS's are
within private ownership; none are under the ownership of RBC.
There have also been two additions to the
SWSs, these are Ipsley Alders Marsh and
Upper Beanhall meadows, these sites are
‘peripheral chunks’ that adjoin the Sites of Special Scientific
Interest, the SWS portion that is included in the review are
considered important to be SWS's in their own right but do not meet
the criteria to be part of the SSSI.
The following is a comprehensive list of the
SWS's within Redditch Borough (Total of 24 SWSs):
Bow Brooks .
Old Rectory
Meadows .
Upper Beanhall
Meadows .
Berrow
Hill .
Brook
House Meadow and Feckenham Bank .
Brandon Brook
Meadow .
Burial
Lane .
Shurnock
Meadows .
Foxlydiate
and Pitcheroak Woods .
Downsell
Wood .
Walkwood
Coppice .
Pitcheroak Golf
Course .
River
Arrow .
Southcrest
Wood .
Oakenshaw
Wood .
New
Coppice .
Oakenshaw
Spinney .
Oakenshaw
Fenny Rough .
Lodge Pool .
Abbey and
Forge Mill Ponds .
Arrow
Valley Park Lake
Development Options Joint work with Bromsgrove District
Council
This consultation has now
ended, however you can still download the
consultation
booklet which has more details on the development targets for
Redditch Borough and to find out more about where development can
be located in Redditch Borough. The booklet put forward a range of
options for development next to the border in Bromsgrove District
to meet Redditch’s needs. Please note the booklet is
available for information purposes only, as the consultation has
now ended. However if you would like to discuss the content of the
booklet please do not hesitate contacting a member of the planning
services team at devplans@redditchbc.gov.uk
For a more detailed background to the sites
identified within Redditch Borough and a draft Development
Strategy policy, you can read the
consultation document. To view the SA
refresh associated with this work please click here.
Preferred Draft Core Strategy
Stage
The Preferred Draft Core Strategy consultation
has now ended, the documents contained on this page are for
historical purposes only.
Preferred Draft Core
Strategy
The Preferred Draft Core Strategy is a draft
version of the Borough Council's forthcoming Core Strategy
Development Plan Document (DPD). It has been prepared with regard
to the regulation changes in June 2008; therefore the document
explains its association to the previous stage in Core Strategy
production (the Issues and Options Document) and it also meets the
requirements of the new Regulation 25.
Preferred Draft Core Strategy
Background Documents
Sustainability Appraisal
In order to fully understand the implications
of the spatial options of the Core Strategy further work needs to
be carried out. the Core Strategy’s preferred approach was to
locate development to the North of Redditch and at Winyates Green
Triangle (which is outside of the Local Authority boundary).
Although these options cannot be considered within the Core
Strategy, the SA is able to consider them. The results of the SA
corroborate the preferred strategy for development and the findings
of the WYG studies.
Scoping Report (Annual
Update)
The Scoping Report is the first stage in
ensuring that the Core Strategy is sustainable. It has four basic
purposes:
· To review all
relevant policies, plans and documents which could have an impact
on the Core Strategy;
· To collect all
relevant information and data necessary to paint a portrait of the
state of Redditch Borough;
· To identify the
key sustainability issues or problems;
· To develop a way
of monitoring how sustainable the Core Strategy is through a
Sustainability Appraisal Framework.
This is the Borough Councils annual Scoping
Report update for 2010. Every year the Borough Council have
committed to review the relevant Plans Policies and Programmes to
inform decision making and also to review the data in the baseline
information part of the Scoping Report. This document includes
these two parts of the review for April 2010.
Scoping
Report
Outcome of Issues and Options
consultation
The responses to the Issues and Options
consultation are summarised into two parts:
Part 1 – Issues and Options Consultation
Questionnaire Responses and Summary of responses
Part 2 – Summary of responses from the West
Midlands Regional Assembly and Worcestershire County Council.
For both Part 1 and Part 2, Officers have
provided each response with feedback, which generally falls into
three broad categories:
(i)the comment is a valid alternative option
which has subsequently been assessed through the Sustainability
Appraisal
(ii) the comment suggested a general approach
for the Core Strategy
(iii) the comment referred to matters not
appropriate to the Core Strategy
Outcome of Issues and Options
consultation
Presubmission consultation
statement
This gives the details of the public
participation procedures associated with the Core Strategy DPD
consultation to date, together with details of the Council’s
responses to representations received throughout the pre-submission
process.
Presubmission consultation
statement
A study of Green Belt Land and Areas of
Development Restraint within Redditch Borough
This is a report that collates all previous
studies that describe the characteristics of Green Belt lands and
ADRs peripheral to Redditch Town and within the administrative area
of the Borough. It shows that the rural south west Green Belt is
not suitable for development, nor would expansion of Astwood Bank
into the Green Belt be appropriate. It also shows that there
are issues associated with the development of the Brockhill Green
Belt.
Retail Needs Assessment
The aims of this study are to specifically
consider the role, performance and function of Redditch Town Centre
and to establish the catchment area of Redditch’s retail
facilities. It establishes whether Redditch Borough Council needs
to identify land for additional retail, and/or leisure floorspace
in the time period up to 2026, following consideration of the RSS
Regional Centres Study, RSS implications or any updated RSS Needs
Assessment. The Retail and Leisure Needs Assessment suggests a way
forward in the development of policies and proposals for the Local
Development Framework.
Accessibility Study and Settlement
Hierarchy
It had to be decided which settlements within
Redditch Borough should be considered as the main settlements, the
sustainable settlements and the local needs settlements. This
study considers whether development can help to enhance facilities
and services in some settlements in Redditch Borough but will
primarily be a tool for justifying a suitable settlement hierarchy
to be set out in the Core Strategy. The elements assessed are
those which are considered to be the key basic services and
facilities required by a person living in a settlement, e.g. food,
access to education, recreation, employment and transport.
The aims of the Study are to identify which settlements in
Redditch Borough are the most sustainable and to recommend a
settlement hierarchy to be considered as part of the Core
Strategy.
Accessibility Study and Settlement
Hierarchy.
Employment Land Review
The purpose of the Employment Land Review is
to provide a context for the Local Development Framework by
establishing future employment sites. The Employment Land Review
examines existing employment sites in terms of their fitness for
future employment use. It also identifies new sites for future
employment use. To ascertain future growth aspirations,
consultation is undertaken with businesses and those in the
business sector, and consideration is given to the future
employment land requirements for Redditch Borough based on a number
of factors, such as past take up rates.
The Employment Land Review is split into three
distinct stages.
Stage 1 of the Employment Land Review focuses
on analysing the existing employment situation within the Borough.
This includes analysing existing employment sites within the
Borough and considering their suitability for employment purposes
in the future. Consultation with local businesses, stakeholders
etc. is undertaken to ascertain views on the employment situation
and views on the future prospects of their industry, sector etc.
Analysis of supply and demand data and a policy review is also
undertaken.
Stage 2 involves forecasting future employment
land requirements up to 2026. It is anticipated that there will be
three forecasts. The first looks at past trends within the Borough
and, based on these past trends, the amount of employment land up
to 2026 is predicted. The second forecast is a baseline scenario
which looks at the situation across the Country and calculates
expected employment requirements for the Borough up to 2026. The
third forecast involves a policy scenario whereby Redditch Borough
Council predicts the future employment land requirements based on
how the Council wants to influence the situation. For
example, the Council may want to affect a shift away from the
distribution industry and this would feed into the calculations for
employment land. The forecasts take account of the
requirements for residential development by identifying the likely
number of jobs to be created as a result of the new households and
allocating them into certain industry segments.
During Stage 3 of the Employment Land Review,
gap analysis is undertaken whereby the supply of employment land is
measured against forecasts. This enables Redditch Borough Council
to determine whether there is an appropriate supply of employment
land or not to cater for the predicted changes. All sites
(including new sites) are analysed for their suitability for
employment purposes.
The Employment Land Review is updated annually to take account
of any changes, the 2010 update is below.
Office
Needs Assessment
The Office Needs Assessment has been jointly prepared by
Redditch Borough Council Officers and GVA Grimley in association
with GHK Consulting. The Assessment follows on from the
Employment Land Review and examines in more detail, the need for
offices within the town centre and reviews potential development
sites to accommodate the identified requirements within the
boundary of the Town Centre and Peripheral Zone.
Open Space Needs Assessment
The Update of the Open Space Needs Assessment audits the
formally designated open space levels within the Borough. This
allows for an overall standard of open space provision to be
calculated for the Borough as a whole, and on a ward basis. As a
consequence any wards which have a surplus or deficiency against
the Borough standard are identified.
Public Open
Space Standards in the Borough
The purpose of
this study is to comprehensively examine the background and reason
for the establishment of high levels of open space provision within
the Borough of Redditch. The study examined previous studies,
non-statutory policy documents and statutory development plans that
led to the establishment of higher than normal open space standards
in the Borough and the grounds for the continuation of those
standards in future developments. The study is likely to be used as
part of the evidence base for the Core Strategy.
Public Open Space Standards in
the Borough Study
Strategic
Housing Land Availability Assessment
The purpose of
the SHLAA is primarily to identify land with the potential for new
housing development, on sites capable of accommodating five or more
dwellings, over the Local Development Framework plan period
(2006-2026). This version of the report and its technical
appendices represent the completed SHLAA for 2008.
It is
anticipated that the SHLAA will be updated annually as an integral
part of the housing monitoring process.
Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and Bromsgrove
and Redditch
The results from the SFRA will enable the
correct application of the Sequential Test, as set out in PPS25, to
ensure that land use decisions in the PDCS are directed to sites at
the lowest probability of flooding and will provide useful baseline
information to aid the Sustainability Appraisal. The SFRA has
been completed alongside the Water Cycle Strategy and jointly with
Bromsgrove District Council. The Strategic Flood Risk Assessment
have previously been presented to Members in draft form. Redditch
Borough Council Officers, Bromsgrove District Council Officers and
the Environment Agency made comments on the draft documents and
changes have been made accordingly. These changes have been
discussed at Planning Advisory Panel and can be seen at the end of
each report. The consultants also produced an addendum report which
assessed the three potential Sustainable Urban Extensions to
Redditch which have been identified through the ‘Study into the
future growth implications of Redditch’.
Water Cycle Study
Bromsgrove and Redditch
The main
objective of the Water Cycle Strategy (WCS) is to establish where
constraints to development exist and to identify measures to
eliminate or mitigate such constraints through the planning
process. The WCS incorporates a strategic assessment of water
resources and supply, sewerage and wastewater treatment systems.
The WCS has been completed alongside the SFRA and jointly with
Bromsgrove District Council. As with the Strategic Flood Risk
Assessment, Redditch Borough Council Officers, Bromsgrove District
Council Officers and Environment Agency have made comments and
suggested changes on the draft WCS. A final draft incorporating the
suggested changes has not yet been issued. A final document is due
to be received before the start of the public consultation period
(27 March 2009).
Study into the future growth
implications of Redditch Second Stage Report:
This study
identifies the “preferred option” for future housing and employment
development in and around Redditch. This provides Bromsgrove,
Redditch & Stratford District Councils and Worcestershire
County Council and the Regional Assembly with an independent view
on the preferred locations for new development up to 2026.
Issues and Options stage
Core Strategy Issues and Options consultation 9 May to
20 June 2008
-
Redditch Borough Council consulted on its Core Strategy Issues
and Options document. The consultation ran from the 9 May to 20
June 2008. To view the Issues and Options document and
related documents please see links below.
The documents contained under this section are for historical
purposes, the consultation period has now ended.
Other Documents informing Core Strategy Issues and Options
Document
Redditch Distinctiveness
Joint Study into future growth implications for Redditch to
2026 (White Young Green Stage 1):
