A1 Chapter 1 - Introduction to the Local Plan

Legal Basis

top

---

1.1

The North Norfolk Local Plan (referred to as the Local Plan) has been prepared under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as amended by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991, and the Town and Country Planning (Development Plan) Regulations 1991, as amended. (References to current legislation in the Local Plan are as of April 1998.)

1.2

In preparing the Local Plan, North Norfolk District Council (referred to as the Council) has paid particular attention to the advice contained in the Government's Planning Policy Guidance note on 'Development Plans and Regional Planning Guidance' (PPG 12), published in February 1992. (PPG 12 provides specific guidance on the preparation procedure, form and content of various types of plan.)

---

Document Status

top

---

1.3

The Local Plan was adopted by the Council on 2 April 1998. On its adoption, the Local Plan became part of the statutory 'development plan' for the area which it covers (see paragraph 1.11).

---

Setting the Context: Development Plans

top

---

1.4

Development plans are prepared following a statutory process of public consultation and debate. The Government expects such plans, which should be consistent with national and regional planning policy, to provide the primary means of reconciling conflicts between the need for development, including the provision of infrastructure, and the need to protect the built and natural environment. Although their provisions are not prescriptive, development plans provide a firm basis for rational and consistent decisions on planning applications and appeals. Statutorily approved and adopted plans provide all concerned with development in a locality - residents, amenity groups, developers, other business interests, and those agencies responsible for providing infrastructure - with a measure of certainty about what types of development will and will not be allowed.

1.5

In 1991 Parliament underlined the role of development plans in providing guidance, incentive and control in respect of the development and use of land in the public interest. It amended the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to require development control decisions to accord with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The development plan therefore provides the main component in the 'plan-led' planning system that the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (referred to as the Secretary of State) is promoting.

1.6

The development plan for an area is rarely a single document. In the area to covered by the North Norfolk Local Plan the legislation requires that the development plan will eventually comprise several different plans. These plans will be:

• the Norfolk Structure Plan (referred to as the Structure Plan), prepared by Norfolk County Council (referred to as the County Council) and approved by the Secretary of State in March 1993, which:

* provides the strategic policy framework for planning and development control locally; * ensures that the provision for development is realistic and consistent with national and regional policy; and secures consistency between local plans for neighbouring areas; * the North Norfolk Local Plan, in which the Council sets out detailed policies and specific proposals for the development and use of land;

• the Norfolk Minerals Local Plan (adopted in December 1996), in which the County Council sets out detailed policies and proposals for those areas where provision is made for mineral working and the disposal of mineral wastes and those areas where mineral resources are to be safeguarded for future working; and
• the Norfolk Waste Local Plan (Deposit Draft version published in August 1997), in which the County Council sets out detailed land use policies and proposals for the treatment and disposal of refuse and waste materials (other than mineral waste).

---

Purposes of the Local Plan

top

---

1.7

The purposes of the Local Plan are:

• to provide a detailed framework for the control of development and use of land that will guide most day-to-day planning decisions in North Norfolk; and
• through the statutory process governing its preparation, to give local communities the opportunity to participate in planning choices about where development should be accommodated in their areas.

1.8

In providing the detailed framework for the control of development and use of land, the Local Plan needs, in general conformity with the Structure Plan:

• to set out the Council's policies for the control of development; and
• to make proposals for the development and use of land and to allocate land for specific purposes.

---

Scope and Content

top

---

1.9

The Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as amended, requires the Local Plan to include policies in respect of:

• the conservation of the natural beauty and amenity of the land;
• the improvement of the physical environment; and
• the management of traffic.

1.10

The Local Plan's policies and proposals will also help to realise the Council's wider objectives in respect of matters such as community, economic and social development; and the Government's objectives of ensuring that development and growth are sustainable, as originally set out in its Environment White Paper - 'This Common Inheritance' (published in September 1990). This subject is dealt with in detail in Chapter 2: Local Plan Objectives, and Part C: Environmental Appraisal.

---

Area Covered

top

---

1.11

The Local Plan covers the whole of the administrative area of North Norfolk District except that part lying within the Broads Executive Area, for which the local planning authority is the Broads Authority. That part of the District is covered by the Broads Local Plan which was adopted on 9 May 1997.

---

Plan Period

top

---

1.12

The Local Plan covers the period to 30 June 2006 to accord with the Structure Plan.

---

Monitoring and Review

top

---

1.13

The Local Plan cannot foresee all future problems and needs. The Council will therefore ensure that the Local Plan is subject to regular monitoring and review as necessary. It is expected to review the Local Plan at least once every five years.

1.14

Monitoring will be accomplished by the preparation of annual employment and housing land availability statements and a biennial general Monitoring Report.

---

Implementation

top

---

1.15

The Local Plan will be implemented by the application of development control powers, and a combination of public and private sector investment. Usually it is not possible to specify the exact means and time-scale of implementation. Where information is available in relation to specific proposals it is given in the relevant parts of the Local Plan.

---

Local Plan Contents

top

---

1.16

The Local Plan consists of a written statement and a 'proposals map'. The written statement includes the Council's policies and proposals for the development and use of land, which are set out in Part B: Proposals, Part D: North Norfolk Design Guide and Part E: Annexes. Policies and proposals are readily distinguishable from the rest of the text which includes their justification (see Fig. 2).

1.17

The proposals map illustrates many of the detailed policies and proposals in the written statement. It comprises one large map at 1:50,000 scale showing the Local Plan area and eighty-seven 'insets' at 1:5,000 scale which show policies and proposals for the principal settlements in more detail.

---

Significant Stages in the local Plan's Preparation

top

---

Significant Stages in the Local Plan's Preparation

Stage	Date(s)
Publication of the 'Pre-Deposit Draft for Public Consultation' version of the Local Plan (referred to as the Pre-Deposit Draft).	28/03/94
Publication of the 'Deposit Draft' version of the Local Plan.	20/07/95
Publication of the 'Proposed Changes to the Deposit Draft'.	19/01/96
Public Local Inquiry into objections to the Deposit Draft and the Proposed Changes to the Deposit Draft.	16/04/96- 20/06/96
Formal closure of the Public Local Inquiry.	04/09/96
Receipt of the Inspector's report of the Public Local Inquiry.	26/06/97
Consideration of the recommendation in the Inspector's report by the Council's Development Committee.	27/08/97
Publication of the 'Schedule of Proposed Modifications to the Deposit Draft'.	28/11/97
Publication of the Notice of Intention to Adopt the Local Plan.	04/03/98

---