How Wales Works: Local Development Plans (LDPs) – Why do we need them? – Page 4

State of Wales returns in 2024 with a look at an often debated element of the planning system – Local Development Plans. It was an easy topic to pick given a recent row in Wrexham. After voting down an LDP twice during 2023, councillors were threatened with prison . The LDP was eventually approved in December 2023, though Wrexham Council's Plaid Cymru group walked out of the meeting. What are Local Development Plans? Put simply, Local Development Plans (LDPs) set out how land is to be used in a local authority or national park. Interested parties – landowners, developers, the local authority themselves and other agencies – put forward land they have an interest in for future development (known as candidate sites). Planning officers then decide which candidate sites to add to the final LDP based on whether that land will meet the expected needs of the local authority over the period of the LDP - usually 15 years. LDPs usually come with a map of selected candidate sites, colour-coded by use (housing is usually brown, retail/industrial/business land is usually blue, protected green spaces are usually green etc.). It often looks something like this: [caption id="attachment_14150" align="aligncenter" width="700"] A sample Local Development Plan map from Rhondda Cynon Taf.[/caption] Some candidate sites might contain multiple uses. These are often called strategic development sites or mixed-use developments (or something along those lines) – for example, a single piece of land might be put forward for housing, a new school and a business park. Why are Local Development Plans useful? LDPs inform developers: "You can build here, but not there." This saves the local authority's planning officers, councillors and developers time and resources. If a candidate site has been selected for housing in an LDP, then developers know they're far more likely to get planning permission for housing on that land than they would anywhere else. They wouldn't waste their time – or the time and money of the council – trying to get permission to build on land that hasn't been allocated for housing (though some do, of course). LDPs are developed using a lot of evidence (some people disagree with the evidence itself; more later). This is supposed to mean that only those sites which are suitable for a particular use – be it housing, or something else – are included on the LDP map. LDPs also determine how many houses (or how much commercial space) can be built in a particular area using evidence on the impact that would have on the environment, transport and services like schools, GPs and hospitals. In addition to selecting land for development, LDPs mark which pieces of land shouldn't be developed or cause problems (often called "constraints"). This might include land prone to flooding, conservation zones, areas of outstanding natural beauty or scientific interest, as well as local parks, woodlands and open spaces. Why are LDPs controversial? [caption id="attachment_13484" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Since the 1970s and 1980s most new volume housing developments actively discourage anything other than driving. (Pic: Google Earth)[/caption] The aspects of LDPs that often generate the most opposition are large housing developments/strategic development sites and developments on greenfield land. While public consultations are undertaken on LDPs, decisions are based on planning grounds and the available evidence – including that of Welsh Government-appointed planning inspectors. The views of the public and councillors often carry little weight unless they are backed by evidence. This evidence will often only be accessible to, or understood by, experienced planning officers, academics and other professionals involved in the planning system. As demonstrated with the Wrexham example earlier, councillors can effectively be forced to approve an LDP against their wishes if planning inspectors and courts believe an LDP is "sound". The quality of the evidence used – and whether it's up-to-date – is often questioned as well. [jnews_block_11 number_post="2" include_post="13157,10065"] While the Welsh population grew over the last census period , it wasn't significant growth and the longer-term trend is likely to see a fall in populations. Despite this, many LDPs require planning officers to allocate land for thousands of new homes more recent local population trends suggest might not be needed . In certain parts of Wales, there will be concerns about the over-supply of housing and its impact on the Welsh language and environment. Additionally, one of the main complaints around bigger "strategic development sites" is that they're often car-dependent and eat into greenfield land. One alternative to building on greenfield land is building on brownfield land. Brownfield land is land that previously had a different use (i.e. building housing at a former factory or school). While there's a presumption in favour of developing brownfield sites as they bring empty land back into use, they might have contamination issues that might only surface after a development has been built. Other concerns might arise around a poor mix of housing - such as providing too many large family homes when local demand is led by smaller one and two-bedroom homes. There's a long-standing problem too of housing developers negotiating their way out of affordable housing requirements because providing affordable and social housing "makes a development less viable" (i.e. cuts into their profits). What happens if there is no LDP? Since 2004, all local planning authorities (which includes the national parks ) in Wales are legally required to have a Local Development Plan. Opposing a Local Development Plan (LDP) that has been judged to be "sound" puts councillors in a difficult position. On one hand, opposing an LDP is their democratic right. However, as elected members, they have a legal obligation to ensure that their council has a functional LDP. If a local planning authority doesn't have an LDP, developers can submit planning applications for any piece of land they want. The local planning authority would not have a policy to reject these applications, and therefore, would have limited or no grounds to turn them down. Are there any plans to reform LDPs or replace them? [caption id="attachment_12381" align="aligncenter" width="1454"] Click to enlarge[/caption] A new feature called Strategic Development Plans (SDPs) is going to be implemented. SDPs will be drafted by the four regional Corporate Joint Committees (above). The SDPs will address planning concerns that impact more than one council area, such as transportation, employment, and commuting patterns. SDPs would take on more of the burden when it comes to fact-finding and evidence-gathering. So in the future, Local Development Plans will be more carefully focused on land use – where things should be built – rather than all of the detailed evidence. So LDPs would be easier to prepare. However, given that Corporate Joint Committees are hardly the most transparent feature of local government in Wales, we could end up with developments being "forced" on one area over another because they meet regional demands, not local demands.

How Wales Works: Local Development Plans (LDPs) – Why do we need them?

A look at an often debated and controversial element of the planning system in Wales.

Devil’s Advocate: We can’t do anything about the “Brain Drain”

How Wales Works: Housing Associations

Owen Donovan

Archive

Categories

Copyright

Subscribe by Email

Search