Regulation 19 Rutland Local Plan
Creating safe, healthy, and inclusive places
What will the policy do?
Policy SC5 requires new development to promote and support physical and mental health and well-being through the design and layout of development. The policy also sets out when a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) will be required and how it should be developed alongside the development proposal.
Policy SC6 seeks to protect, retain, and improve the provision of community facilities. It supports the development of new community facilities and sets out the limited circumstances in which the loss of existing facilities may be considered acceptable.
Policy SC5 - Designing safer and healthier communities Comment
The Council expects development proposals to promote, support and enhance physical and mental health and wellbeing, and thus contribute to reducing health inequalities.
Development proposals which meet the following criteria and comply with all other relevant policies will be supported:
- identify the potential health impacts and demonstrate how these have been enhanced (positive and neutral impacts) and mitigated (negative impacts);
- ensure that people feel comfortable and safe by using design and layout to preclude antisocial behaviour and crime and reduce the fear of crime by including good natural surveillance, defensible spaces, and other security measures;
- ensure that design and layout promote inclusive and accessible places, walkable neighbourhoods, social interaction, active travel, physical activity, contact with nature, access to green and blue infrastructure, sports facilities, play facilities and access to space for growing food which promote health and wellbeing; and
- ensure the design and use of the place allows for safe and easy access for emergency vehicles.
In addition, proposals for housing development should ensure that provision is made for:
- convenient sustainable access to local health care facilities;
- access to healthy, fresh and locally produced food through the provision of allotments and community orchards; and
- layouts that support mental and physical well-being of residents and encourage healthy, safe and active lifestyles (including for those with disabilities) including a network of multi-functional green infrastructure and safe, off-road multiuser tracks for walking, cycling and riding.
Major development proposals of more than 10 dwellings or of 0.5ha or more for other types of development, and all mineral extraction proposals will be expected to be accompanied by a Health Impact Assessment (HIA).
An HIA identifies how the design, detailed land uses and layout will contribute to encouraging healthier lifestyles and mitigates any identified adverse impacts.
The HIA should be commensurate in scale to the scale of the proposal and can be prepared using the Council's agreed template (unless otherwise agreed between the Council and developer). It should be developed at an early stage to allow for any enhancements and mitigations to be implemented.
Policy SC6 – Community facilities Comment
Community facilities such as, but not limited to, community halls, village shops, post offices, public houses, places of worship, leisure facilities, libraries, schools, registered asset of community value, or a community facility identified in a neighbourhood plan, are key to achieving and maintaining sustainable, well integrated, and inclusive communities.
Development proposals and activities that protect, retain, or enhance the provision, quality or accessibility of existing community, education, leisure, and cultural facilities will be supported.
Proposals resulting in the loss of existing community facilities will only be supported where the applicant demonstrates that:
- an alternative facility to meet local needs is available that is both equally accessible and of equal benefit to the community; or
- all options for continued use have been fully explored and none remain which would be financially viable, including evidence that an appropriate marketing exercise has been undertaken for at least 12 months.
Proposals for new community facilities will be supported in principle and should:
- be accessible by design to meet the diverse needs and requirements of all members of society;
- be designed so that they are adaptable and can be easily altered to respond to future community needs and uses if necessary;
- promote access by walking, cycling, other modes of sustainable travel and public transport and where appropriate, make appropriate provision for safe and convenient vehicular access and parking arrangements; and
- be operated without unacceptable detriment to the amenity of local residents: this particularly applies to facilities which are open in the evening, such as leisure and recreation facilities.
New community facilities which are considered necessary as part of a larger development proposal (such as a residential development scheme which generates demand for new facilities) must meet criteria (c) – (f) above in addition to the following criteria:
- be provided on-site or adjacent to the development site unless it can be demonstrated that it would be more appropriate to contribute (in whole or part) to the establishment or expansion of a facility elsewhere in order to meet the needs of the proposed development (and combined needs of multiple developments) for those facilities;
- be implemented at an early stage of the phasing of development as agreed with the Council;
- where such a proposal forms part of a full or reserved matters application it is expected to be supported by a robust business plan and governance arrangements, to ensure the facility is financially sustainable in the longer term.
All development of community facilities must take account of the needs and requirements of all people in the community, including people with disabilities or special needs, pushchairs or prams, elderly people, and young people. Appropriate measures or adaptations should be included where necessary.
Why are these policies needed?
Supporting strong, vibrant, and healthy communities forms a key part of delivering the "social objective" of Sustainable Development. The NPPF requires strategic policies to make sufficient provision for community facilities such as health, education, and cultural infrastructure. (Paragraph 20) and Chapter 8 of the NPPF provides detailed guidance on achieving healthy, inclusive, and safe places. Locally, the Rutland Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022 – 2027 has a vision to 'nurture safe, healthy, and caring communities in which people start well and thrive together throughout their lives'.
Communities should be designed to be safe and accessible, promote social interaction, community cohesion and health equity and support healthy lifestyles. Providing easy local access to community, education, health, leisure and cultural facilities is important in terms of supporting sustainable settlements and communities, meeting the diverse needs of all members of the community. New and existing developments play a key role in determining the conditions in which people live. All developments should provide conditions to support residents to have healthy lives.
As a rural community, many of Rutland's residents rely on the private car to access services and facilities available within the towns and larger villages. It is also important that existing community facilities, particularly those in rural areas, are retained and proposals to add to or to improve existing facilities within the towns and villages, through new build, sharing facilities or mobile services will be encouraged.
The way that new development is designed has a major opportunity to influence behaviour, social circumstances, mental and physical health and well-being and environmental factors such as air quality, noise and nuisance can significantly impact on the health and well-being of communities. The impact of a development on all of these factors can be considered and addressed in a Health Impact Assessment. The preparation of a an HIA for major development proposals allows a consistent approach to understanding how health and wellbeing can be enhanced and improved through new development. Policy INF4 considers the County's needs for new and improved health infrastructure to support new development.
Sport England have acknowledged that there is a close relationship between the design and layout of where we live and people's health with a detailed report: "Active Design – Creating Active Environments through Planning and Design" (May 2023). Development should ensure that new places are designed to be safe and healthy, responding to the needs of people of all ages, both within the proposed site, and in surrounding existing places.
Designing places where people can be active, have places to meet, socialise and play, seeking to design out crime and ensuring that appropriate community and fire safety design considerations are incorporated within new development schemes will contribute towards the long-term sustainability and resilience of developments as well as ensuring community safety and cohesion.
Protecting community facilities supports social cohesion and a more sustainable way of living, providing residents with an opportunity to do normal day to day activities locally.
The Council recognises the important role that local community facilities play in a rural county and will resist the loss of existing facilities and support the development of new opportunities. To implement the policy the Council will rigorously test proposals which result in the loss of a community facility, requiring evidence that an appropriate marketing exercise has taken place for a minimum of 12 months. Other evidence such as evidence of demand from commercial property agents may also be required to support applications for change of use.
Supporting Evidence
Parish Council surveys of services and facilities
