Regulation 19 Rutland Local Plan
Appendix 1 – Local Plan Strategic Policies View comments
Local plans must contain strategic policies which set out the overall strategy for the pattern, scale and design quality of places and make sufficient provision for the growth and supporting infrastructure required whilst conserving and enhancing the natural, built and historic environment and addressing climate change.
Neighbourhood plans must be in general conformity with the strategic policies of the Local Plan. This table identifies the policies in the Local Plan that are strategic, and those that are not. Those preparing Neighbourhood Development Plans will need to show how their proposals are in general conformity with the strategic policies.
However, neighbourhood plan examiners may sometimes take different views on which policies are strategic. Recent case law has confirmed that the identification of 'strategic policies' is not precise but a matter of judgement, and the fact that a local planning authority has identified a policy as strategic does not necessarily mean that it is. Changes in national policy or other circumstances may affect this judgement, and officers in commenting on draft neighbourhood plans, or advising neighbourhood plan groups, will comment if they consider this may be the case.
|
Policy |
Strategic Policy |
Reason |
|
Chapter 4 – Climate Change |
||
|
CC1: Supporting a Circular Economy |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The Policy aims to support development proposals that will contribute to delivery of circular economy principles and the approach to site waste management and how construction waste will be addressed. Avoiding waste and re-using waste products reduces the need for the manufacture and transport of new materials, which is an important element in achieving net zero carbon. |
|
CC2: Design Principles for Energy Efficient Buildings |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy establishes energy efficient design principles for new development aimed at ensuring the highest possible thermal efficiency and lowest possible expected energy use for new buildings. New development must be of the highest possible thermal efficiency. |
|
CC3: Resilient and Flexible Design |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy requires new development to be future proofed by being designed and constructed to be resilient to overheating and to be flexible in structure to adapt to future social, economic, environmental and technological changes. |
|
CC4: Net zero carbon (operational) |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy requires new development to be built with 'the capacity to generate its own, low – or zero - carbon, energy. This ensures that the new growth does not add to the already huge challenge of rapidly reducing Rutland's existing emissions and reaching net zero by 2050. |
|
CC5: Embodied Carbon |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy supports measures to reduce embodied carbon through encouraging developers to demonstrate how their proposals have avoided the wastage of embodied carbon in existing buildings and avoided and reduced the creation of new embodied carbon. |
|
CC6: Water Efficiency and Sustainable Water Management |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The Policy implements reduced water usage standards for all new homes. The policy provides an opportunity to reduce water demand and leakage. |
|
CC7: Reducing Energy Consumption in Existing Buildings |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy aims to assist in improving the energy efficiency of existing buildings, complementing the wider policies of this Local Plan which are primarily aimed at new buildings. |
|
CC8: Renewable Energy |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy seeks to maximise appropriately located renewable energy generated in Rutland by establishing the areas of the county where different types of large-scale renewable energy proposals may be acceptable through the inclusion of criteria against which proposals will be assessed. This aligns with strategic objective by ensuring low carbon and renewable energy generation is located in the right, most suitable and appropriate locations. |
|
CC9: Protecting Renewable Energy Infrastructure |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy safeguards existing renewable energy schemes and installations, to ensure that their benefits to the environment and users continue into the future. |
|
CC10: Wider Energy Infrastructure |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy recognises and supports, in principle, the need for significant investment in new and upgraded energy infrastructure to support the transition to a zero carbon Rutland. |
|
CC11: Carbon Sinks |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy seeks to protect existing carbon sinks from development and promotes opportunities to enhance the function of existing carbon sinks. |
|
CC12: Carbon Sequestration |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy covers carbon sequestration, providing support to proposal where the net outcome is demonstrated to be a significant gain in nature-based carbon sequestration as a consequence of the proposal. |
|
CC13: Provision for Electric Vehicle charging and Electric Bike parking |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy establishes local requirement for the location and implementation of the national requirements relating to EV charging. |
|
CC14: Flood Risk |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 1: Climate Change. The policy seeks to ensure that development does not place itself or others at increased risk of flooding. making sure that new development takes full account of flood risk, both current risk and future forecast risk, applying both the sequential test for flood risk and the surface water hierarchy for addressing issues of surface water management. |
|
Chapter 5 – Spatial Strategy |
||
|
SS1: Spatial Strategy for new development |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 2: Delivering sustainable development. The policy establishes the levels of employment and housing needed for the plan period and sets out where this development should be located to support the local economy and provide for housing needs. |
|
SS2: Development within Planned Limits of Development |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 2: Delivering sustainable development. The PLDs define the area within which development will generally be considered acceptable in principle. |
|
SS3: Small Scale development on the edge of Settlements |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy relating to infill and rounding off. |
|
SS4: Future Opportunity Areas |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 2: Delivering sustainable development and strategic Objective 9: Make effective use of land and natural resources . The policy establishes the parameters for developing separate Development Plan Documents to consider the reuse or redevelopment of both the St George's Barracks site (once it is vacated by the Ministry of Defence) and Woolfox |
|
SS5: Use of military bases and other secure residential establishments for operational or other purposes |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy relating to use of military bases and prisons for operational or other purposes. |
|
SS6: Re-use of redundant military bases and prisons |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 9: Make effective use of land and natural resources. The policy sets out the key requirements that need to be considered for any alternative uses of the remaining military base or prison. |
|
SS7: Residential Development in the open countryside |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 2: Delivering sustainable development. The policy sets out the types of development which are considered acceptable subject to the specific criteria included within policies. |
|
SS8: Non-residential development in the countryside |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 2: Delivering sustainable development. The policy sets out the types of development which are considered acceptable subject to the specific criteria included within policies |
|
SS9: Conversion of buildings outside PLD's |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy relating to conversion of buildings in the countryside. |
|
SS10: New Agricultural buildings |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy relating to agricultural buildings. |
|
Chapter 6 - Housing |
||
|
H1: Sites proposed for residential development |
Yes |
Meets Strategic Objective 3: Meeting housing needs. The policy identifies the sites which the Council has assessed as being suitable for housing development and provides an indication of how many houses might be built on the site. |
|
H1.1 – H1.4: Development Principles for Housing Allocations |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy relating to the specific of site allocations. |
|
H2: Cross Boundary Development Opportunity – Stamford North |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 3: Meeting housing needs. The policy allocates the site, in Rutland for housing development as part of the Stamford north development. The policy restricts the scale of development to 650 homes and requires the inclusion of a country park, local centre, and a road access from the Old Great North Road to Little Casterton Road to connect through to Ryhall Road in the east. |
|
H3: Housing density |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 9: Make effective use of land and natural resources. The policy sets a minimum housing density for the county whilst encouraging development to make the most effective use of land. |
|
H4: Meeting All Housing Needs |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 3: Meeting housing needs. The policy sets out the requirements for housing development of ten or more homes to provide a mix of dwelling types, sizes and tenures to meet the housing needs of the county as evidenced in the Housing Market Assessment. |
|
H5: Accessibility Standards |
Yes |
Meets strategic sbjective 3: Meeting housing needs The policy requires all new homes to be adaptable and accessible and meet the M4(2) accessibility standards which are additional to the standard Building Regulation Part M requirements. Large developments of 100 or more homes will be expected to provide 1% of the site capacity to meet the higher M4(3) standards. |
|
H6: Self-build and custom housebuilding |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy relating to self-build and custom housebuilding. |
|
H7: Affordable housing |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 3: Meeting housing needs. The policy sets out a requirement for a minimum of 30% affordable homes to be provided as part of developments of 10 or more homes in all parishes, and also for sites of 6-9 homes in all villages including Barleythorpe. |
|
H8: Rural Exception Housing |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy relating to rural exception housing. |
|
H9: First Homes Exception Sites |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 3: Meeting housing needs The policy sets out where first home exceptions sites will be acceptable, why they are needed and how proposals for these will be assessed. |
|
H10: Meeting the needs of Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Show People |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 3: Meeting housing needs. The policy sets out the level of need for Gypsies and Traveller sites and for Travelling Show People sites, as evidenced in the GTTSAA and allocates specific sites to help meet the need. |
|
Chapter 7 – Economy |
||
|
E1: Strategic Employment Land Allocations |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 4: A prosperous and resilient local economy. period. The policy shows the strategic employment land allocations and their gross areas across the county to ensure sufficient employment land is available in the right places.. |
|
E1.1 – E1.6 Development Principles for Employment Allocations |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy relating to the specific of site allocations. |
|
E2: Employment development on unallocated sites |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy relating to employment development. |
|
E3: Protecting existing Employment Land and premises |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 4: A prosperous and resilient local economy. The policy ensures that existing employment sites are protected and/or enhanced so there is sufficient available floorspace and the opportunity for good quality modern workspace providing employment opportunities in the county. |
|
E4: Rural Economy |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy setting out the requirements for determining development proposals for new and existing businesses located outside the towns and larger villages. |
|
E5: Sustainable farm diversification |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy setting out the requirements for determining development proposals for sustainable farm diversification outside the towns and larger villages. |
|
E6: Employment and Skills |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 4: A prosperous and resilient local economy. The policy will help to meet county-wide requirements for skill enhancement. by introducing the requirement for Employment and Skills Plans for major developments within the county in order to use the opportunities presented by development to improve local employment and training |
|
E7: Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) |
No |
Not strategic. Development management policy to ensure commercial proposals of 100sqm are provided with FFTP connections |
|
E8: Local Visitor Economy |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 2: Delivering sustainable development and Strategic Objective 4: A prosperous and resilient local economy. The policy supports the tourism role of Oakham and Uppingham through the retention and improvement of existing visitor facilities and attractions and the provision of new facilities and services in sustainable locations. |
|
E9: Caravans, camping, lodges, log cabins, chalets and similar forms of self-serviced holiday accommodation |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy setting out the requirements for determining development proposals for all forms of holiday accommodation. |
|
E10: Town Centres and Retailing |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 4: A prosperous and resilient local economy and Strategic Objective 5: Supporting strong and vibrant communities. The policy sets out the retail hierarchy in line with government guidance in order to promote the town centres' long-term vitality and viability and develop vibrant and prosperous market towns and villages and support sustainable communities with locally accessible services. |
|
E11: Primary shopping areas |
No |
Not strategic. Development management policy providing guidance on the extent to which non-retail uses may be permitted in the primary shopping areas. |
|
E12: Site for retail development |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 4: A prosperous and resilient local economy and Meets Strategic Objective 5: Supporting strong and vibrant communities |
|
E13: Retail in the neighbourhood centres and Larger Villages |
No |
Not strategic. Development management policy providing support to small scale proposals for new and expanded local shops within villages and neighbourhood centres. |
|
Chapter 8 – Sustainable Communities |
||
|
SC1: Landscape Character |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 7: Promoting high standards of design and Strategic Objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. The policy requires new development to reflect the local landscape character which has been identified in the Rutland Landscape Character Assessment 2022. |
|
SC2: Place Shaping Principles |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 2: Delivering sustainable development, Strategic Objective 7: Promoting high standards of design and Strategic Objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. The policy sets out the overarching place shaping principles which should be used to guide the preparation of development proposals. |
|
SC3: Promoting Good Quality Design |
No |
Not strategic. Development management policy setting out detailed design criteria which will be used in the assessment of planning applications. |
|
SC4: Pollution control |
No |
Not strategic. Development management policy setting out the ways in which new development should minimise pollution and where possible contribute to the protection and improvement of the quality of air, land and water. |
|
SC5: Designing safer and healthier communities |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 2: Delivering sustainable development and Strategic Objective 7: Promoting high standards of design. The policy requires new development to promote and support physical and mental health and well-being through the design and layout of development. |
|
SC6: Community Facilities |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 2: Delivering sustainable development, Strategic Objective 7: Promoting high standards of design Strategic Objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural. The policy seeks to protect, retain, and improve the provision of community facilities. |
|
SC7: Provision of New Open Space |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 2: Delivering sustainable development, Strategic Objective 7: Promoting high standards of design and Strategic Objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. The policy seeks to create new high quality open spaces to meet the new needs of the current and future population of Rutland. |
|
Chapter 9 – Environment |
||
|
EN1: Protection of Sites, Habitats and Species |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. This Policy will ensure that new development in Rutland will contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment including the landscape and sites of biodiversity importance at an international, national, and local level. |
|
EN2: Local Nature Recovery Strategy |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. This policy will ensure that development proposals that are not subject to mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain requirement will still be expected to make a positive contribution to the Local Nature Recovery Strategy. |
|
E3: Biodiversity Net Gain |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. This Policy will ensure that all major development will contribute towards delivering measurable net gains for nature so that biodiversity across the county as a whole is improved by the end of the Local Plan period. |
|
EN4: Trees, Woodland and Hedgerows |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. Rutland County Council has a statutory duty (s197 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990) to consider the protection and planting of trees when granting planning permission for proposed development. |
|
EN5: Ancient Woodland and Ancient and Veteran Trees |
No |
Not strategic. Detailed development management policy relating to agricultural buildings. |
|
EN6: Protecting agricultural land |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. Seeks to ensure the loss of agricultural land is avoided where possible. |
|
EN7: Green and Blue Infrastructure |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 8:: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. The policy ensures that existing and new GBI is considered at the outset of new development proposals. It sets out the requirements for delivering GBI. |
|
EN8: Important open space and frontages |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. The policy prevents adverse impacts on designated Important Open Spaces and/or Frontages which contribute to the character of settlements in Rutland. |
|
EN9: Local Green Spaces |
No |
Not strategic. Development management policy supporting the protection of Local Green Spaces where identified within an adopted Neighbourhood Plan. |
|
EN10: Rutland Water Area |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. The Rutland Water Area designation provides special protection for Rutland Water and the Policy sets out the overall approach to development around Rutland. |
|
EN11: Eyebrook Reservoir Area |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. The policy sets out the criteria that will apply to help protect the nature conservation interests and the setting and the shoreline of the reservoir and other considerations. |
|
EN12: The Historic and Cultural Environment |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. The policy sets out the criteria that will apply to help protect the nature conservation interests and the setting and the shoreline of the reservoir and other considerations |
|
EN13: Protecting Heritage Assets |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 8: Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. The policy sets out the criteria that will apply to help protect the nature conservation interests and the setting and the shoreline of the reservoir and other considerations |
|
Chapter 10 – Minerals and Waste |
||
|
MIN1: Spatial strategy for minerals development |
Yes |
Excluded Development |
|
MIN2: Mineral provision |
Yes |
Excluded Development |
|
MIN3: Safeguarding Rutland's mineral resources |
Yes |
Excluded Development |
|
MIN4: Development criteria for mineral extraction |
Yes |
Excluded Development |
|
MIN5: Site-specific allocations for the extraction of building stone |
Yes |
Excluded Development |
|
MIN6: Safeguarding of minerals development |
Yes |
Excluded Development |
|
MIN7: Borrow pits |
Yes |
Excluded Development |
|
MIN8: Development criteria for other forms of minerals development |
Yes |
Excluded Development |
|
WST1: Capacity requirements and spatial strategy for waste: |
Yes |
Excluded Development |
|
WST2: Waste -related development |
Yes |
Excluded Development |
|
MIN9: Restoration and aftercare |
Yes |
Excluded Development |
|
MIN10: Implementation |
Yes |
Excluded development |
|
Chapter 11 – Infrastructure and Delivery |
||
|
INF1: Infrastructure and connectivity |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 10: Ensure development is supported by essential infrastructure and services. The policy provides clarity about when the Council will collect Community Infrastructure levy and /or use S106 obligations to secure infrastructure improvements for development proposals. |
|
INF2: Securing sustainable transport |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 10: Ensure development is supported by essential infrastructure and services. The policy provides the highways authorities requirements for achieving sustainable, safe and accessible development proposals and cover the full range of modes of travel. |
|
INF3: Walking and Cycling and non-car based journeys |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 10: Ensure development is supported by essential infrastructure and services. The policy requires sustainable forms of transport to be integrated into the design of new developments and connectivity to and from development and existing built-up areas to be a key component for the layout of development. |
|
INF4: Supporting Community Health and Wellbeing |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 10: Ensure development is supported by essential infrastructure and services. The policy supports the development of healthcare facilities to support the growth proposed in the Local Plan. |
|
INF4.1 Allocation of Land for new Medical Centre – Empingham |
Yes |
Meets strategic objective 10: Ensure development is supported by essential infrastructure and services. The policy allocates a site for a new Medical Centre in Empingham |
