Chapter 6 Improving Amenities and Facilities
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167642
Received: 15/02/2019
Respondent: Sport England
Summary of general advice provided by Sport England in relation to neighbourhood planning
Thank you for consulting Sport England on the above neighbourhood plan.
Government planning policy, within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), identifies how the planning system can play an important role in facilitating social interaction and creating healthy, inclusive communities. Encouraging communities to become more physically active through walking, cycling, informal recreation and formal sport plays an important part in this process. Providing enough sports facilities of the right quality and type in the right places is vital to achieving this aim. This means that positive planning for sport, protection from the unnecessary loss of sports facilities, along with an integrated approach to providing new housing and employment land with community facilities is important.
It is essential therefore that the neighbourhood plan reflects and complies with national planning policy for sport as set out in the NPPF with particular reference to Pars 96 and 97. It is also important to be aware of Sport England's statutory consultee role in protecting playing fields and the presumption against the loss of playing field land. Sport England's playing fields policy is set out in our Playing Fields Policy and Guidance document.
http://www.sportengland.org/playingfieldspolicy
Sport England provides guidance on developing planning policy for sport and further information can be found via the link below. Vital to the development and implementation of planning policy is the evidence base on which it is founded.
http://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/planning-for-sport/forward-planning/
Sport England works with local authorities to ensure their Local Plan is underpinned by robust and up to date evidence. In line with Par 97 of the NPPF, this takes the form of assessments of need and strategies for indoor and outdoor sports facilities. A neighbourhood planning body should look to see if the relevant local authority has prepared a playing pitch strategy or other indoor/outdoor sports facility strategy. If it has then this could provide useful evidence for the neighbourhood plan and save the neighbourhood planning body time and resources gathering their own evidence. It is important that a neighbourhood plan reflects the recommendations and actions set out in any such strategies, including those which may specifically relate to the neighbourhood area, and that any local investment opportunities, such as the Community Infrastructure Levy, are utilised to support their delivery.
Where such evidence does not already exist then relevant planning policies in a neighbourhood plan should be based on a proportionate assessment of the need for sporting provision in its area. Developed in consultation with the local sporting and wider community any assessment should be used to provide key recommendations and deliverable actions. These should set out what provision is required to ensure the current and future needs of the community for sport can be met and, in turn, be able to support the development and implementation of planning policies. Sport England's guidance on assessing needs may help with such work.
http://www.sportengland.org/planningtoolsandguidance
If new or improved sports facilities are proposed Sport England recommend you ensure they are fit for purpose and designed in accordance with our design guidance notes.
http://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/tools-guidance/design-and-cost-guidance/
Any new housing developments will generate additional demand for sport. If existing sports facilities do not have the capacity to absorb the additional demand, then planning policies should look to ensure that new sports facilities, or improvements to existing sports facilities, are secured and delivered. Proposed actions to meet the demand should accord with any approved local plan or neighbourhood plan policy for social infrastructure, along with priorities resulting from any assessment of need, or set out in any playing pitch or other indoor and/or outdoor sports facility strategy that the local authority has in place.
In line with the Government's NPPF (including Section 8) and its Planning Practice Guidance (Health and wellbeing section), links below, consideration should also be given to how any new development, especially for new housing, will provide opportunities for people to lead healthy lifestyles and create healthy communities. Sport England's Active Design guidance can be used to help with this when developing planning policies and developing or assessing individual proposals.
Active Design, which includes a model planning policy, provides ten principles to help ensure the design and layout of development encourages and promotes participation in sport and physical activity. The guidance, and its accompanying checklist, could also be used at the evidence gathering stage of developing a neighbourhood plan to help undertake an assessment of how the design and layout of the area currently enables people to lead active lifestyles and what could be improved.
NPPF Section 8: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework/8-promoting-healthy-communities
PPG Health and wellbeing section: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/health-and-wellbeing
Sport England's Active Design Guidance: https://www.sportengland.org/activedesign
Object
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167654
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: Cambridgeshire County Council
Policy COH/4-4 Sports Facilities
County Council as owners of the land adjacent to the Recreation Ground object to the site being identified for additional sports facilities.
The revised Development Framework boundary in Figure 26 is not consistent with the boundary shown in Figure 15. The latter is correct as it includes the whole of the County Council's site with planning permission.
Object
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167664
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: Gladman Developments
Village Facilities - Policies COH/4.1.1 - COH/5.1 - policies for facilities including nursery, doctor's surgery, recreational facilities, village hall.
Important that Parish Council carefully consider ways in which it will fund deficit of provision of these facilities and other community aspirations identified in Plan. Consider that allocation of additional housing land could help secure delivery of these objectives and Plan's aspirations to meet its affordable housing needs through financial contributions provided through section 106 agreements or unilateral undertakings.
Object
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167667
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: This Land
Agent: Bidwells
Policy COH/4.1 Recreation Ground.
Support principle of policy. However as still in discussion with Parish Council over final detailed layout of housing development for whole site the wording of the policy does not allow for flexibility. May need to reconfigure recreation ground expansion to facilitate delivery of housing alongside securing improvement to overall configuration of sports space and community facilities.
Suggested amendments to policy wording.
Object
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167668
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: This Land
Agent: Bidwells
Policy COH/4.4 Sports facilities
Support principle of policy. However as the discussions are still on going with Parish Council on final detailed layout of housing development for whole site need for flexibility. May need to reconfigure recreation ground expansion to facilitate delivery of housing alongside securing improvement to overall configuration of sports space and community facilities.
Suggested amended wording to policy
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167682
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Policy COH/2-4: Locally affordable housing and CLT
We feel that this policy could be misinterpreted to imply that it is promoting housing development in the open countryside. In criterion a) it states that homes are located on sites near or immediately adjacent to Cottenham's development framework boundary. We feel that the term "near" would need to be defined very precisely. Developers could see this as an opportunity to propose sites well away from the existing built area of the village of Cottenham which would be contrary to national and local plan policy. Would a preferable term be 'adjoining' to the framework? This would conform to the wording in the Local Plan policy on rural exception sites (Policy H/11)
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167683
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Policy COH/3-1.1: Durman Stearn site (site X4 as shown on Figure 14)
a)SCDC welcomes Figure 20 which shows the site location. However Figure 21, showing indicative redevelopment, is also included in the Plan. The Plan would be clearer if the policy or supporting text explained its status.
b) SCDC considers that there is a lack of clarity concerning housing numbers when compared to Policy COH/2-3.
c)There is a current planning application for this site - Ref S/4698/18/OL
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167684
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Policy COH/3-1.2: Co-op site (site X6 as shown in Figure 14)
a)SCDC welcomes Figure 22 which shows the site location however Figure 23 showing indicative redevelopment is also included but not mentioned in policy or supporting text. The Plan would be clearer if the policy or supporting text explained its status.
b)There is a lack of clarity concerning housing numbers when compared to Policy COH/2-3
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167685
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Policy COH/3-2: Supermarket
We consider that this policy somewhat duplicates Local Plan Policy E/22: Applications for new Retail Development and we are unsure as to what this policy adds that is specific to Cottenham other than that it allows for residential uses on upper floors of a supermarket?
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167686
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Policy COH/3-2.1: Watson's Yard / Fire Station site (site X5 in Figure 14)
a)SCDC is concerned that this site is not big enough for all the uses that are proposed for the site. Figure 25 showing indicative redevelopment is included in the Plan but not mentioned in the policy or supporting text. The Plan would be clearer if the policy or supporting text explained its status.
b)As this is the only site being proposed for a supermarket, is it necessary to have COH/3-2 too?
c)There is a lack of clarity concerning housing numbers when compared to COH/2-3
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167687
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Policies COH/4-1.1; COH/4-2; COH/4-3 and COH4-4
There are many policies relating to potential development in and around a concentrated area in the village and it is difficult to understand clearly the story of all the existing and proposed uses. It would be very helpful if there was a comprehensive large scale map or series of maps included in the Plan illustrating all the uses and how they relate to one another.
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167688
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Policy COH/4-1.1: Recreation and Sports Hub
a)This policy has been introduced following the Regulation 14 consultation. The supporting text does not help to explain the hub and all the proposed uses for the area and therefore it's interpretation into planning decisions could be compromised.
b)Figure 27 does not clearly show the different uses and the boundaries for each use at the Recreation Ground.
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167689
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Policy COH/4-2: Multi-purpose Village Hall + Policy COH/4-3: Nursery
a) It is noted that a planning application for the Nursery was approved 20 December 2018 Ref S/2705/18/FL and for the Village Hall on 21 September 2018 Ref S/2702/18/FL. The supporting text could be helpfully updated to clarify this situation.
b) The maps to show where these uses will be located are not clear. Figure 26 and 27/28 contradict each other. Fig 26 shows a larger site that will accommodate both uses.
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167690
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Policy COH/4-4: Sports Facilities
a)This policy would benefit from having a clear map to show the proposed allocation for the sports facilities. Figure 26 is confusing if you are not familiar with this part of the village.
b)SCDC has concerns about the impact on residential amenity in relation to criterion d) which seeks floodlit outdoor sports facilities. The site is adjacent to a recent residential planning consent and therefore floodlighting could have a significant detrimental impact without very careful design consideration. It could also have a detrimental impact on the wider fen edge. Policy COH/1-1 requires "subdued lighting on the village edge.
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167691
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Policy COH/5-1: New Recreation Ground
a) It is unclear why Policy COH/4-4 has been given 5 years to be fully achieved? Whilst recognising that additional recreation facilities will be required by the growing population of Cottenham there is a lack of evidence to support the 5-year deadline for the land adjacent to the Recreation Ground. This is not mentioned in the policy relating to this site - COH/4-4.
b)Whilst recognising that more recreation land is required, the Plan is not clear at explaining where this would be found if not adjacent to the existing recreation ground. Criteria d) implies it would be to the south-east of the village? If this is what is intended then perhaps it should be made clearer?
Comment
Cottenham Neighbourhood Plan - submission consultation
Representation ID: 167692
Received: 25/03/2019
Respondent: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Policy COH/6-1: Extension of burial grounds
SCDC welcomes the inclusion of this policy to ensure that there is adequate burial land within the village. As worded the policy is not clear whether it is actually allocating sites or providing criteria for the consideration of new sites? The supporting text (para 6-1d) refers to extensions or provision of new space but the policy only refers to extensions.