Draft Regulation 18 Sandwell Local Plan

Active Design

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Active Design is an approach to development that encourages and promotes sport and physical activity through the design and layout of the built environment, to support a step change towards healthier and more active lifestyles. All environments should support physical activity equitably across all ages, ethnicities, genders, and abilities, enabling everyone to be active and build long-term active habits and behaviours. This is essential for the delivery of all the principles of Active Design and is its foundational principle. It is promoted by Sport England and Public Health England.

Affordable housing

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Housing for sale or rent, for those whose needs are not met by the market (including housing that provides a subsidised route to home ownership and / or is for essential local workers).

Area Action Plan

AAP

A type of Development Plan Document focused upon a specific location or an area subject to conservation or significant change (for example major regeneration).

Biodiversity net gain

BNG

An approach to development and land management that aims to leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than it was beforehand. The Biodiversity Gain objective requires the biodiversity value attributable to a development to exceed pre-development biodiversity value by at least 10%. Post-development biodiversity value may comprise onsite habitat, offsite biodiversity gain and biodiversity credits.

Black Country Authorities

BCA

The four local authorities of Dudley Council, Sandwell Council, Walsall Council and City of Wolverhampton Council

Black Country Core Strategy

BCCS

Shared strategic plan covering the four Black Country districts.

The four Black Country authorities worked together to produce the Black Country Core Strategy, covering the period 2006 to 2026. The Core Strategy was adopted in 2011 and provides the framework for various Site Allocation Documents and Area Action Plans, which set out local policies and site allocations for individual authority areas

Black Country Employment Area Review

BEAR

Study produced by the Black Country authorities to assess the suitability of existing employment land across the Black Country for continued business and industrial use. The study:

• reviews the stock of existing operational employment land that is already in use;
• identifies the best quality Strategic Employment Areas that should be safeguarded primarily for manufacturing and logistics activity;
• identifies those employment areas that have a key role in meeting more local needs, where a wider range of uses can be supported;
• identifies those employment areas that have a more limited economic role and could be suitable for release for alternative uses such as housing.

Sandwell Local Plan

SLP

This is the proposed new local plan for the borough of Sandwell, which sets out a series of strategic and non-strategic local policies designed to support the delivery of housing, employment and infrastructure development, mitigate the impacts of climate change and protect the natural environment and areas of historic character.

Brownfield land or site (see also "previously developed land")

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Land that is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land and any associated fixed surface infrastructure.

Climate change

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Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns^[8]. Human activities have been the main driver of climate change since the 1800s, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun's heat and raising temperatures.

Examples of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using petrol or diesel for driving a car or gas for heating a building, for example. Clearing land and forests can also release carbon dioxide. Landfills for waste are a major source of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main emitters^[9].

Climate change adaptation

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Adjustments to natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic factors or their effects, including from changes in rainfall and rising temperatures, which moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities.

Climate change mitigation

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Action to reduce the impact of human activity on the climate system, primarily through reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Conservation covenant

A conservation covenant agreement is a private, voluntary agreement to conserve the natural or heritage features of the land. This can include any buildings on it too. The parts of a conservation covenant agreement that set out what a landowner and responsible body must or must not do to help conserve the land become legally binding as part of it.

Development Plan Document

DPD

Development Plan Documents are prepared by local planning authorities and outline the key development goals of the local development framework. They include the core strategy and, where needed, area action plans. There will also be an adopted proposals map which illustrates the spatial extent of policies that must be prepared and maintained to accompany all DPDs.

These are intended to be replaced by supplementary plans, as part of the Government's proposed changes to planning guidance and legislation, in 2023.

Duty to co-operate

DtC

The duty to co-operate was created by the Localism Act 2011. It places a legal duty on local planning authorities, county councils and public bodies in England to engage constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis with each other to maximise the effectiveness of local plan preparation relating to strategic cross-boundary matters.

This duty is intended to be replaced as part of the Government's proposed changes to planning guidance and legislation, in 2023.

Economic Development Needs Assessment

EDNA

The EDNA is a study that advises on the overall demand for employment land to 2039, with specific regard to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on overall demand and specific sectors including logistics and offices.

The study confirms the land requirement and level of land supply over the Sandwell Local Plan period. It provides a basis for ongoing Duty to Cooperate engagement with neighbouring local authorities by confirming the gap between demand and supply.

Flood risk assessment

FRA

An assessment of the likelihood of flooding in a particular area so that development needs and mitigation measures can be carefully considered.

Functional Economic Market Area

FEMA

The spatial level at which local economies and markets operate. In most cases, these will extend beyond existing administrative boundaries.

Green / blue infrastructure

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A network of multi-functional green and blue spaces and other natural features, located in both urban and rural areas, which can deliver a wide range of environmental, economic, health and wellbeing benefits for nature, climate, local and wider communities and prosperity.

Blue infrastructure refers to water elements, like rivers, canals, ponds, wetlands, floodplains, water treatment facilities, etc.

Green belt

(not to be confused with the term 'greenfield')

GB

A statutory planning designation for land around certain cities and large built-up areas, which aims to keep this land permanently open or largely undeveloped. The purposes of the green belt are to:

• check the unrestricted sprawl of large built up areas
• prevent neighbouring towns from merging
• safeguard the countryside from encroachment
• preserve the setting and special character of historic towns
• assist urban regeneration by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land

Green Belts are defined in a local planning authority's development plan.

Greenfield land or site

(not to be confused with the term 'green belt')

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Land (or a defined site) that has not previously been developed.

Heritage asset

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A building, monument, site, place, area or landscape identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions, because of its heritage interest. It includes designated heritage assets and assets identified by the local planning authority (including local listing).

High Speed 2

HS2

A planned high-speed rail network initially set to link London and the West Midlands with a further phase extending to cities in the North.

Historic environment

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All aspects of the environment resulting from the interaction between people and places through time, including all surviving physical remains of past human activity, whether visible, buried or submerged, and landscaped and planted or managed flora.

Housing Market Area

HMA

A geographical area defined by household demand and preferences for all types of housing, reflecting the key functional linkages between places where people live and work. HMAs do not necessarily coincide with local authority administrative boundaries.

infrastructure

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Basic services necessary for development to take place, for example, roads, electricity, sewerage, water, education and health facilities.

Irreplaceable habitat

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Habitats that would be impossible or technically very difficult (or would take a very significant amount of time) to restore, recreate or replace once destroyed, considering their age, uniqueness, species diversity or rarity. They include ancient woodland, ancient and veteran trees, blanket bog, limestone pavement, sand dunes, salt marsh and lowland fen.

Issues and Options document / consultation

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Local Enterprise Partnership

LEP

A body, designated by the Secretary of State for Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, established to create or improve the conditions for economic growth in an area. The Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership has now officially closed (2023), with its operations moving to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

Local nature reserve

LNR

Non-statutory habitats of local significance designated by local authorities where protection and public understanding of nature conservation is encouraged.

Master plan / masterplan

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A type of planning brief outlining the preferred usage of land and the overall approach to the layout of a developer. To provide detailed guidance for subsequent planning applications

Memorandum of understanding

MoU

A memorandum of understanding outlines the main points of agreement that the parties involved in a negotiation have reached. The MOU is a mutually agreed summary of the areas of agreement and expectations of all signatories (those involved in the negotiations). It is not legally binding.

Midland Metro / West Midlands Metro

West Midlands Metro (originally named Midland Metro) is a light-rail/tram system. Opened on 30 May 1999, it currently consists of a single route operating between Birmingham and Wolverhampton via Bilston, West Bromwich and Wednesbury, running on a mixture of reopened disused railway line and on-street running in urban areas. The line originally terminated at Birmingham Snow Hill station, but with extensions opened in 2015 and 2019, it now runs into Birmingham City Centre to terminate in Centenary Square. Further extensions to Edgbaston and Wolverhampton are scheduled to open during 2022.

Mineral Safeguarding Area

MSA

An area designated by minerals planning authorities, which covers known deposits of minerals that are intended to be kept safeguarded from unnecessary sterilisation by non-mineral development.

National Design Guide

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Guidance on how to recognise and deliver well-designed places, outlining and illustrating the government's priorities for them in the form of ten characteristics. These relate to: context, identity, built form, movement, nature, public spaces, uses, homes & buildings, resources and lifespan. The guide also illustrates how well-designed places can be achieved in practice using a range of good practice examples.

National Model Design Code

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The National Model Design Code sets out design considerations that local planning authorities will be expected to take into account when developing local design codes and guides and when determining planning applications.

National Planning Policy Framework

NPPF

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the UK Government's policies for planning, along with information on how said policies are expected to be applied. The NPPF is not a statutory document but local authorities are expected to take account of its contents when making decisions on planning applications or drafting new local plans.

National Planning Practice Guidance

NPPG

The PPG provides more in-depth advice and guidance on planning topics outlined in the NPPF.

National vocational qualification

NVQ

Work-based awards that are achieved through assessment and training. To achieve an NVQ, candidates must prove that they have the ability to carry out their job to the required standard. NVQs are based on National Occupational Standards that describe the 'competencies' expected in any given job role.

Nature recovery network

NRN

An expanding, increasingly connected, network of wildlife-rich habitats supporting species recovery, alongside wider benefits such as carbon capture, water quality improvements, natural flood risk management and recreation. It includes the existing network of protected sites and other wildlife rich habitats as well as and landscape or catchment scale recovery areas where there is co-ordinated action for species and habitats.

Playing field

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The whole of a site that encompasses at least one playing pitch as defined in the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015.

Previously Developed Land (see also "brownfield land")

PDL

Land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land (although it should not be assumed that the whole of the curtilage could be developed) and any associated fixed surface infrastructure.

This excludes:

• land that is or has been occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings;
• land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill purposes where provision for restoration has been made through development control procedures;
• land in built-up areas such as private residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments;
• and land that was previously-developed but where the remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape in the process of time

Regeneration Areas

Regeneration is the long-term upgrading of existing urban, industrial and commercial areas to bring about social and economic change. Regeneration can involve the investment of public money to encourage and direct private finance into an area. Governments often define regeneration as being a supportive measure in areas of economic and social decline where market forces have failed.

• Regulation 18
• Regulation 19
• Regulation 20

of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) Regulations 2012

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Regulation 18 requires that various bodies and stakeholders, including the public, be notified that the council is preparing a plan. It invites them to comment about what that plan ought to contain and about the policies and allocations it proposes Comments made at this stage will be considered by the Council and used to help amend the draft plan as necessary.

The publication of the Regulation 19 Submission Local Plan policies update is not a consultation stage. Rather it is the point at which the council publishes the updated local plan policies that it intends to adopt, having been informed by earlier consultation and engagement, and that it is seeking representations under Regulation 20 on its soundness and legal compliance. These representations will be dealt with by the Inspector directly, rather than by the council.

Renewable and Low Carbon Energy

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Includes energy for heating and cooling as well as generating electricity. Renewable energy covers those energy flows that occur naturally and repeatedly in the environment – from the wind, the fall of water, the movement of the oceans, from the sun and from biomass and deep geothermal heat. Low carbon technologies are those that can help reduce emissions (compared to conventional use of fossil fuels).

Sequential approach / sequential test

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A planning principle that seeks to identify, allocate or develop certain types or locations of land before others. For example, brownfield housing sites before greenfield sites, or town centre retail sites before out-of-centre sites.

Site of Special Scientific Interest

SSSI

A site designated by Natural England under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as an area of special interest by reason of any of its flora, fauna, geological or physiographical features (plants, animals and natural features relating to the Earth's structure).

Sites of importance for nature conservation

SINC

Sites of local importance for nature conservation

SLINC

Special Area of Conservation

SAC

Areas defined by regulation 3 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 which have been given special protection as important conservation sites.

Statement of common ground

SCG

A written statement containing factual information about a proposal that is the subject of discussion between the developer / landowner and the council that the promoter reasonably considers will not be disputed by the local planning authority.

An agreed statement of common ground is essential to ensure that the evidence considered at a hearing or an inquiry focuses on the material differences between the appellant and the local planning authority. It will provide a commonly understood basis for the developer and the local planning authority and provide context to inform the statements of case and, for an inquiry, the subsequent production of proofs of evidence.

Strategic centre

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West Bromwich

Strategic Economic Plan

SEP

A plan created by the LEP for its area setting out economic development and growth priorities as the basis for negotiation with government.

Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment

SHLAA

A SHLAA is a study of sites that have the potential of accommodating residential development. It identifies the site, the constraints, the likely number of dwellings and determines when the land might be developed for housing. It is a technical exercise to determine the quantity and suitability of potentially available sites. A SHLAA is not a site allocations exercise and does not mean that a site will be developed for housing.

It includes sites that may already be under construction but have further dwellings to be delivered and those that have planning permission or a resolution to grant planning permission. Also included are housing allocations in the Local Plan which do not yet have planning permission and other sites without permission that have been identified by the authority or promoted by landowners, agents or developers, and are considered suitable for development.

sui generis

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A term given to the uses of land or buildings not falling into any of the use classes identified by the Use Classes Order, for example theatres, launderettes, car showrooms and filling stations.

Supplementary Planning Document / Supplementary Plan

SPD

Supplementary Planning Documents are used to add further detail to the policies in the Local Plan. They provide further guidance for development on specific sites, or on issues such as design. Supplementary planning documents are capable of being a material consideration in planning decisions but are not part of the development plan.

These documents are to be replaced by Supplementary Plans. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill provides for the creation of new supplementary plans. These plans are intended to be produced quickly to enable planning authorities to react and respond positively to unanticipated changes in their area separate from the local plan preparation process. This could include allocating and shaping an unexpected regeneration opportunity or introducing new site-specific policies including in relation to design, infrastructure or affordable housing. Supplementary Plans are not intended to be used routinely; planning authorities should prioritise including all policies in their local plan or minerals and waste plan, leaving supplementary plans only for exceptional or unforeseen circumstances that need resolving between plans

Sustainability Appraisal

SA

An appraisal of the economic, environmental and social effects of a plan from the outset of the preparation process, to allow decisions to be made that accord with sustainable development.

Unitary Development Plan

UDP

An old-style development plan prepared by a metropolitan district authority and some unitary local authorities. A unitary development plan contained policy like those found in both a structure plan and a local plan. These plans existed for a while after the introduction of the new development system under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 due to the transitional provisions provided for in that Act.

Use Classes Order

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The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (and subsequent amendments) essentially categorises different types of property and land into classes. Change between uses within the same class does not constitute development and therefore does not require planning permission. Further related legislation identifies some permitted development rights that allow the change of use from one class to another, subject to conditions, limitations and / or a prior approval process.

viability

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An individual development can be said to be viable if, after taking account of all costs, including central and local government policy and regulatory costs and the costs and availability of development finance, the scheme provides a competitive return to the developer to ensure that development takes place and generates a land value sufficient to persuade a landowner to sell the land for the development proposed. If these conditions are not met, a scheme will not be delivered.

West Midlands Combined Authority

WMCA

The West Midlands Combined Authority was established by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. It is a strategic authority with powers over transport, economic development and regeneration. The authority formally came into being on 17 June 2016.

Windfall sites

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Sites for housing or other forms of development not specifically identified in the development plan when it was adopted.