March 2012

Dorking Town Area Action Plan

On Friday 30th March 2012 the Council submitted the Dorking Town Area Action (AAP) to the Secretary of State. This follows a period of six weeks during which representations about the AAP could be submitted. All the representations received during this period were considered and as a result the Council proposes to make a few minor amendments (mostly relating to points of clarification and factual updates) to the AAP (see www.ldf@molevalley.gov.uk/ldf). It was not felt that these changes would require the Council to re-consult or undertake further sustainability appraisal work. A Planning Inspector will now be appointed to examine the soundness of the Plan, including the representations that have been received. This is the final stage in preparing the AAP. Over the past two years the Council has undertaken extensive consultation on the Plan in accordance with the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement and Government regulations. The plan covers the period 2012 - 2022 and sets out planning policies for the central area of Dorking and allocates a number of sites for redevelopment over the next 10 years. These policies include safeguarding areas for specific uses such as for industry, leisure, community, entertainment and recreation. The Plan seeks to enhance green infrastructure within the town and concentrate retail uses in the town centre. The AAP allocates sites for new residential and supermarket development. The AAP is supported by a number of background documents. These are available to view on the Council’s website or at the Council Offices. If you have any queries regarding the AAP or any of the supporting documents please do not hesitate to contact the Planning Policy Team either by email at the address on the back page or by telephone - 01306 879281.

Examination Process To aid the examination process, the Council has appointed Pauline Butcher as the Programme Officer (PO) who will be the link between the Council, those who have made representations and the Inspector. Pauline's role will include the management of the examination programme, organising the pre-hearing meeting, and liaising with those invited to attend the examination. Pauline is familiar with Mole Valley having been the PO for the examination of the Core Strategy in May 2009. The Council envisages that the pre-hearing meeting will take place in mid-May 2012 with the examination of the AAP taking place in July 2012. The PO will contact all consultees to inform them of the exact dates when confirmed by the Inspector. Please contact Pauline Butcher (ldfprogrammeofficer@tiscali.co.uk or telephone 01306 879217) if you have any queries regarding the dates and the arrangements of the AAP examination process including the arrangements for the pre-hearing meeting and examination.

After the Examination Once the examination has taken place the Planning Inspector will prepare a report and issue it to the Council. The Inspector will either find the Plan sound, unsound or request that modifications/changes are made to the Plan to make it sound. If the Inspector requires modifications to the Plan, these will be consulted on for a six week period. If the Plan is found sound it will be adopted by the Council. Once the Plan is adopted it forms part of the Mole Valley Local Development Framework. Planning applications for development within the Plan area will then be assessed against the relevant policies within the AAP. These new policies will supersede some existing policies in the Mole Valley Local Plan. A schedule of the policies that will be replaced is set out in the appendices in the AAP. You can view the Plan on the Council’s website at www.molevalley.gov.uk/ldf, the Council Offices and Libraries across the District.

On 6th March 2012, the Council adopted a new Local Development Scheme (LDS) setting out which documents will be prepared over the next three years up to 2015, as part of the Council’s Local Development Framework (LDF).

Setting out the key stages for the preparation of each document, the LDS acts as the ‘project plan’ for the LDF process and should be the first port of call for residents and other interested stakeholders when making enquiries as to which stage the Council has reached in preparing its planning policy documents and when community engagement will be taking place. The LDS indicates that over the next three years the Council will be focusing on:

• the final stages of preparing the AAP.

• preparing the Land Allocations Plan.

• preparing a Community Infrastructure Levy.

Also identified within the LDS are a number of Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) which will be produced by the Council and Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs) or other Neighbourhood Planning initiatives, which will be prepared by local communities. The LDS (2012) updates and replaces the Mole Valley LDS that came into effect in May 2009 and incorporates the changes to the timetable for the preparation of the Dorking Town Area Action Plan (AAP) which were agreed by the Council in July 2011.

Local Development Scheme

Between August 2010 and March 2012, work on the Land Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) was ‘paused’ whilst consideration was given to the implication of the Government's proposed changes to the planning system. This includes the publication of the Localism Act and, at time, the draft National Plan-ning Policy Framework (NPPF). Having considered the implications of the Government's proposed changes at a meeting of the Executive on 6th March 2012, the decision was taken to continue with the preparation of the Council's Land Allocations DPD in accordance with the adopted Core Strategy i.e. the Council will continue to plan for the number of new homes that the Core Strategy indicates will be provided in Mole Valley up to 2026. The Council’s Local Development Scheme (March 2012) sets out a new timetable for the Land Allocations DPD including the identification of future areas of work and stages of community engagement.

Submit a Site for the Council to Consider for Allocation The Land Allocations DPD covers the period up to 2026 and aims to deliver the land use objectives of the Core Strategy. The Land Allocations DPD will, where possible, identify and allocate specific sites for development including housing (market, affordable, Gypsies and Travellers), employment, retail, community facilities, and open space and recreation. As with all planning documents prepared by the Council, the Land Allocations DPD must be founded on a robust and credible evidence base and the decisions taken i.e. which sites to allocate, must be the most appropriate, having considered all reasonable alternatives. To aid this exercise the Council has developed a Site Appraisal Toolkit which will enable a methodical approach to be taken in assessing the suitability, availability and achievability of all those sites submitted for future allocation.

For anyone wishing to submit a site for the Council’s consideration of its development potential, please visit the Land Allocation pages on the Council’s website – www.molevalley.gov.uk/ldf

Land Allocations Development Plan Document - Preparation re-starts

Further information is available from this page on how to submit a site for consideration via the Council’s Consultation Portal. Sites which you wish the Council to consider for future allocation, should be submitted no later than 31st May 2012. For further information please contact the Planning Policy Team via the contact details shown in this Newsletter.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

At a meeting of the Executive on 6th March, the decision was taken to start work on preparing a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) for new development in Mole Valley.

What is the CIL?

The CIL is a new financial charge which will replace the way that developers contribute towards infrastructure. Currently developers are required to pay the Surrey planning tariff on all new residential and commercial developments. In addition to this developers may also be required to make financial contributions by entering into a Section106 (S106) agreement, where it is considered new infrastructure is necessary to deliver a specific development.

In the future, the receipts from the CIL will be retained in one ‘central pot’ and spent on infrastructure. Not all of the receipts will go to the District Council. A proportion will go to Surrey County Council as they are the main providers of infrastructure such as highways and education. The remainder will be retained by the District Council and a proportion passed to Parish Councils. Not only will the Council draw up a CIL charging schedule i.e. the amount of money a developers would be required to pay towards infrastructure provision, but it will also prepare a Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) in consultation with key stakeholders and the community. This will list what infrastructure is needed to deliver new development throughout the district. Money from the CIL will then be spent on infrastructure set out in the IDP. The CIL charge is expressed as a cost per square metre of gross internal floorspace of new development over 100sqm. The change from the planning tariff to the CIL will come into effect from 6th April 2014, where the planning tariff will cease to exist.

The CIL charge will apply across all classes of development, as long as it can be demonstrated that it is viable. If it is not viable then potentially there will be no charge for some specific types of development e.g. affordable housing. There will be a separate rate of charge for residential, employment, retail, leisure development etc.

What are the benefits of the CIL • delivers additional funding for the Council to

carry out a wide range of infrastructure projects that support growth and benefits local communities;

• gives the Council flexibility and freedom to set its own priorities for what the money should be spent on;

• provides developers with more certainty ‘up front’ about how much money they will be expected to contribute;

• ensures greater transparency for local people, because they will be able to understand how new development is contributing to their community;

• enables local authorities to allocate a share of the levy raised in a neighbourhood to deliver infrastructure that the neighbourhood wants.

Process of Preparing the CIL The process of preparing the charging schedule is similar to that which applies to development plan documents. The charging schedule needs to be based on up to date evidence. This will include indentifying where development will take place, what infrastructure is likely to be needed to support it and its cost; evidence on land values, construction costs and house prices across the district. Once the schedule has been prepared a four week public consultation will take place. This consultation will allow key stakeholders and the local community to make representations on what the schedule is going to charge. The Local Development Scheme indicates this consultation will take place towards the end of 2013. After the consultation the schedule will be submitted to the Secretary of State. Following this an Inspector will be appointed and a public examination will take place. The examiner will either approve the schedule, make minor modifications or reject it. If the schedule is approved or minor modifications accepted then the schedule will be adopted by the Council.

What is infrastructure22 • Affordable housing • roads and other transport

facilities • Flood defences • Schools/Education/health

Contact Us If you have any queries regarding the Council’s Local Development Framework please contact the Planning Policy Team at: Post: Planning Policy Team, Mole Valley District Council Pippbrook, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1SJ Tel: 01306 885001 Email: ldf@molevalley.gov.uk Website: www.molevalley.gov.uk/ldf THIS NEWSLETTER CAN BE MADE AVAILABLE IN LARGE PRINT, ON DISC, IN BRAILLE AND IN OTHER LANGUAGES.

Other Planning Policy Documents being prepared

Neighbourhood Development Plans The Localism Act has introduced a new tier of plan making – neighbourhood planning. This provides local communities with the opportunity to prepare their own development plans. Such plans will be required to conform to national planning guidance and the strategic elements of local plans prepared by the Council. A neighbourhood development plan is being prepared by the local community for Bookham with support from the Council. Details can be found on the Bookham Vanguard website at www.bookhamvanguard.co.uk

Landscape Character Assessment Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) This SPD will set out the key features that make the landscape of Mole Valley so special and the issues or actions that can degrade it. It will be used to inform the preparation of the Land Allocations Development Plan Document and will be taken into account in the determination of planning applications.

Larger Rural Villages Character Assessment This SPD will highlight the key characteristics of the District’s larger rural villages that should be respected and safeguarded.

National Planning Policy Framework The NPPF was published on Tuesday 27th March 2012. For further information on the NPPF please visit the Council’s latest information page on the Council’s website - www.molevalley.gov.uk/ldf or The Communities and Local Government website - www.communities.gov.uk

Appropriate Assessment Guidance Note This guidance note will set out the process of assessing the impact that development may have on the Mole Gap to Reigate Escarpment Special Area of Conservation and the measures that could be introduced to mitigate it.