TrustNews Mar 22

Local Plan 2018 - 2039 Update

Work on the new Local Plan is progressing

 

Strategic Issues and Priorities

 

Planning officers at the City Council have analysed the remaining responses to the first public consultation on the new Local Plan, the Strategic Issues and Priorities (SIP) document, held in the spring last year. At their meeting in December, city councillors on the Local Plan Advisory Group (LPAG) discussed the analysis, which covered the following topics:

• Sustainable Development Objectives

• Carbon Neutrality

• Biodiversity and the Natural Environment

• Conserving and Enhancing the Historic Environment

• Homes for All - specialised housing

• Creating a Vibrant Economy

• General Comments

Over 2,000 responses to the SIP document were received from the public, and the analysis includes detail on all the responses. The analysis of the responses on the Homes for All main section (on the four alternative options to accommodate the number of new homes the Council is required to build over the period of the Local Plan), was published last September.

The new analysis runs to over 200 pages and can be read on the City Council's website. The easiest way to get to it is to go to www.democracy.winchester.gov.uk , click on 'Committees' on the right hand side, then scroll down the new page to 'Other Committees' and click on 'Local Plan Advisory Group'. Then click on 'Browse Meetings and Agendas for this Committee', and then on '13 Dec 2021'. The Homes for All main section analysis can be read by clicking on '27 Sep 2021'.

 

Landscape Character Assessment

 

 

 

Both Photos taken from Landscape Character Assessment 2021, Terra Firma Landscape Architects for Winchester City Council December 2021)

 

Landscape character assessment (LCA) as defined by the government, is "the process of identifying and describing variation in character of the landscape. LCA documents identify and explain the unique combination of elements and features that make landscapes distinctive by mapping and describing character types and areas. They also show how the landscape is perceived, experienced and valued by people".

 

In February, Winchester City Council completed a public consultation on an update to the district's existing Landscape Character Assessment (LCA), which was published in 2004. Landscape character assessment can make a valuable contribution to the formation of planning policies, to the allocation of land for development, to development control activities and to processes such as environmental assessment.

 

The LCA identifies features that contribute to the character of the landscape, thereby enabling the special character and qualities of an area to be understood. This information means that appropriate recommendations for the future conservation and management of Winchester's landscapes can be developed.

 

 

The final document will provide additional guidance and understanding for development in the district and will supplement the Winchester District Local Plan Part 1 2013 and Part 2 2017, as well as the emerging Local Plan.