Planning for a Natural and Healthy Environment - Whither PPG17?

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Planning for a Natural and Healthy Environment -
Whither PPG17?

• Kit Campbell
• Kit Campbell Associates, Edinburgh

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Planning for a Natural and Healthy Environment

• Streamlining of national guidance
• PPS7, Sustainable Development in Rural Areas
  (landscape protection, soil , agricultural land
  quality and forestry)
• PPS9, Biodiversity and Geological Conservation
• PPG17, Open Space Sport and Recreation
• PPG20, Coastal Planning (coastal access, heritage
  coast and undeveloped coast)
• Introduction of national policy on GI
• Amended policy stance on floodlighting

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PPG17

• No overt change to policy other than
  floodlighting and encouragement for co-location
  of facilities
• LPAs should still undertake assessments and
  audits
• Local standards remain
• But there are some important changes
• Cross-boundary working
• Keeping assessments and audits up to date
• GI added in to local assessments
• Local standards stance apparently softened
  slightly
• No mention of open space strategy linked to SCS
• Bolting on GI to existing policies isnt as
  simple as it might seem

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Issues

• First impressions?
• Objectives?
• Balance?
• Definition of GI?
• Scope of GI?
• The planning cascade?
• GI strategies?
• PPG17 assessments?
• Open space strategies?
• A Charter for NIMBYs and lawyers?
• The new Government?

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First Impressions

• Disconnect between Policy Discussion and Policy
  eg no mention of health in policy
• Lack of clarity over GI
• Silo-based lacks holistic vision
• Inconsistencies
• Lacks ambition stated overall aim is no net
  loss of biodiversity
• Why not include climate change policy as well?
• Several references to planning obligations appear
  to contradict the guidance on CIL

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Objectives

• Conserve and enhance the natural environment
• Minimise vulnerability to climate change
• Deliver safe and attractive places to live
  access to high quality spaces, GI and sports,
  recreation and play spaces and facilities
• Provide recreational opportunities in rural and
  coastal areas
• Note the order people come 3rd and 4th

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Balance

• Biodiversity driven people low priority?
• Should appeal to the biodiversity part of NE -
  but little on landscape
• Health seems to relate to the environment, not
  people
• Fairly negative 3 pages on policy, 5 on
  development management - or is it control?
  (avoid, refuse, mitigate, protect)

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Definition of GI

• there are subtle differences between planning
  for OS and planning for GI
• GI is a strategic network of MFGS, both new and
  existing, both rural and urban, which supports
  natural and ecological processes and is integral
  to the health and quality of life in sustainable
  communities (NE definition)
• PPS objectives access to high quality open
  spaces, GI and sports, recreational and play
  spaces and facilities
• Confusing references to open space or GI

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GI An Alternative Definition

• The planned incorporation and harnessing of
  natural systems and processes in order to make
  new and existing settlements and the countryside
  more environmentally and financially sustainable
  than they would be if they continued to rely only
  on traditional infrastructure

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GI Systems and Processes - Examples

• Reducing rainwater run-off
• Flood storage
• SUDS
• Carbon capture/air quality
• Shade and micro-climate
• Biodiversity and habitats
• Food production
• Fuel production
• Water power

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Scope of GI

• PPG17 typology
• Green roofs and walls
• Back gardens
• Potential significant implications

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The Planning Cascade

• Regional planning to address GI issues in
  regional strategy
• LPAs to build on regional work and set out a
  strategic approach to creation, protection and
  management of GI in the LDF
• But if there are no regional spatial strategies

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GI Strategies

• LPAs must take a strategic and big picture
  approach
• No requirement for a GI strategy information
  already collected for PPG17 open space strategies
  can be used at regional, sub-regional and local
  level to develop the evidence base for GI
  delivery
• RSS, NE, LI and other guidance

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PPG17 Assessments

• NE1.3(i) Assessments of need should include GI
• NE1.3(ii) audits should cover quantity, quality,
  accessibility, typology and location

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GS Strategies

• Not mentioned unlike PPG17
• Relationship to GI strategies (if any)?

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A Charter for NIMBYs and Lawyers?

• Surplus OS consideration should be given to
  all the functions that OS can perform
• GI introduces additional functions over and above
  PPG17
• If significant harm to biodiversity cannot be
  mitigated or compensated for, permission should
  be refused
• Various expectations of LPAs

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The New Government

• Open Source Planning (Tory paper)
• Modern Conservatism Our Quality of Life Agenda
  (Tory paper)
• Partnership for Government (Coalition paper)

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Open Source Planning

• Planning is in a mess
• Piecemeal reform is not enough
• New system to be based on civic engagement and
  collaborative democracy
• Neighbourhoods to specify what they want
• Bottom up local plans

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Quality of Life Agenda

• Bottom up is good top down is very bad
• Green is good (Tory logo is a tree!)
• Parks are good
• Biodiversity is good
• Safer neighbourhoods are good
• Tariffs are good CIL is bad

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Partnership for Government

• Rapidly abolish RSS
• Longer term, radically reform the planning system
  based on Open Source Planning
• Simple and consolidated national planning
  framework
• New powers to help communities save local
  facilities .. threatened with closure
• Jings another redisorganisation of planning!

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The Future?

• The greenspace agenda is here to stay
• The GI agenda is here to stay
• The health agenda is here to stay
• The biodiversity agenda is here to stay
• Planning will have to respond better to local
  communities
• Communities want to protect greenspaces
• But as for the PPS