1.1 Hastings Borough Council is in the process of producing a series of documents that will guide the future planning of the town. Together, these documents form the new Hastings Local Plan.
1.2 The Hastings Planning Strategy was adopted in February 2014. This is the overarching strategic document that provides a long-term plan to deliver regeneration and sustainable growth in the town over the next 15 years.
1.3 This document is the Development Management Plan - the second key document prepared as part of the Local Plan process. Its purpose is to set out clear policies to help shape the design and construction of new development and to allocate sites to deliver the overarching policies in the Planning Strategy. It therefore shares the same strategic objectives as the Planning Strategy, which are:
Objective 1: Achieve and sustain a thriving economy
Objective 2: Ensure everyone has the opportunity to live in a decent home, which they can afford, in a community in which they want to live
Objective 3: Safeguard and improve the town's environment
Objective 4: Addressing the impacts of climate change
Objective 5: Supporting sustainable communities
Objective 6: Provision of an efficient and effective transport system
Objective 7: Making best use of the Seafront and promoting tourism
1.4 We have gone through several stages of preparation and consultation in developing this final version of the Development Management Plan.
1.5 Early and informal public consultation was undertaken in 2010 as part of the "Big Map" exercise. This helped to identify issues and opportunities concerned with potential sites for development in the town, to feed into the drafting of the document itself. A report on how the consultation was undertaken and the comments received is available at http://www.hastings.gov.uk/environment_planning/planning/localplan/the_big_map/.
1.6 We consulted on a draft Development Management Plan during February and April 2012. This built on earlier consultation as part of the Big Map exercise, and contained 'rough draft' suggested policies and options to help facilitate debate, and to help determine which options to proceed with.
1.7 Between July and August 2012, we undertook a 'focused' consultation on some additional sites and policy issues that had not previously been consulted upon. Comments were invited on these additional sites and policies only.
1.8 Between January and April 2013 we also consulted on the Proposed Submission version of the Development Management Plan, with the intention of submitting it to the Government for Independent Examination. The outcome of that consultation however, suggested that further amendments to the Plan could be made to help ensure it would be made Sound and Legally Compliant by the Inspector during Examination in public.
1.9 A further round of consultation was therefore undertaken on the Revised Proposed Submission version of the Development Management Plan between March and April 2014. This revised version was formally submitted to the Government for Independent Examination in July 2014, and following additional consultation on the Inspector's Preliminary Findings and associated Main Modifications, was found Sound and Legally Compliant by the Inspector in May 2015 subject to the incorporation of the Inspector's recommendations, and adopted by the Council in September 2015.
1.10 We have done our best to keep jargon and technical terms to a minimum, and a glossary of terms is provided in Section Six. If you would like further clarification, please contact us on 01424 451098 or via fplanning@hastings.gov.uk and we will try to help.
1.11 You can find further information about the Development Management Plan and the wider Local Plan process by looking on our website at: http://www.hastings.gov.uk/environment_planning/planning/localplan/ .
1.12 The remainder of this document is set out as follows:
1.13 This section is divided into five parts:
Part i) Overall Approach
Part ii) General Guidance Policies - general policies considered in the assessment of planning applications, covering design, access, ground conditions and more
Part iii) Housing and the Community Policies - covering issues such as the conversion of houses and community facilities
Part iv) Historic and Natural Environment Policies - identifying areas in the town based on their historic or nature conservation importance or value
Part v) Economic Policies - aimed at protecting retailing, employment and other economic activities
1.14 Section Three of this document sets out individual site policies for sites that have been identified to meet our overall housing and employment needs. These are organised by Planning Focus Area1. A brief description of the site is followed by a site policy that takes account of requirements of Planning Strategy policies and other policies in the Development Management Plan. However, each proposal will be judged on its own merits and other policies not listed may also still apply, as will prevailing Government guidance.
1.15 The monitoring and implementation section shows how we will monitor the effectiveness of the Development Management Plan in delivering its objectives by assessing its performance against a series of indicators.
1.16 For some of the larger or more complex site allocations, there are more detailed maps to add detail to the words in the main body of this document. They illustrate how the site might be planned and managed to find solutions to identified issues.
1.17 We have tried to keep jargon and technical terms to a minimum, but have also included an explanation of some of the terms used in a glossary.
1.18 This is a list of all the policies included in the Development Management Plan for reference.
1.19 We are required to prepare supporting documents that demonstrate the evidence used to support Plan policies, how the Plan will be delivered, and also how the principles of sustainability have been taken into account in its preparation. Full details of all of these documents, including the accompanying Sustainability Appraisal Report are available on our website at http://www.hastings.gov.uk/environment_planning/planning/localplan/documents/ and http://www.hastings.gov.uk/environment_planning/planning/localplan/sustainability/.
1 Planning Focus Areas were introduced by the Planning Strategy. They are areas where there is an identifiable community or where landscape or function means that they make a logical area for area-based planning. To see the boundaries of the focus areas please see Chapter 4 of the Planning Strategy
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