1.1 The Core Strategy is one of a series of 'Local Development Documents' that together will make up the Local Development Framework (LDF) for Mole Valley. The LDF is a set of documents setting out policies relating to the use and development of land in the District. The Core Strategy is the first of these documents that the Council has prepared, and the most important, setting out how the District is expected to evolve over a period of almost 20 years to 2026. The role of the Core Strategy is to set out a vision for the District and guide the type, level and location of future development. It will be the starting point for the determination of planning applications in the District and will be supported by other documents relating to the allocations of land and more general day-to-day development control policies once prepared. The relationship between the Core Strategy and its daughter Development Plan Documents is shown diagrammatically in Appendix A. Further details about the timing of the preparation of these documents and the scope of their contents is set out in the Local Development Scheme (LDS).
1.2 The Mole Valley Core Strategy has been prepared following considerable community consultation, the collection of evidence and working with key partners including the Local Strategic Partnership, the County Council, community groups and developers / agents. It has the principle of sustainable development at its heart and goes beyond just land use planning to bring together other policies and programmes that influence the nature of the District and how it functions. Key pieces of evidence, policies and partners are identified throughout this document. A key objective of the Government is to ensure that planned development is delivered and that mechanisms are in place to ensure this happens; therefore, the means of delivering each policy is also set out.
1.3 Consultation has taken place at the following stages in its preparation:
1.4 Representations were then invited on the Proposed Submission Document from November 2008 to January 2009.
1.5 All these documents plus an extensive set of background documents relating to issues such as housing needs, review of employment land and the extent of flood risk in the District are available on the Mole Valley District Council website (www.molevalley.gov.uk/localplans) or upon request. In addition a statement has been produced (Regulation 30d Statement) setting out those bodies and persons invited to make representations at the various consultation stages, how those bodies and persons were invited to make such representations, a summary of the main issues raised and how they have been addressed in the preparation of the Core Strategy.
1.6 In order to prepare the Core Strategy, the policies have also been the subject of a Sustainability Appraisal. The Council set up and consulted on objectives against which to measure the sustainability of the various policy approaches. The outcome of this work is set out in the Sustainability Appraisal Report. Further information on the Sustainability Appraisal of the Core Strategy is available to view via the Mole Valley District Council website (www.molevalley.gov.uk/localplans) or upon request.
1.7 The Core Strategy is also accompanied by a Proposals Map and explanatory note. The map is a geographical expression of the policies contained within the Core Strategy.
1.8 A Key Diagram has also been included within the Core Strategy. The Key Diagram provides an overall visual representation of the Mole Valley District and identifies key areas of constraint, main transport routes and the classification of settlements.