Supplementary planning documents
Development on garden land and infill sites in Cheltenham (June 2009)
Cheltenham Borough Council has adopted a supplementary planning document on development on garden land and infill sites.
What is a Supplementary Planning Document?
A supplementary planning document (SPD) provides greater detail on the policies in a local planning authority's development plan documents.
This SPD, Development on garden land and infill sites in Cheltenham, interprets polices in the Cheltenham Local Plan. It is considered in decisions on planning applications and in defending decisions at appeal.
Why do we have a supplementary planning document on this issue?
Every year, the council receives a significant number of planning applications for development on gardens of existing properties in Cheltenham . We are concerned that many of these are not of as high a quality as they should be. Some sites are simply unsuited for more building. Elsewhere, the designers have failed to fully consider the character of the area and the impact of their proposals on that character, or on nearby residents.
What does the SPD do?
The purpose of the SPD is to help ensure that only well-designed garden land and infill schemes in the right places get the go-ahead. It is also about helping make poor quality applications a thing of the past.
The document gives clear guidance as to what sort of development on garden land and infill sites is and is not acceptable.
The SPD:
- explains the factors which influence decisions on garden land/infill applications such as character, layout and amenity
- explains the process followed in deciding applications
- sets out what applicants need to do
Who is it for?
The document is for residents, applicants, councillors, planners and anyone else who is interested in garden land and infill development.
How will the SPD affect my application?
The council refers to this document when making its decisions so you should take it into account when preparing your application.
Where can I view the SPD?
The SPD and associated documents are available through the links below:
Development on Garden Land & Infill Sites in Cheltenham SPD (June 2009)
Sustainability Appraisal Report
Statement of Compliance with Statement of Community Involvement
If you need help with the document or the process it suggests, please call 01242 264328
UPDATE:
On 9 June 2010 the Minister for Decentralisation announced the following changes to PPS3 (Housing):
- private residential gardens are now excluded from the definition of previously developed land in Annex B to PPS3
- the national indicative minimum density of 30 dwellings per hectare is deleted from paragraph 47 of PPS3
The development of garden land and infill sites in Cheltenham SPD has not been altered because the council continues to consider it the most effective method of guiding decisions of development. However changes to PPS3 make some of the statements and assumptions in Chapters 1 and 2 redundant - particularly pargraphs 2.3 - 2.5 and Box 2 which all deal with PPS3's former definition of previously developed land.
The SPD sets out the importance of assessing context and amenity in designing schemes on these sites, which are generally within the town's housing areas. This has not changed and it remains an objective of PPS3 to deliver well-designed housing. Despite changes on minimum density, revised PPS3 retains statements that design should not be led by density and that with imaginative design, more efficient use of land can be achieved without compromising the quality of the local environment.
It is still the government's objective through revised PPS3 to make effective use of all categories of land. It has emphasised in a statement on 15 June that "...it is for local authorities and communities to take the decisions that are best for them, and decide for themselves the best locations and types of development in their areas."
The council will continue to use the SPD and the criteria in Appendix 1 to assess the success or otherwise of submitted proposals and to guide its decision making. It will be one of the criteria use to make decisions - the previously developed status of the land will be one of the others.
Sections of the SPD dealing with infill sites (that is to say, areas of land which are not private gardens) are unaffected by the changes.
Pages in Supplementary planning documents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Civic Pride Urban Design Framework Supplementary Planning Document (December 2010)
- 3 Swindon Village Conservation Area Character Appraisal & Management Plan (February 2007)
- 4 Central conservation area character appraisals and management plans (February 2007/July 2008)
- 5 Bafford conservation area character appraisals and management plan (June 2009)
- 6 Cudnall Street conservation area character appraisals and management plan (June 2009)
- 7 Prestbury conservation area character appraisals and management plan (June 2009)
- 8 St. Mary's conservation area character appraisal and management plan (June 2009)
- 9 The Poets conservation area character appraisal and management plan (June 2009)
- 10 Waste minimisation in development projects (September 2006)
- 11 Shop front design guide (February 2007)
- 12 Index of buildings of local interest (June 2007)
- 13 Residential alterations and extensions (February 2008)
- 14 You are here: Development on garden land and infill sites in Cheltenham (June 2009)