8.9 Planning

We will use planning and development control powers to improve transport infrastructure and deliver effective travel planning.

The interface between transport and planning is of great importance. The location of existing and new employment, education, health, retail and leisure facilities can have a significant impact on patterns of travel, congestion and accessibility for those without a car. Similarly the detailed design and regeneration of places has an impact on transport and movement.

The 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act has introduced a number of changes to the previous planning system. The requirement to produce County Structure Plans has been removed although under the provisions of the Act existing Plan policies will be 'saved' for a period of three years or until replaced by new Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS). As a Spatial Planning document, RSS covers issues such as health that are not purely land-use based. Regional Transport Strategies (RTS) were an integral part of previous RPG and have a central role in new RSS. RTS forms the main strategic context for development of policies and schemes in the Local Transport Plan. This document has been developed to take this into account. Lancashire County Council will continue to develop existing consultation relationships at both existing regional and local level to ensure that changing framework of planning system fully takes into account LTP2 and, equally, that LTP2 remains responsive throughout its programme life to this wider context.

The Joint Lancashire Structure Plan was formally adopted on 31st March 2005 together with the Technical Appendix Parking Standards and Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) Access and Parking. Progress on achievement of JLSP targets, including those that have a transport component, is measured annually through the JLSP Annual Monitoring Report. A copy of the 2005/06 document plus all other Joint Lancashire Structure Plan related documents can be obtained from the following website: www.lancashire2016.com.  Structure Plan policies including the general framework for development as well as specific transport projects are fully taken into account in LTP2.

At District level the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act has replaced the previous system of Local Plans with Local Development Frameworks (LDFs). These are essentially a library of documents, defined in a Local Development Scheme (LDS) and must include a Core Strategy and Proposals Map.  The County Council is a statutory planning consultee on LDF documents with each document required to be in conformity with the Joint Lancashire Structure Plan until this is replaced by RSS. This ensures that transport and accessibility considerations are fully considered.  With the abolition of Structure Plans, the Local Transport Plan will be increasingly important in setting the transport context for documents within the LDF. LTP2 will be used to facilitate discussions with Local Planning Authorities during the preparation of individual Development Plan Documents (LDD's) as well as to guide responses at the statutory consultation stage. 

At a neighbourhood and site specific level Action Area Plans (AAPs) and Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD) are significant in setting out detailed transport and design considerations. They are of particular importance in establishing the context for 'Quality of Life' issues such as streetscapes including use of materials, signage and pedestrian "permeability". The introduction of "Design Codes" for larger developments, which may be adopted as SPD, also provides an opportunity for issues of access by all modes of transport to be fully integrated at the design stage of new developments. The County Council will work with partners to ensure that LTP2 policies and actions provide an important context for preparation of such documents.  

A number of non-statutory documents have been prepared in Lancashire to provide a vision for development in particular areas. These include Preston City Vision, Skelmersdale Vision  and the Elevate East Lancashire "Transformational Agenda". Other documents various Masterplans, Area Development Frameworks (ADF's) in the Elevate Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder area and at very local level, Parish Plans.  While these are essentially "bidding" documents with a relatively unconstrained remit,  the County Council will seek to be actively involved in their preparation and relate the proposals to LTP2. 

Development control is the process through which new development obtains planning permission. The 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act introduced a number of innovations including proposals for 'design and access statements' on outline planning applications that will provide greater clarity on the access requirements of new developments. The County Council is a consultee on highway matters and will in its responses to Local Planning Authorities seek to ensure that the policies and actions identified in LTP2 are fully taken into account. Likewise, as strategic planning authority for the period up until RSS is formally adopted, comments made on strategic consultations will identify where accessibility improvements and transport infrastructure are required. In many circumstances, particularly on larger proposals, the County Council is requested to provide pre-application advice. Similar opportunities also occur through the County Council's joint working with Districts the "Locality Agenda" . Such discussions will be used to ensure that LTP2 proposals and objectives are fully taken into account.

Planning obligations provide a mechanism whereby developers contribute to the infrastructure costs attributable to their development.  These are currently negotiated under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act although the government is currently reviewing the system.  LTP2 provides an important context for the negotiation of agreements by allowing the parties negotiating the agreement to identify and quantify transport infrastructure that has a direct relationship to the development.  Planning Obligations provide a very valuable mechanism for securing complementary funding to LTP2 for the implementation of transport schemes including  a significant  role in the short-term revenue funding of public transport, e.g. access to new employment locations. Infrastructure solely within the highway may be negotiated separately under sections 38 and 278 of the Highways Act 1980.

Lancashire County Council are currently co-ordinating a Lancashire Planning Officers Society Working Group on Planning Obligations. This involves three District Councils and the Unitaries of Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool  and aims to finalise Good Practice guidance by July 2006. Two extensive consultations with interested parties have already occurred. The intention is that each Local Planning Authority will incorporate the document, as appropriate, to their local circumstances, including within LDF's.  This will include guidance on how the transport element of planning obligations will be calculated, based on use of the Parking Standards Accessibility Questionnaire. Revised internal procedures are also proposed to ensure more effective negotiation and monitoring of planning obligations and a County-District protocol has been drafted.  A web based electronic calculator is being developed to allow both officers and developers to easily calculate expected contributions.  Within Lancashire Council improved procedures will include establishing an improved interface between Section 106 and Section 278 agreements where separate requests currently cause an element of confusion for developers and Local Planning Authorities. It is intended that Lancashire County Council will appoint a Planning Obligations Officer to revise existing procedures across all the areas of interest (including  education and  libraries as well as transport). This will include establishing effective working relationships with the existing Section 278 Officer.

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