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structure planning documentation
40. Local government reorganisation gives Councils the opportunity to make structure plans more influential documents. The documents required as part of the structure plan process are:-
- report of survey
- consultative draft (except where the expedited procedure is being used)
- written statement
- key diagram
- publicity and consultation statement.
These should be kept as brief as possible, written in plain English to convey simply and clearly how the long term planning of the area is to be tackled and to outline the scale, nature and location of change.
Report of Survey
41. The report of survey should be available with both the consultative draft and finalised plans and must be sent to the Secretary of State. These reports represent a valuable stock4aking exercise; the information they contain forms the basis from which policies and proposals are prepared; they help the Secretary of State decide whether an EIP is necessary; and, updated by monitoring information, they can have a valuable function in the context of planning appeals.
42. There is no longer a statutory requirement to institute a fresh survey of a structure plan area; indeed much of the survey material should comprise a summary or distillation of existing information. The aim should be to focus on the key strategic topics and to prepare a relatively concise report of survey in which all material clearly relates to the policies and proposals in the written statement. The report of survey will need to establish baseline data and the indicators of change against which structure plan progress towards sustainable development can be charted. Survey reports should not include all technical information but, where appropriate, should indicate that this can be made available by the planning authority. Usually, the report of survey will be presented as a separate document, but in some cases it may be bound in with the written statement at the consultative draft and later stages.
Consultative Draft
43. To give the public and consultees the opportunity to comment on what is proposed, the process will be handled more efficiently if the consultative draft is presented substantially in the form of the written statement Only where there are realistic options will it be helpful to set out alternative strategies and policies: these should be presented briefly in the form of a synopsis outlining the strategic options that were considered, rejected and why. The consultative draft should concentrate on setting out the preferred strategy together with the draft policies and proposals which, by stimulating debate at a time when the planning authorities have not committed themselves to a particular approach, should help reduce conflicts at later, more formal, stages. It is important that the planning authorities should make it clear that the content of the plan is not fixed at this stage and could change in response to representations.
Written Statement
44. The written statement must set out in a clear, concise and coherent manner the overall planning strategy together with the related policies, proposals and recommendations; this should be supported by sufficient reasoned justification to understand the context in which these have been formulated. Where further background explanation is required, plan users should be referred to the report of survey or, if appropriate, technical papers.
45. Consistent use of terms is important if the plan is to be easily understood. Policies, proposals and recommendations should be distinguished graphically from other matters in the written statement. While recommendations can be used to demonstrate how other Council departments, external agencies, etc can be involved in implementing the strategy, they should be used sparingly.
Key Diagram
46. The key diagram should indicate the spatial implications of the strategy. It should show the general location of key policies and proposals, the scale of new development, priority locations for regeneration where appropriate and also show where restraint is required, for example in relation to green belts or natural heritage designations; these should be cross-referenced to the written statement. It is not the function of the key diagram to identify individual sites or define precise boundaries; this should be reflected in the notation. Supplementary diagrams and illustrations can, however, be used where they help clarify or explain a particular issue.
Publicity and Consultation Statement
47. This document should summarise the significant dates in plan preparation, the steps taken to secure adequate publicity with the general public and consultation with other authorities and bodies, and how representations and responses were considered. It should indicate where users who seek more information can find it.
Supplementary Guidance
48. A written statement should be clear and simple enough to be a convenient reference document for regular users although there may be issues and policies in a structure plan which would benefit from documents targeted at specific interest groups or areas. These might include specific types of development opportunity brochure, for example in relation to locations for major retail development which support the strategy, or updated information on the supply of land for housing..
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