Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
PLANNING
THE ISLAND OF CHOICE
HELPING TO MAKE ANGLESEY A THRIVING AND SUCCESSFUL ISLAND
AND A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO BE
LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
(2006-2021)
November 2008
PRE DEPOSIT
REGULATION 15 DOCUMENTS
ISLE OF ANGLESEY COUNTY COUNCIL
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
Contents
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
11.0
12.0
13.0
14.0
15.0
16.0
17.0
18.0
Opening Comments
Foreword
Local Development Plan – A New Style of Land Use
Plan
Local Context – A Profile of Anglesey
The Broad Policy Context
The Local Policy Context
Evidence Base – Key Drivers
Options and Analysis and Preferred Strategy
Vision and Objectives
Preferred Strategy
Detailed Spatial and Settlement Strategy
Level of Housing Growth
Employment
Tourism
Transportation
Waste Management
Minerals
Environment
Implementation and Mônitoring
Page
6
7
8
10
13
16
17
19
20
23
26
33
45
52
55
62
63
65
69
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
A6
A7
Appendices
Assessment against Tests of Soundness
Local Distinctiveness
Settlement Strategy
Population Projections and Apportionment
Strategic Zone Maps
Draft Proposals Maps (separate map document)
Schedule of Candidate Sites
73
74
78
80
84
85
89
90
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Maps
Ynys Môn
North West Wales Spatial Development Strategy
Preferred Strategy Diagram
Llangefni and Menai Primary Hub
Holyhead Secondary Hub
Amlwch Local Catchment
Rural Anglesey - North
Rural Anglesey – South
Llangefni Zone Map
Holyhead Zone Map
Amlwch Zone Map
12
14
25
28
29
30
31
31
86
87
88
1
Tables
Land Supply
34
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Affordable Housing Target
Mônitoring
Tests of Soundness – Self Assessment
Spatial Area – Menai Primary Hub
Spatial Area – Holyhead Secondary Hub
Spatial Area – Amlwch Local Catchment
Spatial Area – Rural Anglesey
Candidate Sites – Menai Primary Hub
Candidate Sites – Holyhead Secondary Hub
Candidate Sites – Amlwch Local Centre
Candidate Sites – Rural Anglesey
Page
41
71
75
82
83
84
84
92
98
101
103
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
Policy Index
AHE 1
Settlement Strategy
TAI 1
TAI 2
TAI 3
TAI 4
TAI 5
TAI 6
TAI 7
TAI 8
TAI 9
TAI 10
TAI 11
Housing
Growth Range for New Dwellings
Strategic Housing Sites in Main Centres and Hubs
New Housing Sites in Main Centres
Phasing of the Strategic Housing Sites
Defined Settlements
Mix and Type of Dwellings
Named Villages
Clusters
Affordable Housing
Local Housing Need for Market Housing
Gypsy and Traveller Site Criteria
Page
27
34
35
36
37
37
38
38
38
40
42
43
CYF 5
CYF 6
CYF 7
CYF 8
Employment
Prestige Employment Sites
Mixed Use Development and the Protection of
Employment Land
Holyhead Action Area
Rural Employment Policy: Other Employment
Opportunities and Rural Diversification
Vibrant Town, District and Local Centres
Retail Core
Hot Food Takeaways
Telecommunication Infrastructure
TWR 1
TWR 2
TWR 3
Tourism
Tourism Attractions and Accommodation
Static Caravans
Occupancy of Holiday Accommodation
52
53
54
TR 1
TR 2
TR 3
TR 4
TR 5
TR 6
TR 7
Transport
The Road Hierarchy
Route Protection: Beaumaris Link Road
Public Transport
Railways
Lein Amlwch
Walking, Cycling and Horse Riding
Air Travel
56
58
58
59
59
59
60
Waste
Waste Sites
Waste Management Facilities
62
62
CYF 1
CYF 2
CYF 3
CYF 4
GWAS 1
GWAS 2
45
46
47
48
49
50
50
51
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
Page
Minerals
Aggregates
Need for Minerals
Sterilisation
Metaliferous Minerals
63
63
63
64
AMG 1
AMG 2
AMG 3
AMG 4
AMG 5
AMG 6
AMG 7
Environment
Landscape Character
Green Wedge
Landscapes, Parks and Gardens
Biodiversity and Local Sites
Conservation of Buildings
Tree Preservation Orders and Hedgerows
Archaeological Sites and the Historic Environment
65
66
66
66
67
67
68
GWE 1
GWE 2
GWE 3
Implementation and Mônitoring
Development Control Considerations
Design
Planning Obligations
69
70
71
MWYN 1
MWYN 2
MWYN 3
MWYN 4
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
OPENING COMMENTS
The Local Development Plan is an important document that will help guide new
development on Anglesey and will help to meet many of the major challenges
facing our Island in the coming years.
I would like to thank the many stakeholders who have given of their time and
effort to contribute ideas and helped to debate many of the major issues that we
must face in order to secure improvements to the social, economic, cultural and
environmental well being of Anglesey.
This is a new style of land use plan. More strategic in purpose, less detailed in its
coverage than previous forms of the development plan. There are both
advantages and disadvantages in this as it is clear we are all learning about the
expectations that go with this new style of work. Consensus building is important
but there are also difficult issues about the Island’s future development that will
require hard decisions. I am often reminded by the Council’s officers that the plan
has to be “sound” and that everyone must think about the comments they wish to
make on the pre deposit plan in that same context. The Council’s web site
(www.anglesey.gov.uk/localdevelopmentplan) offers some advice on soundness
as
does
the
independent
Planning
Inspectorate
(www.planninginspectorate.gov.uk).
After many Mônths of preliminary discussion and deliberation the time has now
arrived to make the pre deposit plan available for public inspection and comment.
I hope groups, communities and individuals will take the chance to comment on
the document. It seems that on Anglesey the amount of work undertaken in the
“participation” phase has lead to more detailed pre deposit proposals than other
councils in Wales preparing similar plans. It is hoped that your comments on
these proposals will ensure that we then have a solid platform for the new plan
before the subsequent plan making stages of ‘deposit’ and ‘examination’.
I thank you for your interest in the plan and look forward to hearing reports on
what has been said about the emerging plan.
Councillor R Llewelyn Jones
Portfolio Holder - Planning
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
1.0
FOREWORD
1.1
The County Council is preparing a Local Development Plan (LDP) for
Anglesey in line with the provisions, and associated regulations, of the
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. So far the Council has:
•
•
•
•
•
1.2
Agreed a Delivery Agreement with the Welsh Assembly Government,
(and varied the timetable of that agreement in line with the progress made
on the plan),
Published an Evidence Base in September 2006 along with an update in
May 2008, to establish the economic, environmental and social conditions
at the baseline of the plan.
Conducted initial participation work by consulting with local stakeholders
over vision, objectives and options for the new LDP.
Engaged with stakeholders on the development of a preferred strategy to
underpin the plan and ensure it is “sound”,
Commenced work on a Sustainability Appraisal, also accounting for the
need for Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate
Assessment. The Council is also carrying out work on Language Impact
Assessment and Health Impact Assessment.
The initial participation work has been completed and is described as
regulation 14 work. It has been evaluated and informs this pre deposit
plan which sets out a preferred strategy for future development. This is
subject to a six week period of formal consultation with local stakeholders.
Advice
1.3
The Council will be able to advise you about the new system but
independent advice on local development plans can also be obtained in:
¾ LDP Wales Planning your community. Welsh Assembly Government 2006
¾ LDP Wales. Policy on preparation of LDPs Welsh Assembly Government
December 2005.
¾ Planning Policy Wales. Companion Guide. Welsh Assembly Government.
June 2006.
¾ A Framework for Assessing the Soundness of Local Development Plans.
The Planning Inspectorate May 2005.
Time Period (2006-2021)
1.4
The time period for the LDP is the fifteen year period 2006-2021. While
part of the plan period will therefore have expired at the time of plan
adoption it means the LDP will commence seamlessly at the point at
which the Isle of Anglesey County Council stopped work on the former
Unitary Development Plan (December 2005). It will still have some ten
years to operate at the point of adoption. The new LDP will however be
subject to an annual Mônitoring report to assess whether early review is
required.
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
2.0
LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN – A NEW STYLE OF LAND USE PLAN
2.1
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the new style Local
Development Plan. It provides the references required by stakeholders to
make more detailed checks on the relevant statutory guidance and
procedures. Attention is also drawn to the key issue of “soundness” and
how this will be assessed when the plan reaches examination before an
independent Inspector appointed by the Welsh Assembly Government.
a) New Style of Plan
2.2
As a new style of development plan the LDP is required to focus on
strategic policy, contain a preferred strategy showing key areas of
change and identify the key sites that will help deliver the changes
required for the future well being of Anglesey. While the LDP “must have
regard to national policies, they should not repeat them, but rather explain
how they apply to the local area” (LDP Wales para 2.2). Neither is the
LDP a development control manual and the plan must avoid over
detailed prescription of planning control policies.
b) Evidence Base and Candidate Site Register
2.3
A key feature of the new plan is that the “preferred strategy” must be
based on evidence about the social, economic and environmental
conditions on Anglesey. These matters are reflected in an extensive range
of evidence published by the County Council in September 2006, and
updated in May 2008. This can be viewed on the Council’s web site. The
evidence base identifies the key issues which face the Island and which
inform the preferred strategy of the pre deposit plan.
2.4
The evidence base includes another new feature in preparing the LDP,
that is, the introduction of a ‘candidate site register’. As from January 2007
this has allowed landowners and other stakeholders to notify the council of
land they wish to have considered for development and/or conservation. It
has informed the pre deposit deliberations. Submissions were received
throughout 2007 and continued up to the pre deposit period.
c) Soundness
2.5
Any individual or an organisation wishing to make a representation on the
pre deposit plan are strongly advised to make themselves familiar with the
tests of soundness. More information about this is available in appendix
one and on the Council’s web site. A key focus in the new system of plans
is ensuring the plan is produced in a sound manner and the subsequent
examination of the submitted plan by independent inspectors will largely
relate to ensuring the plan meets the tests of soundness.
2.6
Representations on the plan, and objections to specific proposals, must
focus on how the soundness of the plan can be improved as it moves from
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
the current pre deposit period, through deposit to the examination and
final adoption. In particular evidence regarding the soundness of sites not
included in the preferred strategy would be welcomed.
2.7
Any alternative sites offered during the pre-deposit consultation period
must be supported by evidence to deMônstrate that the soundness of the
plan will be improved by their inclusion.
ch) Sustainable Development
2.8
National planning policy requires that the plan is based on the principles of
sustainable development in order to be sound. The County Council has
adopted the Bruntland Commission definition of sustainable development:“development which meets the needs of the future without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. This is
reinforced by the Council being a signatory to the Welsh Commitment on
Climate Change.
d) ‘Binding’ Inspector’s Report
2.9
Another important change is that after the examination of the LDP the
Inspector will issue a binding report on the soundness of the plan that the
Council must then consider for adoption. This change seeks to make the
process faster and allow speedier adoption of plans.
dd) Annual Reporting
2.10
Users of the LDP should also note that an annual Mônitoring report will be
produced and the evidence in that publication will help decide whether the
plan should be updated or supplementary planning guidance issued/
revised. This seeks to make the LDP a more responsive and flexible tool
than previous development plans.
3.0
LOCAL CONTEXT – A PROFILE OF ANGLESEY
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
3.1
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a broad introduction to the plan
area. The key characteristics of Anglesey are described. Further detail can
be found in the evidence base of the plan regarding the social, economic
and environmental characteristics of the Island.
3.2
Situated in the North West corner of Wales and covering an area of some
720km2, Anglesey is the largest of the Welsh islands. Anglesey is
connected to mainland Wales by the Menai Suspension Bridge (1826) and
the Britannia Bridge (1852), which operates as a two-level bridge carrying
trains to and from Holyhead, and road traffic on the A55 expressway.
Anglesey is also a strategic international ‘gateway’ to the Irish Republic,
with the Ferry Port at Holyhead conveying around 2.5 million people a
year, and goods by sea to and from Ireland. In 2007 a civilian air link was
established between Valley airfield and the capital City of Wales, Cardiff
and having the potential for additional air links in the future.
3.3
Anglesey has the smallest resident population of all counties in North
Wales, and the second smallest resident population in Wales after Merthyr
Tydfil. Government projections now suggest that the population of 69.0
thousand (2007 mid-year estimate) is slowly increasing but at a lower rate
than the Welsh average. 97.2% of the population is of White British origin,
followed by White Other (1.2%), White Irish (0.9%), Chinese (0.2%),
Indian (0.2%) and Gypsies and Travellers (0.2%). The Ynys Môn LDP is
therefore providing land use policies for a relatively small geographic area
within the wider socio-economic context of development policy for North
West Wales.
3.4
Compared to other rural Welsh authorities the population is evenly
distributed across the plan area. The main concentrations of people are in
the towns of Holyhead, Llangefni and Amlwch along with the settlements
around the two bridges across the Menai Strait. However, Anglesey also
has a large transient population due to the presence of the Ferry Port at
Holyhead and the popularity of the Island as a tourist destination. A
number of key local services are obtained on the mainland with the sub
regional centre, and University City of Bangor playing a key role.
3.5
The Island’s economy is relatively weak and characterised by a handful of
large employers (e.g. RAF Valley, Wylfa Power Station, Anglesey
Aluminium Metals Limited, the County Council and Health Care services
and a significant number of small businesses (mostly agricultural, retail
and construction based), which generally only tend to employ a few
people. Most of the workforce is currently employed in the public sector
and the construction and manufacturing industries.
Due to the
underperformance of the economy in recent years, Anglesey regularly has
one of the highest levels of unemployment and deprivation in Wales.
3.6
The Island’s natural environment is of great national and European
importance, and has a high local economic and social value. The Island is
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
home to a wealth of nature, and boasts 201km of coastline, 22,000
hectares of land designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
(AONB), 60 Sites of Special Scientific Interest which underpin 4 National
Nature Reserves, 3 Special Protection Areas and 8 Special Areas of
Conservation. Furthermore, the Island also has a valuable historic
environment and rich historic and cultural inheritance characterised by a
World Heritage Site in Beaumaris, 142 scheduled ancient Mônuments,
2159 other recorded archaeological sites, two areas of outstanding historic
landscapes and 1115 listed buildings and 12 Conservation Areas.
3.7
Anglesey is characterised by long standing close knit communities, and is
also one of the main strongholds for the Welsh language and culture.
Despite experiencing a loss of Welsh speakers in recent years, over 60%
of the current population continue to speak Welsh.
3.8
Whilst an island, Anglesey has strong socio economic links with the
mainland parts of North West Wales especially the University City of
Bangor. In addition the long standing sea links give a strong relationship
with the Republic of Ireland.
3.9
Appendix 2 refers to a number of distinctive issues that are part of the
local context for the LDP.
Ynys Môn
Local Development Plan
Map 1 - Ynys Môn