Bassetlaw Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Site Allocations DPD?

The Site Allocations DPD will identify or ‘allocate’ areas of land within Bassetlaw for specific types of development, such as housing and employment. It will be part of Bassetlaw’s Local Development Framework (LDF), which is a new series of planning documents that the Council is producing to guide development decisions in Bassetlaw.

The first document to be produced as part of the LDF was the Core Strategy, which identifies the settlements that are to receive allocations, along with the scale of housing and employment growth that each settlement will need to accommodate.

The inclusion of a site in the final Site Allocations DPD will mean that the Council, in principle, will support any development or use that is in accordance with the requirements of the DPD and the Core Strategy.

What is the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment?

The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) identifies and assesses the development potential of possible sites for future housing development. The sites assessed as being ‘developable’ will be considered through the site allocations process.

How do I put forward a site to be considered for the Site Allocations DPD?

If you wish us to consider a site, or sites, within the District to be allocated for development, you can submit details to us by filling in the registration form or by contacting a member of the Planning Policy team.

How will potential development sites be assessed?

Sites will be assessed against a range of criteria that will include: public opinion (as a result of consultation); the likelihood of delivery; benefit to local communities and to the District; impact on existing infrastructure; scoring against Sustainability Appraisal objectives; and consistency with national policy and the Core Strategy.

Will every site put forward be allocated for development?

Not every suggested site will be needed to meet the District’s development needs. Only those deemed to be developable have come forward for consideration as part of the Site Allocations consultation process.

How will existing infrastructure and services cope and what new infrastructure and services will be provided to support the growth?

All new development, housing in particular, will contribute to the delivery of appropriate infrastructure either directly or through a financial contribution. The Council is already working closely with the relevant agencies to ensure that the exact infrastructure requirements of specific sites can be understood. Initial work is set out in the Council’s Infrastructure Capacity Study.

What will happen to development boundaries (settlement envelopes)?

The Proposals Map, which accompanied the Core Strategy, set out the development boundaries for each settlement that may receive allocated sites. The Council will publish a Revised Proposals Map as part of the Site Allocations document, which will set out new development boundaries that have been re-drawn around any new allocated sites.

What is the timetable for the Site Allocations DPD?

In brief, community consultation on the Site Allocations Issues & Options document will take place in November 2011. A further consultation on the ‘Preferred Options’ will take place in Summer 2012 with Submission of the final document to the Secretary of State in late 2012. It is anticipated that the document will be adopted by the Council in Spring 2013. We will keep you informed of any changes to these dates via the Council’s website.

Why are you consulting again when we already completed resident questionnaires?

The resident questionnaires were carried out to find out about local residents’ views on possible future development in their locality, in order to provide the Council with an initial steer on the approach it should be outlining in the Issues & Options document. A summary of the questionnaire responses has been published on the Council’s website and will be taken into consideration throughout the Site Allocation process.

Will there be opportunities for future public involvement?

Yes. In addition to the Issues & Options consultation, there will be at least one other formal public consultation period before the Site Allocations document is submitted to the Government for public examination. In addition, the Planning Policy team is always very happy to speak with anyone about the process in general or sites in particular.