The Council have quoted the reasons for the issuing of the Enforcement Notice as follows;
The vision of Regional Planning Guidance is to:
Market towns should be the focal points for development and service provision in the rural areas and this role should be supported and enhanced. Outside market towns, development should be small scale and take place primarily within or adjacent to existing settlements, avoiding scattered forms of development. Local authorities in their development plans should:
Development in rural settlements should be limited in scale, and sustain and enhance the character and appearance and the social and economic well-being of local communities.
Development within the open countryside will be strictly controlled.
5.6.21 Dispersed development has, in the past, resulted in housing developments which have been poorly related to population centres and severed from employment and facilities. This has led to reduced accessibility and increased travelling distances. Dispersed development has not hitherto encouraged the development of public transport.
5.6.22 Planning Policy Guidance Note 7 "The Countryside - Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development" (PPG.7, February 1997) explicitly recognises that some villages, due to factors such as their size, existing facilities and location, have the scope to develop in a way which is compatible with sustainability objectives, and that they will have a key contribution to make to what is primarily an urban-based strategy.
5.6.23 However, advice in RPG.10 clearly states that:
"Development in rural areas should not be at the expense of the Region’s important environmental assets ... Development which reinforces a scattered pattern of small rural settlements is unlikely to be consistent with the aim of achieving sustainable development."
5.6.24 Development in the open countryside will be strictly controlled. The protection of the countryside for its own sake is a fundamental aim of Government guidance, it is therefore necessary to limit development to that which is both appropriate in type and form and sensitive to its location.
5.6.25 There is a great deal of attractive countryside in Gloucestershire, this is reflected in the designation of much of the County as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This policy applies to development outside the major urban areas, other urban areas, principal settlements and villages; outside these existing settlements there remains the need to avoid sporadic, isolated, and visually intrusive development, which can make additional and uneconomic demands upon the provision of infrastructure and would not be in keeping with the principles of sustainability.
5.6.26 Any proposal will be determined on its merits by the District Councils. The emphasis throughout the rural areas will be on the provision of affordable housing.
In providing for development, local authorities will have regard to the need for community facilities and services, including education, health and cultural facilities, local shopping facilities, sport and leisure facilities, transport services and infrastructure, housing including affordable housing and public utilities. In determining the type, scale and location of development, the adequacy of infrastructure and community services will be taken into account.
Provision for development will be made where related infrastructure and community services are in place or will be provided in appropriate phases in an environmentally acceptable way.
5.6.27 For most of Gloucestershire’s residents the County’s towns and villages form the main centres for community and shopping facilities, education, health services and leisure. One of the objectives of a strategy to facilitate more sustainable development is to increase both settlement and neighbourhood self-sufficiency, so that peoples’ needs may be met locally.
5.6.28 This contributes to quality of life in two ways. Firstly it maximises the availability of services to those who need them, particularly the less mobile, and secondly, it reduces the need to travel, with resulting sustainability benefits in terms of reducing traffic, local pollution and fossil fuel emissions.
Self-sufficient communities may also be more socially cohesive and retain distinctive identities leading to wider benefits in terms of social welfare.
5.6.29 A range of public and private bodies and organisations provides community facilities and other services. A greater role for the private sector highlights the importance of recognising market forces and commercial pressures. However, social and environmental concerns should be recognised and developers should fund improvements to transport services and other important infrastructure where these are necessary to achieve a satisfactory pattern of development, and to meet other policies in the Plan.
5.6.30 When considering the range and amount of new development that should be provided, it is important to take account of the extent to which new development could enhance existing settlements’ abilities to perform their function effectively and promote principles of sustainability.
In providing for development the following aspects of the environment which contribute to local character and distinctiveness should be safeguarded and wherever possible enhanced:
5.6.31 Gloucestershire has a rich and diverse landscape character which contributes to the quality of life of those who live and work in the County. RPG.10 recognises that is a supreme challenge to ensure that development is accommodated whilst ensuring that the South West’s environmental assets are maintained and expanded. RPG.10 states that development plans and biodiversity action plans (BAP’s) should recognise and foster local characteristics, and encourage new opportunities for landscape restoration and habitat creation. New development should respect and enhance the environment in its scale, location and design, as reiterated in Policy NHE.1.
5.6.32 The Countryside Agency and English Nature have analysed the distinctive features of the whole English countryside in both landscape and conservation terms. They have identified broad areas of cohesive character which can be described in terms of their landscape character, sense of place, local distinctiveness, characteristic wildlife and natural features, and nature of change. This approach is described in more detail in the section of the Plan entitled ‘Natural and Historic Environment’.
5.6.33 Efforts should be made to work with local people where possible to identify how best to achieve locally distinctive development and sustainable change; building on initiatives such as the Countryside Agency’s techniques for Countryside Design Summaries and Village Design Statements.
These enable the community to determine the quality and nature of change to their local environment, and enhance qualities of distinctiveness.
5.6.34 The Gloucestershire Biodiversity Action Plan (GBAP) contributes to understanding how to reconcile the needs of people and wildlife. It defines Natural Areas where the current state of the habitat reflects the overall character best and offers the greatest potential for full restoration. Local plans should seek to ensure that development makes a positive contribution to the GBAP.
Identification of existing habitat fragments should be followed by efforts to extend and reconnect sites, patches and areas, through areas of development and other inhospitable land uses.
Provision for Travellers
Provision should be made for the residential and transitory needs of travellers residing in or resorting to the County by the release of small areas of land well related to areas of proven need.
All sites should be well related to local services and facilities and be located so as to minimise significant adverse effects on other existing uses and on the environment.
6.5.27 The frequently quoted definition for sustainable development expressed in the Brundtland Report includes meeting the needs of present and future generations. One such need is for accommodation. In the context of the ‘settled population’, this need is expressed in the search for a place in which to live on a more or less permanent basis; whereas in the context of travelling people, this need is reflected in the search for a place in which to live often on a more temporary basis. In the context of this policy ‘proven need’ is need identified by continual use of land in an area.
6.5.28 A key role of the Structure Plan is to guide the provision of housing for the ‘settled population’ at a strategic level. However, the role of the Structure Plan in strategically guiding the provision of sites to serve travelling people in the County has not been considered previously. The Second Review of the Plan presents an opportunity to redress this imbalance.
6.5.29 In January 1996, the County Council’s Strategy and Resource Committee adopted a Policy Framework covering aspects of policy relating to travellers, including unauthorised encampments and site provision. It was prepared in full consultation with the District Councils and a number of voluntary organisations, representing a wide range of interests. The framework interprets ‘Travellers’ as "all persons who have a nomadic lifestyle regardless of purpose for all, or part of, the year". However site provision is determined on the basis of whether travellers ‘reside in or resort to the area’, and it is this interpretation that is used in Policy H.10. The travellers policy was revisited in the first half of 1999, some marginal changes were made but the essence of the policy remains the same.
6.5.30 The intention of Policy H.10 is to facilitate the provision of sites, which respond to travellers’ needs for accommodation. To this extent, and in accordance with guidance in Circular 1/94, applications relating to land owned by travellers or by relevant third party agencies and landowners will be encouraged.
6.5.31 In addition to meeting travellers’ needs, it is important that all proposed sites and stopping places respect the character of the local environment, as advised in Circular 1/94. To this extent, all proposals should accord with the provisions of policies relating to the Natural and Historic Environment section. Proposed sites and stopping places should seek to utilise vacant or under-used land in preference to making use of ‘greenfield’ locations, in order to conserve the County’s land resource and thereby contribute towards sustainable development. Generally, travellers needs will be most effectively addressed where provision is well related to settlements which offer schools, shops and medical facilities, either by being within walking distance of these facilities or otherwise well connected to them by public transport services.
6.5.32 In relation to proposals for transit sites and emergency stopping places, travellers’ needs will tend to be best served where provision is closely related to routes via which they habitually travel. In this context, the most urgent current requirement is for a transit site either within or in close proximity to the City of Gloucester. The existing transit site at Moreton Valence is frequently full, although numbers using the site fluctuate. The frequent incidence of illegal encampments in and around the City points to the urgency of finding a suitable location for a further transit site within the Gloucester area.
6.5.33 It is envisaged that sites coming forward as a result of Policy H.10 will be small in scale in order that they might be readily assimilated within local environmental and infrastructure capacities.
Detailed policies relating to considerations of visual impact, amenity, highway access and utility servicing will be included in local plans.
The countryside’s character, appearance and non-renewable and natural resources will be protected from harmful development unless the social and economic needs of the area or wider environmental objectives outweigh such harm.
14.2.1 The Government’s policy is that the countryside should be safeguarded for its own sake and non-renewable and renewable resources should be protected. Post-war policies have focused on designating and protecting those areas of the countryside that are most important for landscape and wildlife. The priority now is to find ways of enriching the quality of the whole countryside.
14.2.2 The Countryside Agency and English Nature have analysed the distinctive features of the whole English countryside in both landscape and conservation terms. They have identified broad areas of cohesive character which can be described in terms of their landscape character, sense of place, local distinctiveness, characteristic wildlife and natural features, and nature of change. The agencies have produced a national map and a set of summary statements; the Countryside Agency in terms of character descriptions and English Nature with regard to natural area profiles. In Gloucestershire the Countryside Agency and English Nature identify the broad character areas as being the Severn and Avon Vales, the Cotswolds, the Forest of Dean Plateau and Lower Wye Valley and the Upper Thames Clay Vales.
14.2.3 Local character and distinctiveness may be defined in detail at the local plan level using this approach. The safeguarding of undesignated sites when permitting and implementing development can also be assisted through the ‘Environmental Capital’ approach promoted by the Countryside Agency, English Nature, English Heritage and the Environment Agency, where benefits can be assigned to features which local people may value.
14.2.4 In addition to identifying and protecting the County’s character PPG.7 advocates that development plans should be informed through Local Agenda 21. This seeks to identify what sustainable development means at the local level. Gloucestershire’s Local Agenda 21 organisation (Vision 21) is progressing the process of securing sustainable development. In 1996 Vision 21 published "Sustainable Gloucestershire" which sets out visions and analysis of the current situation; key issues and solutions for the major topics which, together, can create more sustainable development. It is an evolving movement of people and ideas that is seeking to address local development issues at a fundamental and integrated level.
14.2.5 Efforts should be made to work with local people where possible to identify how best to achieve locally distinctive development and sustainable change, building on initiatives such as the Countryside Agency’s techniques for Countryside Design Summaries and Village Design Statements.
These enable the community to determine the quality and nature of change to their local environment, and enhance qualities of distinctiveness.
Strictly controls development to ensure it is not visually intrusive or detrimental to the character and appearance of the area. It sets out the guidelines for the protection of the countryside. It states that development will be only be permitted when certain criteria are met including the avoidance of creating amenity problems for adjoining or nearby land users. The permission will not be given to development, which is of a scale, form, design or appearance that would be visually intrusive or detrimental to the character of the area, and there is the provision of adequate services that are readily accessible and can be readily economically provided.
Proposals for development will be required to: