Structure Plan - Panel Report

1. The Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Deposit Draft Structure Plan 1996-2016 (referred to as the Deposit Draft Structure Plan) is intended to replace the existing Leicestershire Structure Plan 1991-2006 which was adopted by the former Leicestershire County Council in January 1994 (referred to as the adopted Structure Plan).

2. The Deposit Draft Structure Plan was placed on deposit from 22nd May 2000 to 3rd July 2000. Following deposit 283 responses were received, comprising 2,369 individual objections or representations. In March 2001, following an analysis of these objections and representations, the Structure Plan Authorities published a number of pre-Examination in Public changes to the Deposit Draft Structure Plan.

3. Later, in May 2001, the Structure Plan Authorities issued a further document entitled Supplementary Housing Report, Housing Land Availability and Urban Capacity, April 2000: The Implications for Structure Plan Housing Policies. The report updated a housing land availability and urban capacity assessment to a base date of April 2000. It also set out a preferred option for housing distribution, taking into account the updated information, and put forward revisions to Housing Policies 1, 2 and 3. References in the Panel report to the Structure Plan should be read as being the Deposit Draft Structure Plan including the changes published in March 2001 and taking into account the Supplementary Housing Report, May 2001.

4. During the Examination in Public (EIP) the Structure Plan Authorities produced some further re-drafting of policies and these are specifically referred to where appropriate in this report.

5. The emerging Regional Planning Guidance for the East Midlands 1996 – 2021 will update RPG 8 the Regional Planning Guidance for the East Midlands published in 1994. A Public Examination was held in June 2000 into the draft Guidance and following the Regional Panel’s Report the Secretary of State proposed a number of changes, to which representations and objections were being considered at the time of the EIP. Where we refer in this report to Draft RPG it is the Secretary of State’s version of the document which we are addressing. The Government Office for the East Midlands advised the EIP that the final RPG should be available to the Structure Plan Authorities prior to their adopting the Structure Plan.

6. We were appointed by the then Secretary of State for the Environment Transport and the Regions to conduct an EIP of selected issues arising out of the Structure Plan Authorities’ proposals. Based on the representations received to the Deposit Draft Structure Plan and the pre-EIP changes seven matters were selected by the Structure Plan Authorities for examination, in consultation with the Panel. We were also consulted on the choice of participants at the EIP. In total 74 participants were invited, with 59 taking up their invitations.

7. The List of Matters and Participants is reproduced as Annex A to this report. All participants were given the opportunity to submit statements prior to the EIP and these were circulated in advance to all those participating in the relevant sessions. Statements prepared by the Structure Plan Authorities were likewise circulated. Statements submitted by those who were invited but unable to attend and those to whom we were unable to issue an invitation have been taken into account. A Document Library was available both prior to and during the EIP where copies of all statements and other relevant documents were available for inspection. The full Document Library list is available from the Structure Plan Authorities.

8. A Preliminary Meeting took place on the 27th April 2001. Its purpose was to explain the nature of the proceedings and to allow an opportunity for any questions on how the EIP would be run. The EIP was held between the 26th June and the 6th July 2001. The detailed programme is at Annex B.

9. The Panel spent two days prior to the EIP touring the Plan area including visiting sites and locations relevant to the matters being examined. Prior to the tour we also spent half a day walking the Leicester City Centre area and a further day and a half touring a number of other locations in the area.

10. All of the sessions at the EIP were tape recorded. Copies of the tapes can be made available on request from the Structure Plan Authorities.

11. The chapters in the rest of this report address the seven matters considered at the EIP. In each chapter the Panel has set the context by summarising the Structure Plan’s provisions relevant to each matter and identifying the main issues arising. We have not sought to provide a full account of all the proceedings during the EIP, nor to summarise all the representations and participants’ statements. The report concentrates upon the main arguments we have considered and upon setting out the reasoning behind our conclusions and recommendations.

12. Our recommendations for changes to the Structure Plan are summarised in bold type under ‘Panel Recommendations’ at the end of each chapter. Where we have suggested new or amended policies these are denoted in italics.

Chairman: Mr Ian Crowther BA. DipTP. MRTPI(retd) Former Director of Planning, Transport and the Environment in the Government Office for the Yorkshire and Humber Region.

Inspector: Mr Richard Ogier BA. MRTPI

Senior Housing and Planning Inspector from the Planning Inspectorate.