Back to Contents - Back to Introduction   INTRODUCTION     The Process The Borough Council is required, under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, to maintain an up to date Local Plan for the whole of Amber Valley.   The purposes of local plans are to: develop strategic planning policies and relate them to precise areas of land provide a detailed basis for the control of development provide a basis for co-ordinating and directing the use and development of land bring local planning issues before the public In 1997, the Borough Council commenced a comprehensive review of the adopted Plan, to take it forward to 2011, with the publication of an 'Issues Report and Policy Options' document for public consultation. This sought to identify the key issues and the preferred policy options to address these issues, taking into account national and regional planning policy guidance, the emerging policies of the Derby and Derbyshire Joint Structure Plan and other planning issues at the local level. Following the adoption of the Joint Structure Plan on 31 January 2001, the Borough Council was able to further progress the Local Plan Review process, with the publication of a First Deposit Plan in September 2001. This provided the first formal opportunity for consultation on emerging policies and proposals in the Local Plan Review. The First Deposit Plan was placed on deposit for a period of six weeks. The Borough Council considered all comments received, including late objections received by 14 November 2001, negotiating wherever possible to resolve any objections. The Borough Council proposed a number of changes to the First Deposit Plan and published a Revised Deposit Plan for a further six week period. This allowed for further representations to be made on the proposed changes. Any outstanding objections from both the First Deposit Plan stage and consultation on the Revised Deposit Plan which could not be resolved were considered by an independent Inspector at a public local inquiry, held between October 2003 and June 2004. The Inspector provided a report on the inquiry, which included recommendations for changes to the Plan. The Borough Council then considered these recommendations and agreed a number of Proposed Modifications in September 2005. Following consultation on these Proposed Modifications, the Borough Council agreed a number of Further Proposed Modifications in January and February 2006. No further changes were then made as a result of consultation and the receipt of representations and the Local Plan was formally adopted on 12 April 2006, replacing the previous Local Plan adopted in 1994.   Influences On The Plan In reviewing the adopted Local Plan, the Borough Council has had regard to:- up to date national and regional planning policy guidance the strategic policies of the Derby and Derbyshire Joint Structure Plan the approved Local Transport Plans covering Amber Valley relevant corporate strategies of the Borough Council and its key partners other issues identified through the consultation process   Format And Content Of The Plan The Plan consists of a Written Statement, together with a Proposals Map which indicates site specific policies and proposals. Chapter 1, entitled 'Local Plan Strategy', sets out the overall vision for the Plan. It identifies a number of key objectives, together with strategic policies designed to support these objectives and against which all development proposals will need to be considered. Chapters 2-7 include policies and proposals for specific forms of land use and development. Key changes from the previous adopted Local Plan (1994) include a new chapter entitled 'Economic Development and Regeneration', setting out a wide range of policies and proposals in relation to employment-generating uses, and a specific chapter on 'Town Centres and Shopping', reflecting up to date Government guidance and the priority given by the Borough Council to regenerating Amber Valley's town centres. Chapter 8, 'Monitoring and Implementation', introduces performance indicators and targets, to enable the Borough Council to measure the extent to which the policies and proposals in the Plan are effective in supporting the delivery of its objectives. Appendices are attached to the Plan, relating to: provision of land for new housing and business and industrial development parking standards The Proposals Map consists of 14 Insets, covering the town centres at 1:2500 scale and the remainder of the Borough at 1:10000 scale. In the event of any discrepancy between the Written Statement and the Proposals Map, the provisions of the Written Statement will prevail. Whilst many of the policies and proposals are cross-referenced, there is a need to read the whole of the Plan in order to provide a complete picture of how it may affect particular areas of land or buildings.     top