3.1
The overall vision of the Rhondda Cynon Taf LDP is derived from the vision for Rhondda Cynon Taf outlined in ‘Live. Grow. Aspire. Achieve’, Rhondda Cynon Taf Community Strategy (2010 – 2020), which states that:
“Rhondda Cynon Taf will be a County Borough of Opportunity. That means working together to enable individuals and communities to achieve their full potential, in terms of both their work and social life.”
3.2
The LDP will present an opportunity for the spatial planning system to deliver the aims and objectives of the Community Strategy.
3.3
The Community Strategy recognises that the successful delivery of its vision relies on a range of physical, social, economic, health, educational and related initiatives. It also recognises that the spatial planning system has a fundamental role to play in the delivery of this vision.
3.4
In order to directly support the implementation of the Community Strategy, the LDP will provide a land use framework that seeks to: -
• Build sustainable communities that ensure everyone has access to housing, jobs and essential services and that all new development is supported by necessary social and physical infrastructure. This will be achieved by focussing new growth in principal towns and key settlements;
• Ensure that Rhondda Cynon Taf achieves its potential by maximizing the advantages of its strategic location, both in terms of the Capital Region and global economy. It will also maximise opportunities for inward investment in Hirwaun and Llantrisant / Talbot Green;
• Deliver a better quality of life by ensuring our communities are vibrant, healthy and safe, provide access to a range of cultural, commercial and leisure activities and protect our natural heritage and built environment;
• Develop and protect the County Borough for future generations so that physical and natural resources are protected, the challenges of climate change are met and new development is in sustainable locations and of the highest environmental standards.
3.5
In order to ensure the delivery of the Community Strategy Vision, spatial planning objectives have been developed. These objectives are at the centre of the LDP and form the basis for its policy development.
3.6
The objectives of the Rhondda Cynon Taf LDP are to:
Sustainable Communities
1. Provide for the County Borough’s overall housing requirement through a mix of dwelling types catering for all needs to promote integrated and thriving communities and reinforce the roles of the Principal Towns and Key Settlements in the north and south of the County Borough.
2. Promote integrated communities within the Principal Towns, Key Settlements and other sustainable settlements by ensuring the development of a high quality built environment that provides opportunities for living, working and socialising for all.
Achieving Potential
3. Develop a sustainable economy in Rhondda Cynon Taf that provides a diverse range of job opportunities in locations that reinforce the roles of Principal Towns and Key Settlements in the north and south of the County Borough.
Better Quality of Life
4. Promote and protect the rich culture and heritage of the County Borough by protecting and enhancing the historic landscape of the Rhondda, the historic parks and gardens in the south and the built heritage of the County Borough as a whole.
5. Provide an environment in Rhondda Cynon Taf that encourages a healthy and safe lifestyle and promotes well-being through improvement in access to green space in the north, provision of open space in the south, and the protection of recreational space throughout the County Borough.
6. Reduce the need to travel by car within Rhondda Cynon Taf by promoting residential and commercial development in the Principal Towns and Key Settlements in the north and south of the County Borough where there is a choice of sustainable modes of transport.
Develop and Protect the County Borough for Future Generations
7. Protect and enhance the glacial landscapes of the north, undulating countryside of south, important geological sites and the diverse and abundant wildlife habitats and native species that exist throughout Rhondda Cynon Taf.
8. Manage the effects of climate change by protecting biodiversity, focussing development away from areas in the north and south which are vulnerable to flooding, increase the supply of renewable energy from a range of sources including onshore wind energy available throughout the County Borough, by reducing energy consumption through improved design and by promoting development in the Principal Towns and Key Settlements in the north and south of the County Borough.
9. Minimise waste, especially waste to landfill, by making adequate provision for waste and community recycling facilities in Principal Towns, Key Settlements and Smaller Settlements in the County Borough in a way that meets the needs of Rhondda Cynon Taf and in accordance with the requirements of the Regional Waste Plan.
10. Promote the efficient and appropriate use of land, soil and minerals throughout the County Borough by maximising the use of land, promoting the re-use and restoration of derelict land and buildings, reuse of materials and the safeguarding of resources of local, regional and national importance where they occur in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
3.7
The objectives have been translated into the spatial framework provided by the LDP and have informed the development of the core, area wide and strategy area policies of the plan. A detailed monitoring framework for the LDP is contained in Chapter Seven of the Plan. The framework will allow the Council to assess the delivery of the LDP objectives over the plan period.