Planning
constraints
In considering planning applications there are area based
constraints that account must be taken of when coming to a
decision.
In addition the constraint might affect the level of detail to
be submitted in support of the planning application.
If your application falls within a flood risk
area you will need to submit a Flood Risk Assessment. Such an
assessment can vary from simple information in low risk areas to a
very significant piece of professional work in high risk areas.
For detailed advice on where a flood risk
assessment might be required and what should be done www.pipernetworking.com/floodrisk/
Contaminated land
Contamination of land can occur as a result of
a previous industrial land use and may represent a risk of harm to
human health and the environment. The risk of contamination
is a material planning consideration which means Allerdale Borough
Council, as Local Planning Authority must consider it when dealing
with individual planning applications.
The Authority is responsible for ensuring that
contamination is dealt with through the planning system and that
remediation takes place where it is required. It is the
responsibility of the developer to carry out the remediation and to
satisfy the Local Authority that the remediation has been carried
out as agreed.
Tree Preservation Orders (TPO)
The impact of a development proposal on the
natural environment is an important material planning
consideration. Certain trees are an important amenity feature
in our landscape that should be retained for future generations
wherever possible. Sometimes there are large and important trees on
or adjoining development sites that could be affected by the
development.
Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) were
introduced in the late 1940s to enable Local Planning Authorities
(LPA) to protect important trees. Current legislative controls are
contained within the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and
interpreted in the publication Tree Preservation Orders - A Guide
to the Law and Good Practice (Link
www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1127782).
TPOs can be placed on any single tree, group
of trees, an area of trees or woodland that has amenity
value. Trees that are exempt from TPOs are those that are
dead, dying, diseased or imminently dangerous, and fruit trees
grown for the commercial production of fruit. TPO controls
prohibit the cutting down, uprooting, topping, lopping, wilful
damage or wilful destruction of trees without prior consent from
the LPA. The maximum penalty for carrying out works to TPO
trees without consent is currently £20,000.
It is important to note that trees growing in
Conservation Areas enjoy similar protection to trees covered by a
TPO and a tree works application is required if work is proposed to
them or they are to be felled regardless of the need for a planning
application.
Planning permission could be refused if it
would have either an adverse impact on the long term health and
survival, or the loss of a protected tree or group of trees.
If planning permission is granted there are likely to be
conditions attached to ensure that the tree(s) are not damaged
during construction works. Conditions would usually include a
requirement for protective fencing to be erected before any works
commence on the site and the prohibition of excavation of service
runs, storage of materials or changes in levels within a specified
distance of the tree.
Conservation areas
A Conservation Area is an area of special
architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of
which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. The Planning
(Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 sets out the
special planning controls that apply to conservation areas.
In addition to normal planning requirements,
certain additional controls apply in conservation areas. The
permitted development rights are more limited and tree work
applications are required for works to non-protected trees over a
certain size. Conservation Area Consent is required for
certain works and demolition even if planning permission would not
normally be necessary.
Within a Conservation Area a Design and Access
Statement needs to be submitted with every planning application,
including household extensions.
Listed buildings
Listed buildings are buildings of special
historic or architectural interest which have been recorded by the
Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Buildings on the list
are graded I, II* and II, Grade I being the most important.
For Listed Buildings a special form of planning consent,
Listed Building Consent, is required for virtually any proposals
which result in change. Applications affecting Grades I and
II* listed buildings and those involving demolition are required to
be referred to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and
Sport.
Internal and external works to listed
buildings require listed building consent. Listed Building
Consent is required for repairs alterations and/or extensions which
materially alter the appearance, structure or historic interest of
a listed building. This is in addition to any requirement for
planning permission for a proposal.
There are just many listed buildings in the
Allerdale Borough Council. The buildings include high street
shops and houses, country houses and cottages, a range of
agricultural buildings, walls and even telephone boxes and
milestones.
For listed buildings a Design and Access
Statement needs to be submitted with every application.
The Council has a designated Environmental
Design team who can give advice on listed buildings, building
conservation or urban design issues.
Areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB)
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
is designated by Natural England, under the National Parks and
Access to Countryside Act 1949. AONBs share the highest
status of protection in relation to natural and scenic beauty.
The primary objective of designation is conservation of the
natural beauty of the landscape.
Designation brings with it restrictions on the
type of development that can be carried our without planning
permission. Policies and decisions on planning applications
in AONBs should favour the conservation of the natural beauty of
the landscape, whilst it is also appropriate to have regard to the
economic and social well being of the area.
Within Allerdale Borough Council lies the
Solway Coast AONB.
Within an AONB a Design and Access Statement
needs to be submitted with every planning application.
Article 4 directions
An Article 4 Direction is an Order made by the
Secretary of State to restrict the grant of planning permission by
a Local Planning Authority, either indefinitely or for a specified
period.
Certain types of development can normally be
carried out under permitted development rights without the need for
planning permission. In some circumstances, authorities may
wish to prevent people from exercising these rights in order to
retain control on the way in which the development is carried out.
This is done by means of a Direction under Article 4 of the
Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order
1995 Order.
Government policy is that permitted
development rights should only be withdrawn in exceptional
circumstances, where there is evidence of a real and specific
threat to an interest of acknowledged importance.
Article 4 Directions apply to properties
within Cockermouth, Maryport, Silloth, Wigton and Workington
Conservation Areas.