Rother Local Plan 2020-2040 (Regulation 18)

Policy wording:

Proposals for new residential development must contribute to achieving well-designed, attractive, and healthy places that make efficient use of land and deliver appropriate densities. The following density ranges, expressed as dwellings per hectare (dph), will apply to different area types, as defined by Rother's Density Study:

1. Urban areas in Bexhill, Battle and Rye: 60-90+ dph, with higher densities around transport hubs and town and district centres.
2. Suburban areas in Bexhill, Battle, Hasting Fringes and Rye: 45-75 dph.
3. Live well locally areas: 45-60 dph.
4. Village areas (with development boundaries): 25-45 dph.
5. Countryside areas (including villages and hamlets without development boundaries): in the instances where residential development is supported by policies in this plan, the density should reflect the existing character of the area.

Development proposals must meet the minimum density in the ranges above, unless there are overriding reasons concerning townscape, landscape character, design, and environmental impact. This will support a critical mass for multiple local services/facilities and the viability of public transport including Demand Responsive Transport (DRT), shuttle bus services and car clubs.

Densities more than the maximum will be encouraged within these zones where the development is the result of a robust high-quality design-led approach; there is good access to shops, services and public transport connections; and/or the proposals are in accordance with a neighbourhood plan, design code or other adopted policy guidance.

Policy wording:

(A) All development proposals for one or more new dwellings must meet the following criteria:

1. Accessible Centres.

In Urban, Suburban and 'Live Well Locally' Area types, be located within an 800m safe, usable walking distance of a mix of local amenities (either within the site or outside but accessed via an accessible walking network) appropriate to the development proposed. Examples of local amenities include:

1. A food shop which sells fresh fruit and vegetables.
2. A park or green space.
3. An indoor meeting place (pub, cafe, community centre, place of worship)
4. A primary school
5. A post office or bank
6. A GP surgery

In Village and Countryside Area Types be located within an acceptable safe, useable walking or cycling distance of the listed mix of local amenities. This may be more than 800m.

Where a mix of local amenities are not accessible by walking and cycling, development must be located on safe, useable walking routes, that are an appropriate distance to a suitable bus stop facility, served by an appropriate public transport service(s), which connects to destination(s) in a site's respective sub-area that contains the remaining local amenities.

2. Public Squares and Spaces. Provide, or contribute to, a connected and accessible network of safe, attractive, varied public squares and open spaces with paths and other routes into and through, places to rest and interact e.g. benches and other types of seating and provide good signage and wayfinding that is accessible to all. This should form part of a wider connected accessible Green Infrastructure network which includes food growing opportunities (allotments and community gardens) and prioritises locally native plant species.
    

3. Play, Sports, Food Growing Opportunities and Recreational Facilities. Provide, or contribute to, play, sports, food growing opportunities and other recreational facilities that must not be hidden away within developments but located in prominent safe, secure, overlooked locations that can help encourage new and existing residents of all ages and abilities to share a space. Whether public or privately managed there must be well considered management arrangements and a long-term maintenance plan.
    

(B) All development proposals of 150 dwellings or more must meet the following criteria:

1. Indoor Meeting Place. Either by upgrading existing facilities, such as school or village halls, or by contributing to a new facility, provide a digitally connected, flexible and multifunctional indoor place that meets the needs of the community and is suitable for co-working, hosting events such as markets, training and to supports social prescribing.

Policy wording:

(A) All major development proposals for new dwellings must meet the following criteria:

1. Access and Provision of Public Transport. Be located on sites that have access to effective and convenient public transport, particularly in relation to scheduled bus routes to train stations, but also through, Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) or shuttle bus services. This must be either through proximity to existing routes or through the provision of new or extended routes, within a 400m walking distance of all properties.
2. Active Travel Infrastructure. Provide or financially contribute to the delivery of walking, wheeling and cycling (active travel) infrastructure, integrating with any applicable Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans and the East Sussex Local Transport Plan, evidenced through the submission of a Transport Assessment that:
   1. Provides a quantitative analysis of the multi-modal trip generation of the development, considering the routing of these trips to inform further considerations about the impacts and quality of existing routes within and outside the development.
       
   2. Provides qualitative analysis of the accessibility of the site for all users particularly those most vulnerable e.g. older people, young and disabled and highlight deficiencies and opportunities in surrounding walking, wheeling, and cycling infrastructure through consideration of policy and guidance provided in CIHT 'Planning for Walking' 2015, LTN 1/20^[18] and Active Travel England's active travel design tools. Development should consider new guidance and tools, as issued by Active Travel England as they become available.
       
   3. Provides detail and justification of proposed improvements to infrastructure and any other supporting strategies which seek to enable an increase in walking, wheeling, and cycling rates for all users particularly the most vulnerable.

Facilities at bus stops and rail stations must already exist (or be provided) that enable ease of access by active travel modes, for all users, to public transport so as to create mobility hubs, including:

1. Secure and overlooked cycle parking and facilities (including hire).
2. Seating provision.
3. Lighting.
4. Adequate shelter to accommodate likely demand.
5. Service information (including RTI).
6. Raised kerb and dropped kerb access at bus stops.
7. Appropriate signage and wayfinding.
8. Electric charging.
9. Parcel collection.
    

3. Coastal Access. Public access to the coast must be retained and improved where possible (e.g., through the creation of new path links). The King Charles III England Coast Path National Trail must be protected and opportunities taken to enhance the route (e.g., re-aligning the trail closer to the sea).
    

(B) All development proposals of more than 50 homes must meet the following criteria:

1. High-quality Walking and Wheeling Routes. Provide (if they do not already exist) a high-quality walking and wheeling route from the site to:
   1. A transport node (a regular public transport service which enables people to carry out daily duties such as employment and education);
   2. A primary school (if applicable);
   3. A shop selling mostly essential goods or services which benefit the community e.g., medical services; and
   4. Open green or blue space.

Reference should be made to the latest version of 'Manual for Streets' (DfT) and 'Designing for Walking' (Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation) and Active Travel England's active travel design tools for details but, as a minimum, a route must:

1. Be 2m wide (with limited pinch points of 1.5m due to street furniture) and localised widening to accommodate peak usage.
2. Step-free.
3. Have a smooth, even surface.
4. Have street lighting in line with the Institution of Lighting Professionals Towards a Dark Sky Standard.
5. Include appropriate crossings in compliance with standards set out in LTN 1/20 and Inclusive mobility.
6. Have frequent seating provision.
7. Have navigable features for those with visual, mobility or other limitations.
8. Routes incorporating 'Greenways', 'Quietways' and upgrades to existing or the provision of new Public Rights of Way (PROW) will be supported and encouraged.
    

2. Cycle Routes to Key Destinations. Provide off-site routes that consider compliance with LTN 1/20 and Active Travel England's active travel design tools to relevant destinations such as schools, local centres, employment centres, railway stations and the existing cycling network. All new or improved off site routes must be safe for cyclists of all abilities, ages, and mobility needs.

Policy wording:

All development proposals for one new dwelling or more must meet the following criteria:

1. Connecting Beyond the Site. Anticipate and respond to pedestrian and cycle 'desire lines' (the preferred route a person would take to travel from A-to-B). This may include the improvement of existing public rights of way.
    
2. Connected Streets, Paths, and Routes.
   1. Use simple street patterns based on formal or more relaxed grid patterns.
   2. Use straight or nearly straight streets to make pedestrian and cycle routes as direct as possible.
   3. Continuous streets (with public access) along the edges of a development. Cul de sacs will not be supported where there are opportunities to create connections.
       
3. Site Permeability. Routes for walking, wheeling and cycling that are shorter and more direct than the equivalent by car. This could be achieved by 'filtered permeability'.
    
4. Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Access. Maximise all opportunities for safe, step-free, fully accessible walking, wheeling, and cycling site access points and be greater in number than the number of access points for motor vehicles (except where additional accesses would provide no benefit to people walking, wheeling, or cycling). A motor vehicle access point with safe provision for both walking, wheeling and cycling counts as a walking, wheeling and cycling access point.
    

5. Safe Routes Accessible to All. Walking, wheeling and cycling routes which are fully accessible to all users and:
   1. Prioritise safety by being overlooked wherever possible and be adequately lit at night in accordance with LTN 1/20 and Active Travel England's active travel design tools.
   2. Provide frequent benches along all pedestrian routes to help those with mobility difficulties walk more easily between places.
   3. Provide navigable features for those with visual, mobility or other limitations.
       
6. Through Traffic. Site accesses arranged to prevent private vehicle drivers from using the site as a shortcut while undertaking a longer journey. This is best achieved through filtered permeability, or by ensuring all general traffic accesses are taken from the same main road.
    
7. Safety At Junctions. All new or improved on-site junctions (including the site access) LTN 1/20 compliant, adhering to Active Travel England's active travel design tools and designed in line with the movement hierarchy: pedestrians, followed by cyclists, public transport users and private motor vehicles.
    
8. Crossings. The appropriate crossing type (signalised / zebra / uncontrolled / continuous footway) provided along forecasted desire lines and compliant with standards set out in LTN 1/20, Inclusive Mobility and Active Travel England's active travel design tools.
    
9. Shared Use Routes. Protected cycle ways provided along busy streets. Shared use routes (i.e., a path or surface which is available for use by both pedestrians and cyclists) avoided along all new or improved streets with the site, unless they fit in the limited acceptable situations listed in LTN 1/20.
    
10. Future Expansion. Enable and propose the adoption of walking, wheeling and cycling routes up to the site boundary to provide direct connections to existing or future development where sites are either anticipated, planned, proposed, or allocated through the local plan.
     
11. Shared Mobility. Integrate provision of infrastructure for Demand Responsive Transport, car clubs and car shares as well as Park and Ride schemes, if introduced.
     
12. Zero Emission Vehicles. Integrate provision of infrastructure for rapidly advancing electric car and other zero emission technology.

Policy wording:

All development proposals for one or more new dwelling must meet the following criteria:

1. Response To Site, Character and Landscape Context. Demonstrate a clear understanding of the context and landscape character (including townscape) of the site and beyond. New development must conserve, enhance, and draw inspiration from this context and character in either a traditional or contemporary style. The use of standard building or house types that take no account of local character, bad imitation of traditional design or simply replicate generic or mediocre design in the locality will not be acceptable.
    
2. Design Concept. Be visually attractive and be informed by a clear rationale and strong design concept developed in response to an understanding of the context and landscape character (including townscape). The design concept must also inform a consistent choice of high-quality materials, finishes, detailing and landscape design. Generally, unprepossessing late twentieth century and twenty-first century development in the area should not be used as precedents for material and finishes choices in new development.
    
3. High Weald National Landscape. All development within or affecting the setting of the High Weald National Landscape shall conserve and enhance its distinctive landscape character, ecological features, settlement pattern and scenic beauty, having particular regard to the impacts on its character components, as set out in relevant policies in this plan, the latest version of the High Weald National Landscape Management Plan and the High Weald AONB Design Guide and Colour Study.
    
4. Material Banks for Future Development. Building materials are valuable resources to be conserved and reused. All development must incorporate design for disassembly principles, allowing for the efficient removal and recovery of materials when a building is no longer needed.
    
5. Bioregional Design. All development must be produced in a way that suits the local area and its resources. We strongly encourage the use of low carbon materials, such as local and certified well-managed wood, for building structures, cladding and external works.
    
6. Existing Assets. Use existing assets as anchor features, such as mature trees and capitalise on other existing features such as key views on or beyond a site.
    
7. Futureproofing and Safeguarding. Ensure that land is reused/used efficiently, effectively, and must not prejudice existing and future development and connectivity to and from adjoining sites. Where such potential may exist, development must progress within a comprehensive design masterplan framework or enable a co-ordinated approach to be adopted towards the development of adjoining sites in the future.
    
8. Stewardship. Demonstrate how they will achieve long-term stewardship of places (streets and spaces), community assets and green infrastructure by producing a Stewardship Plan that:
   1. Includes a clear management plan that sets out the vision, objectives, standards, and actions for the delivery and maintenance of places, community assets and green infrastructure, and how they will contribute to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of the community.
   2. Includes a clear participation strategy that sets out how the community will be involved in the design and management of places, community assets and green infrastructure, including the use of participatory methods, co-design, co-production, and co-management.

The Council will support proposals that adopt community stewardship models of governance, such as informal community management groups, neighbourhood planning groups, community management of public spaces, community management of buildings and facilities, community management of local energy networks, community land trusts and community housing such as cooperatives and co-housing, that give the community a key role and stake in the ownership and management of community assets and green infrastructure. The Council will also support proposals that reinvest the surplus generated by community assets and green infrastructure into the community, such as through community funds, grants, or dividends.

7. Residential Assessment Frameworks. All residential development must address the 12 considerations of "Building for a Healthy Life", and its companion 'Streets for a Healthy Life', written in partnership with Homes England, NHS England, and NHS Improvement.
    
8. All Development Assessment Framework. All development must address the ten principles of "Active Design", as published by Sport England and supported by Public Health England.

Policy wording:

(A) All development proposals for one or more new dwellings must meet the following criteria:

1. Landscape Strategy. The landscape strategy must help determine the capacity of the site and hence the appropriate developable area for the development. All layout or landscape plans for multiple unit or large building developments must have accurate contour plans and information about surface water flows. Single dwelling proposals must have levels on the site and contours for the site context clearly shown on relevant plans.
    
2. Orientation. Provide evidence of how the orientation of buildings and streets has taken account of:
   1. What is locally characteristic; (through an analysis of the existing site, context and landscape character, including townscape).
   2. Microclimate.
   3. Opportunities to maximise passive solar gain and roof-mounted energy collection, while ensuring against excessive internal heat gains in warmer seasons. New buildings and streets must prioritise southern exposure for passive heat gain, while minimising east-west orientation, (unless there are overriding reasons concerning context and landscape character).
   4. Key views and vistas.
   5. Topography and significant existing features.
   6. The need for natural surveillance.
       
3. Legibility and Street Hierarchy. Promote good legibility in the following ways:
   1. Clear route hierarchy.
   2. Strong and logical building layout and massing.
   3. Consistent choice of materials.
   4. Use local landmarks and key views.
   5. Retention of key distinctive features.
       

4. Perimeter Blocks. Aim to respect existing or achieve new perimeter block layouts unless not feasible or not locally characteristic. Utilise cohesive building compositions that define appropriate building lines and create consistent, visually harmonious street edges to enhance the pedestrian experience.

Non-residential developments that are delivered as a series of individual parcels with their own surface level car parks set back from the street will not be supported.

5. Active Frontage. Streets must have active frontages with dual aspect homes on street corners with windows serving habitable rooms. Street corners with blank or largely blank sided buildings and/or driveways, street edges with garages or back garden spaces enclosed by long stretches of fencing or wall must be avoided. Windows must be clear along the ground floor of non-residential buildings (avoid obscure windows).
    
6. Transitions. Transitions between existing and new development must be sensitive and well considered so that building heights, typologies and tenures sit comfortably next to each other.
    
7. Edges. New settlement edges must look both ways, responding to the countryside while also knitting into the existing fabric of a settlement. Where possible, new development should address the countryside directly and not turn its back onto it, unless this is not locally characteristic.

(B) All major housing developments must have 50% of dwellings have a form factor of 1.7 or less to ensure that housing is designed to be energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable.

Policy wording:

(A) All development proposals must meet the following criteria:

1. Design Speed of New Streets. New or improved streets designed (no centre line, horizontal deflection, narrow width) and signed for vehicles to travel at a max speed of 20mph.
    
2. Shared Streets. Street space shared fairly between pedestrians, cyclists, and motor vehicles (See Manual for Streets User hierarchy) and be inclusively designed so that people with visual, mobility or other limitations will be able to use the street confidently and safely. Incorporate a variety of street furniture (e.g., benches, places to sit, rest and interact), sensitively and appropriately located at regular intervals, along with good signage and wayfinding that is accessible to all to encourage walking and prioritise vulnerable users.
   
   They must be adopted, managed, and resourced as public open space rather than as public highway with its conventional emphasis upon motorised traffic movement.
    
3. Dementia Friendly District. Streets and spaces designed to adhere to best practice 'designing for dementia' principles, to contribute towards making Rother's outdoor environments more age and dementia-friendly.
    
4. Use Buildings to Define Streets & Spaces. Well defined new streets and spaces enclosed by buildings or landscape elements, particularly street trees, and boundary structures.
    

5. Tree Lined Streets. For cooling and carbon capture, with appropriate native and climate resilient trees that are in the public realm rather than on private property, have a wider canopy form for cooling and shade, have sufficient space to grow above and below ground and have long term management arrangements in place.
    
6. Animated Streets. Create animated streets, incorporating public art, cultural installations, street furniture and heritage features to enrich the visual appeal and cultural identity of public spaces.
    
7. Landscaping. Provide landscape layers that add sensory richness to a place – visual, scent and sound and help settle parked cars into the street. With frontage parking, the space equivalent to a parking space must be given over to green relief (for instance every four bays). Areas identified as suitable for growing fruit and vegetables within the curtilage of the street or public courtyards will be supported.
    
8. Sustainable Drainage Systems. Incorporate sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), such as swales, rain gardens or ditches as well as infiltration zones such as grass verges, into streets.
    
9. Services. Incorporate all underground surfaces into shared trenches with common ducting where possible. This must be considered at an early stage in the design layout and be designed to be compatible with Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). Landscape elements such as street trees must not be prejudiced by lighting columns or underground ducting.
    
10. Reducing Street Clutter. Streamline the placement of signage, street furniture, and other elements in public spaces to reduce street clutter. Benches and bins must be consistent with the design concept for the site/development.
     
11. Healthy Streets. Address the ten 'Healthy Streets' indicators of the "Healthy Streets Toolkit," as endorsed by the East Sussex LTP4.
     
12. Historic Streets. Address the guidance in "Streets for All: Advice for Highway and Public Realm Works in Historic Places," as published by Historic England, where relevant to the context.
     

(B) All development of 150 dwellings or more or 15,000sqm or more of non-residential floorspace must meet the following criteria:

1. Meaningful Variation Between Street Types. Use a street hierarchy to help people find their way around a place. For instance, principal streets can be made different to more minor streets using different spatial characteristics, building typologies, building to street relationships, landscape strategies and boundary and surface treatments.

Policy wording:

All development proposals must meet the following criteria:

1. Cycle Parking. Provide cycle parking ensuring all users feel safe, consistent with the overall design concept for the site/development and provided in line with Table 11.1/Table 11.2 of LTN 1/20 (inc. requirement of 5% of spaces to be accessible for larger cycles).
   1. Residential Cycle Parking. Secure, covered, well-lit cycle storage for all new dwellings, including flats, must be located close to people's front doors so that cycles are as convenient to choose as a car for short trips and easily accessible from the dwelling.
   2. Non-residential cycle Parking. Secure, overlooked, well-maintained, well-lit cycle parking must be located closer to the entrance of schools, economic, leisure and community facilities than car parking spaces or car drop off bays, except for blue badge spaces. Facilities must be suitable for a range of cycle types including electric bikes, cargo bikes, tandems, and tricycles. Where appropriate, secure external cycle parking must be provided where off-street parking does not exist.
       
2. Car Parking Layout. The proposed street design and parking management strategy demonstrably and physically discourage the blockage of footways, crossing points, sightlines, and cycle routes on and off site by indiscriminate and obstructive car parking.
    
3. On Street Parking.
   1. Well integrated car parking design, with good landscape treatment avoiding a public realm dominated by cars, hard standing, too many materials and associated clutter. A parking strategy must inform the design layout from an early stage.
   2. Landscape-led design with layout and materials responding to the landscape character of the place.
   3. Maximise opportunities for enhancing green infrastructure and sustainable drainage.
   4. Minimise opportunities for anti-social car parking on pavements and green spaces.
   5. Be safe, conveniently located for the dwellings they serve, overlooked and accessible for all.
       
4. In Curtilage Garages. Use limited on multi home developments.Repeated garages taking a large proportion of the ground floor frontage of a street avoided as this leads to a lack of fenestration and street animation.Garages which are designed to accommodate bicycles should meet minimum dimensions to ensure they can be accessed without the need to remove vehicles.
    
5. In Curtilage Parking.
   1. Where in-curtilage parking for individual houses is to be used, car spaces must be to the side of the main building and at least 5.5m behind the building's front edge to prevent the vehicle protruding.
   2. In-curtilage parking in front of narrow-fronted properties should be avoided if better alternatives are available and where unavoidable must be restricted to two adjoining properties to reduce the visual impact of parked vehicles on the street scene.
   3. Drive widths must be at least 3.2m when also serving as the main pathway to the property.
   4. Private car spaces and drives visible from the street should be surfaced in small unit permeable pavers, or other materials (such as gravel) which will allow sustainable drainage, raising the environmental quality of the scheme.
       
6. Car Parking Courts. Rear car parking courts serving houses must be avoided where possible.
    
7. Allocations. Where possible, street, and shared court car parking should not be allocated to individual properties as this is a much more efficient use of space.
    
8. Parking Squares. Parking squares designed with robust materials to function as attractive public spaces which also accommodate parked cars. This can be achieved with generous and appropriate green infrastructure, surfaces other than tarmac and appropriate street furniture.Parking squares should aspire to also be attractive areas of multi-functional public space, providing opportunities for communal activities such as market stalls, ceremonies, events, the annual Christmas tree.
    
9. Communal 'Remote' Car Parking.
   1. Car parking can be partly or wholly located in well-designed communal blocks, such as car barns or car ports, preferably still with some natural surveillance.
   2. These communal blocks must be located within a short and convenient walking distance of the buildings it serves.
   3. Where 'remote' car solutions are used, streets and spaces closer to homes must be designed to make uncontrolled car parking less easy, to discourage antisocial car parking behaviour.
   4. Provision for disabled drivers, activities such as dropping off passengers and shopping and access for emergency vehicles, waste collection, bulky deliveries and removals to homes will still need to be fully considered.
       

10. Green Infrastructure. Most car parking solutions will require generous green infrastructure, such as trees or rain gardens, to mitigate the visual impacts, maximise opportunities to enhance wildlife and provide shade.Too many materials, colour changes and small areas of kerbing and planting leads to an over busy result. Simple palettes and layouts are generally encouraged.
     
11. Rural Car Parking.
    1. The design of car parks in the countryside or on the settlement edge must ensure they integrate into the surrounding landscape and avoid unwelcome visual impacts and suburban character.
    2. The layout, scale, materials, and mitigation measures using green infrastructure must be landscape-led and aim to enhance local character.
    3. Over-large car parks should be avoided where possible as they will conflict with local character and their visual impacts are more difficult to mitigate.
    4. Simple materials, based on what is locally characteristic, an absence of highway elements such as kerbs and clutter and locally appropriate planting represent the best approach in most locations.
        

12. Other Parking. Provide safe, secure parking to support the use of powered two-wheelers. Facilities, with an electricity supply, must be suitable for a range of types including mopeds, scooters, and motorbikes.For specialist accommodation for older people and for people with disabilities, secure storage space under cover, with an electricity supply, is also required for powered wheelchairs or mobility scooters.