Comment

Representation ID: 26806

Received: 31/07/2024

Respondent: Northern Parishes Group

6) The group considers the draft Local Plan is an amalgamation of a planning document, the background to a particular issue and an explanation of the intentions of the authors. The result is that the document is too long which makes it difficult to find the relevant entries. Knowing how so many people prefer hard copy to just online material, Green to the Core must mean reducing paper. It is suggested the document should be restricted to a planning document. This would bring its size down to perhaps 220 pages. It looks as if the authors were keen to include as much as possible, but they would find it a valuable exercise to see what could be taken out. An example of how the document can be pruned without damaging it in any way is the section about the High Weald National Landscape at page 56.
Para 3.50 Add the NPPF reference to the second last sentence. Delete the last sentence.
Para 3.51 This para states the obvious and should be deleted.
Para 3.52 This can be deleted. If the date of the change is thought to be important, it can be added to para 3.50.
Para 3.52-3.55 This detail is for another document. There could be a cross-reference to the High Weald documents.
Para 35.56 and 35.60 This could be deleted as once the Local Plan is confirmed it is the detail of the plan that matters and not the history of the document.
Para 35.57-59 A brief cross-reference is all is required.
7) It is noted that all policies, have at the beginning the words ‘Policy wording’. Maybe this was to distinguish it from the Explanatory text that follows. In fact the Explanatory text is treated by the Planning Inspectorate as part of the policy. The removal of the word ‘Policy wording’ would save at least two pages. If the footer was removed, leaving only the page number, about 40 pages would be saved.
8) The removal of extraneous material not only shortens the Local Plan, but it also gives greater prominence to the policies.