The Bolton Unitary Development Plan

This is the text of the discussion of the Bolton Unitary Development Plan taken directly from the Deane-Cum-Heaton Labour Party's Branch minutes.

  Introduction

Graham introduced the topic as one of the issues on which Bolton Council wants feedback from the community. Others include Freedom of Information and the Borough's plans for the elderly (A Vision for Better Government for Older People in Bolton). These could possibly be discussed at future meetings.

  The Issues Paper

George had read and had prepared a written commentary on the Issues Paper of the Unitary Development Plan (UDP). George's precise and well thought out summary served as a good introduction and he was congratulated for his efforts.

Trevor, currently President of the UK Town Planning Institute, lambasted the document as "deplorable", especially as it just isn't possible to respond to the Issues Paper without referring to the full UDP.

  2,700 New Homes Each Year

He spoke about the reported need for 2,700 new homes per year in Bolton and referred to Regional Planning Guidance from the Department of the Environment (DOE). Since Christmas the Government has put out two major statements on planning and it has easily the most positive approach to town planning that he had ever seen. There is a political force and commitment. However, it will be very hard to deliver on the brown vs. greenfield sites issue for house building.

  Shopping

The question of shopping development is very important. Should Farnwoth and Horwich be neglected in favour of Bolton town centre or vice versa? What about the impact of shopping at Middlebrook?

The previous Environment Minister, John Gummer, had been much more positive on environmental questions than his predecessor, Nicholas Ridley, especially regarding out of town shopping centres. Our Government is even stricter on this sort of development.

There is a move towards integrating industry and housing. Our Government has banned further sales of school playing fields.

If housing decisions taken now are wrong there could be a lot of homelessness by 2020 because homes won't be available or affordable. One way of increasing housing in urban areas is by increasing housing density. In the Heaton area of Bolton large old houses have been demolished and larger numbers of smaller ones built on the land.

  Discussion

Eve spoke on out of town shopping. She said that there had been a seminar in Bolton on ways of making the town centre more attractive. The Council is looking to the "24 hour economy" with better lighting, security, transport and longer opening hours for shops, the theatre, clubs, etc. Warner's policy is now to build multiplex cinemas in town centres.

George praised the former Greater Manchester Council (GMC) for the strategic way it dealt with planning and development. Jeremy wondered if the GMC would have approved the Middlebrook development, save the stadium and sports village.

The discussion turned again to housing. Trevor pointed out that there is a lot of new housing development in Bolton already and it only needs another 5 - 8% per year to meet the target. However, more than 20% of houses in Bolton could be regarded as being unfit for habitation. Altogether up to 150,000 houses in the Borough are in need of either major repairs or complete rebuilding.

The former Royal Ordnance Factory at Chorley could take 1,500 houses but the land will need decontaminating. The former Burtonwood aerodrome is another large piece of land that could be developed. Both of these would take some of the strain off Bolton and other towns. Graham said that development of brownfield sites should be on the basis of "the polluter pays". Trevor said that this would be the case at ROF Chorley.

Terry said that development must take account of the environment, transport needs, traffic problems, etc. Trevor mentioned a development of 150 houses in Edinburgh where purchasers have to sign a document that they will not own a car and no parking spaces are provided. The scheme seems to be very successful, so far.

Anne and Terry mentioned the possibility of developing the gas works site on Spa Road but Graham pointed out that this is still in use. Trevor said that it would be a great site for development but very expensive because of the reclamation that would have to be carried out. It could take up to 15 years to develop such a site.

  Planning Gain

Paul asked if builders have to take into consideration provision of amenities such as schools, etc. when new houses are built. Trevor said that this is done via the local authority. So-called "planning gain" is a thorny subject. This is where an authority gives planning approval on condition that the developers, for example, build new roads, provide schools, etc. Recently Plymouth Council appealed to the Nolan Committee over a "planning gain" question and the matter is still unresolved.

Trevor said that the Betterment Levy of the 40s and 50s hadn't worked but some would like to reintroduce it. In response to a question from George on New Towns he said that these would be much better planned and controlled if we have regional government or a regional assembly.

  Branch Submission

There were a number of issues that members felt the Branch should make a submission on.

      Red Moss - Jeremy mentioned that Red Moss is still designated as a strategic waste disposal site in the existing UDP. We should make representations to ensure that it is not so designated in the new one.

      Urban Area Development - Trevor said that we should stress that the emphasis should be placed on development of the "urban area", especially the town centre, making it more attractive for housing.

      Housing Refurbishment - Pauline said that we should underline the importance of refurbishing existing housing.

It was agreed that these three points should form the basis of our submission.

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