SETTLEMENT BOUNDARIES
The proposed site is outside the Gillingham Settlement Boundary and it constitutes development of open countryside outside development limits contrary to Government guidelines. (Planning Policy Statement 7)
| Government guidelines, as set out within Planning Policy Statement 7 require local planning authorities (LPAs) to protect the countryside from inappropriate development. LPAs are required to prepare development plans that allocate land sequentially, with first preference given to urban sites within the limits of existing settlements. This advice is reiterated by Planning Policy Statement 4: "Planning for Economic Growth" (PPS4) which states (Policy EC2) that: |
| "local planning authorities should ensure that their development plan seeks to make the most effective use of land, prioritising previously developed land which is suitable for re-use" |
| PPS7 states that LPAs should recognise the countryside's |
| "importance to those who live or work there, and also in providing the nearest and most accessible countryside to urban residents. Planning authorities should aim to secure environmental improvements and maximise a range of beneficial uses of this land, whilst reducing potential conflicts between neighbouring land uses. This should include improvement of public access (e.g. through support for country parks and community forests) and facilitating the provision of appropriate sport and recreation facilities" |
| The guidance within PPS7 is also reflected elsewhere within the "New Plan", which states at para 2.3.40 that: |
| "In rural areas like North Dorset, national policy seeks to focus most development at existing towns and villages that function as local service centres and to protect the countryside from non-essential development". and "the remainder of North Dorset is defined as countryside, where development will be strictly controlled" |
| This is also supported by PPS4 which states (EC6): |
| " Local Planning Authorities should ensure that the countryside is protected for the sake of its intrinsic character and beauty, the diversity of its landscapes, heritage and wildlife, the wealth of its natural recourses and to ensure it may be enjoyed by all. In rural areas, local planning authorities should strictly control economic development in open countryside away from existing settlements, or outside areas allocated for development in development plans" |
