Planning, Regeneration and Infrastructure Portfolio

'Encouraging development that meets local needs and enhances the special qualities of the environment'

Portfolio holder, Councillor Diane Andrews

On this page:

Portfolio holder introduction

Delivering the vision of the Local Plan and ensuring a mix of homes and employment space, together with green infrastructure and sustainable transport options to meet the needs of residents is core to this portfolio.

The approach to development must be proactive and enabling, encouraging development that meets local needs whilst delivering positive economic and social outcomes, while protecting and enhancing the special environmental qualities of the district.

Aligned to this is the delivery of a range of green infrastructure projects that enhance the natural environment and improve the quality of life for residents by creating places where communities can flourish.

We will continue to work with partners across south Hampshire to develop a joint spatial strategy which will provide part of a robust evidence base for the next Local Plan.

Greater emphasis will be placed on the early engagement of building control to add value to development proposals and ensure that buildings are safe.

We will develop town centre regeneration plans, acknowledging the role our town centres need to play in supporting communities and providing the right mix of uses.

Priorities

Our priorities are:

delivering the vision of the Local Plan and encouraging development that meets local needs and delivers positive economic, social, and environmental outcomes
working with partners, applicants, and developers to ensure a positive, timely and enabling attitude to development
using contributions to deliver green infrastructure projects that address the impact of development on the natural environment
ensuring building control are engaged at the earliest stage to make future development projects safe
working with the Partnership for South Hampshire authorities on a Joint Strategy and Statement of Common Ground to address future growth and unmet housing need
explore different delivery models to deliver our housing target including maximising the number of affordable homes
set a vision for the future of each of our towns

Key activities

Our key activities are:

enabling the delivery of sustainable development set out in the local plan supported by appropriate infrastructure
ensure that all development within the district is sustainable, resilient to changes in climate and creates healthy and biodiverse environments
deliver additional open space, play equipment, sports provision, cycling and walking opportunities and habitat creation areas
increase the number of developments that use New Forest District Council building control service
progress work on the Joint Strategy for South Hampshire
develop a clear programme for spending monies collected through Community Infrastructure Levy
review the current issues within our town centres and work towards developing town centre plans or regeneration plans
explore how Local Design Codes could be developed for specific areas across the district
work with partners to develop and deliver infrastructure projects to provide sustainable transport options and manage water resources in a sustainable manner

Action plan and achievement measures

This plan of specific actions that will directly contribute towards the delivery of the priorities within each portfolio.

These actions will be refreshed annually to keep them up to date.

Achievement indicators for each portfolio have been identified to help monitor progress against the delivery of the priorities and provide tangible measures of success.

Progress updates on specific actions and achievement indicators will be reported to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Panel during the year.

Specific actions

Specific actions are:

ensure that the planning system supports housing delivery across the district and delivers actions in the Housing Delivery Action Plan, monitored through an annual report to Cabinet
develop and deliver an annual programme of projects to enhance natural green spaces and maximise the associated benefits including biodiversity and air quality
review all supplementary planning documents and the community infrastructure levy process
design and deliver new ICT system to improve and modernise delivery of the service by 2023, enabling officers to focus on delivering positive planning outcomes and enhancing the competitiveness of building control
increase the market share for building control to ensure the safety of development
determine planning applications and related submissions within the appropriate timeframe
work with developers, businesses and land agents to identify development sites and promote employment land within the Local Plan strategic allocations
in partnership with others, work to develop and deliver sustainable transport and water management projects across the district that support our communities and local economy

Achievement indicators

Achievement indicators are:

increase in the number of houses completed each year (as set out in the Annual Authority Monitoring Report) (Number)
increase in the number of green infrastructure projects delivered each year (Number)
increase the number of Biodiversity Net Gain projects delivered each year (Number)
year on year increase in the total amount of open space, play and sports provision, and cycling and walking infrastructure (Hectares/Metres)
increase in New Forest District Council building control market share (%)
determination of planning applications within the nationally prescribed time frames (%)
amount of additional employment floorspace created within the district (m2 )
number of projects that New Forest District Council are leading