PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT
Supplementary Planning Guidance
Urban character area design guidance
Draft for consultation
Purpose of the Report
The purpose of this report is to enable the Minister to consider draft supplementary planning guidance with a view to releasing it for public consultation.
Background and discussion
In accord with Policy BE1 of the 2002 Island Plan, a study was commissioned, from Willie Miller Urban Design, to identify and appraise the character of St Helier to inform policy and the assessment of planning applications: the St Helier Urban Character Appraisal was subsequently undertaken and published in 2005.
The appraisal of the urban character of town, coupled with design guidance for ten distinct character areas of the town, formed the core of the study.
This aspect of the study has yet to be fully embraced by Development Control as a tool in the assessment of planning applications in the town. Given the increasing attention being paid to the development potential of the town to meet the Island’s strategic development requirements, particularly in terms of housing; and the potential change likely to occur as the effects of the development of the St Helier Waterfront ripple through the existing fabric of the town, it is considered important and timely that specific design guidance for St Helier is introduced.
The introduction of the urban character area design guidance, in the form of SPG, is considered beneficial from the point of view of providing a high level of detailed design advice, specific to the ten character areas of town, that can be used constructively to assist and guide development change and pressure, whilst ensuring the character and distinctiveness of different parts of the town are conserved and enhanced. The proposed draft urban character area guidance is set out at appendix 1.
The guidance comprises a set of design principles that are specific to development in the urban environment; and design guidance for each of the character areas. It is considered that together, these provide a framework that is consistent and complementary to other policy and guidance which is in existence and in progress, including the St Helier Development and Regeneration Strategy; New Development Guidelines for Town (April 2008); Design Statement SPG (Dec 2006) and the Jersey Design Guide (in progress). This work is also consistent with the ongoing work to identify and define Historic Character Areas for St Helier.
There are elements of the original guidance that require review prior to release for consultation, as follows;
Proposed conservation area boundaries: the original work set out potential Conservation Area boundaries, and sought to define them spatially within each character area (where applicable). This work is in the process of being reviewed and will supersede that contained within the St Helier UCA, and will also be the subject of a separate consultation exercise to define new Historic Character Areas for St Helier, and the rest of the Island. On this basis, it is proposed that the extent of potential Conservation Area boundaries is removed from this draft guidance.
Design briefs: for particularly sensitive and visually prominent sites the original UCA proposed that design briefs be prepared by the Planning and Environment Department to set out the critical design parameters for these key sites. Areas where it is considered that design briefs are required are, where applicable, identified in each of the ten character areas. Examples of areas where they are considered important include the seafront at Havre des Pas and at key corner sites on gateways into St Helier.
The UCA includes a simple template for design briefs (appendix 2) to assist in their preparation and to promote a consistency of approach. This is helpful, but there remain issues to consider relating to when and how design briefs are prepared and used in the planning application process.
Ideally, a comprehensive suite of design briefs would be prepared as an integral element of this guidance. To achieve this would require a dedicated resource that is not presently available. The alternative is that they are prepared in response to a developer’s intent to prepare a development proposal. This is likely to lead to problems of delay in the handling of applications and is not considered to be a viable option.
Legal and resource implications
Article 6 of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002, provides the Minister with power to issue guidelines and policies, and the development and publication of supplementary planning guidance accords with this.
The resource implications of this guidance are principally related to the potential requirement to prepare development briefs for key sites. It is considered appropriate that the preparation of development briefs is held pending the availability of resources.
The adoption of the guidance itself should assist staff by providing a greater certainty for developers, enabling efforts to be focussed on key issues.
Consultation
It is considered appropriate that the draft guidance be issued for consultation for a period of eight weeks, as a White Paper (a White Paper and news release are attached at appendices 3 and 4 respectively).
It is not considered appropriate that the guidance is lodged as a Report to the States, on the grounds that it does not represent any substantive change in policy or direction, or a new policy, but simply seeks to provide additional policy guidance and elaboration of previously stated objectives and principles, but that the matter be directed, as a matter of course, to the Environment Scrutiny Panel, amongst other key stakeholders (as set out in the White Paper).
Recommendation
On the basis of the above, the Minister for Planning and Environment is recommended to;
1. Note and endorse the Urban character area design guidance (April 2008), attached at appendix 1, as a draft for consultation, subject to the removal of proposed Conservation Areas, as shown;
2. Authorise the release of the above as a draft for consultation in the form of a White Paper, but that the matter not be lodged as a States report;
3. Note the resource implications of the potential adoption of this guidance and to agree to hold the preparation of design and development briefs for key sites pending the availability of resources.
Reason(s) for Decision
The preparation and adoption of design guidance for urban character areas in St Helier will assist with the assessment of planning applications and contribute to an improvement in design, of benefit to the maintenance and enhancement of the character of the town.
Its release for consultation is integral to the approval and adoption process.
Proposed Conservation Areas are to be removed from the guidance in light of ongoing work to bring forward, in a separate but related workstream, Historic Character Areas for the town.
Action Required
1. Review the design guidance for each of the character areas to remove proposed Conservation Areas, where applicable;
2. Publish the revised urban character area design guidance as a draft for consultation in the form of a White Paper;
3. Collate and analyse responses to consultation with a view to bringing the matter back to the Minister in due course for his further consideration and determination
Written by: | Kevin Pilley Assistant Director (Policy and Projects) |
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Approved by: | |
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Endorsed by: | Peter Thorne, Director of Planning |
Attachments:
Appendix 1: SPG: Urban character area design guidance (May 2008);
Appendix 2: Design brief template
Appendix 3: White Paper
Appendix 4: news release
8/39/6
04 April 2008
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