Colchester Borough Council Local Plan Policies

Any planning decision on Courtland's proposals for Birch Church and enabling developments will be considered in the light of Colchester Borough Council's Local Plan policies. For information on these it is worth visiting www.colchesterlocalplan.co.uk . This Council website has details of the Adopted Review Colchester Borough Local Plan (March 2004). The "Adopted Review Colchester Borough Local Plan" menu item leads to a Contents page. The first item on this page is a link to the Index of Policies which itself has links to the individual policies.

Go to Maps Index and select Proposals Map 'Birch - Conservation Area CA1' This shows Birch village, outlined in blue, as a conservation area. The churchyard has red shading showing that it is a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC).

Hovering the cursor over the map reveals which Local Plan policies are applicable to the area. Some of them are reproduced below.

The principal policy appears to be DC1, General Development Control Policy.

Local Plan Policies

DC1 - General Development Control Policy

All proposals for development, including changes of use, will be permitted only if they satisfactorily meet the following criteria where relevant:

  1. The development will not cause unacceptable harm through pollution to land, air and water or to people or natural resources;
  2. The development will be well designed, having regard to local building traditions, and should be based on a proper assessment of the surrounding built and natural environment. Where necessary, a clear written statement setting out the design principles followed, and showing how local distinctiveness will be promoted and retained, will be required;
  3. Developments will be located and designed to provide for:
    i.  comprehensive and safe facilities for cyclists and pedestrians, linking to existing routes where possible;
    ii.  high levels of accessibility by public transport;
    iii.  where relevant, servicing, car and cycle parking to currently adopted standards.
  4. The highway network, either as existing or to be developed within the county road hierarchy, will be able to accommodate safely the extra traffic the proposal will generate;
  5. It will not lead to the loss or degradation of important cultural, historic, ecological or rural resources, unless alternative compensatory provision acceptable to the Council will be provided;
  6. The Council's open space standards for the development will be met, and the proposal will not entail a loss of open space or other sport and recreational facilities, unless alternative provision acceptable to the Council will be provided;
  7. The services and infrastructure required to serve the development will be provided in a timely manner;
  8. It will not have an adverse impact on the vitality and/or viability of Colchester Town Centre, rural district centres, local shopping centres and village shops and services.

CO1 - Rural Resources

There will be a continuing commitment to the protection of the open countryside in the Borough for its own sake. Such protection will mitigate, as far as possible, against any adverse impact upon existing landscape character and maintain traditional rural qualities. Rural resources will be safeguarded and enhanced in order to give protection to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and woodlands, nature conservation, archaeological and historic features, and attractive landscapes. Development that does not need a countryside location and which could reasonably be located elsewhere in the Borough will be refused.

CO3 - Countryside Conservation Areas

The Countryside Conservation Areas are defined on the Proposals Map. These areas will be given special protection from any development likely to be prejudicial to their natural, social or cultural resources.

CO5 - Habitats

Development that would adversely affect wildlife habitats of international or national importance will not be permitted unless the reasons for the development clearly outweigh the nature conservation value of the site itself and the international or national policy to safeguard the network of such sites.

Development and land use changes likely to have an adverse effect upon the following sites listed below will not be approved unless it can be clearly demonstrated that there are reasons for the proposal which outweigh the need to safeguard the substantive nature conservation interest in the site. Where development is permitted and is likely to cause damage, such damage will be kept to a minimum. Where this is not possible, appropriate mitigating measures will be sought before planning permission is granted. The creation of new habitats will be required as early as possible in the development process, and in some cases this may be before development commences. Such measures will include the creation of habitats of equal quality elsewhere within the site or the Borough as a whole. Where these measures are not possible, planning permission will be refused.

UEA1 - Character of Conservation Areas

Within Conservation Areas, all those buildings, open spaces, trees, views and other aspects of the environment which go to make up the character or appearance of such places will be protected.

Development considered detrimental to the setting of Conservation Areas will be refused.

UEA2 - Building within Conservation Areas

An application for a new building, alteration or extension affecting a Conservation Area will be permitted only provided that:

  1. the proposal does not detract from the character or appearance of the Conservation Area;
  2. in the case of a new building, its siting retains the existing street building line and the rhythm of the street, its mass is in scale and harmony with the adjoining buildings and the area as a whole, and the proportions of its parts relate to each other and to the adjoining buildings;
  3. architectural details which contribute to the character or appearance of the Conservation Area are retained;
  4. in the case of a shop front, it is of a high standard of design relating sympathetically to the character of the building and the surrounding area;
  5. the materials used are sympathetic with the particular character of the area which it is desirable to retain and enhance.

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