The Local Development Plan (LDP): ‘Pre-Deposit’ – Stakeholder Engagement

1. The Local Development Plan (LDP):‘Pre-Deposit’ – Stakeholder Engagement Presentation: PONTARDAWE SPATIAL AREA Officers: Carl Comerford & Rhys Evans Planning Department – Neath Port Talbot CBC Date: 10.00am Monday 16th May 2011. Venue: Pontardawe Leisure Centre.

2. Content: • Part 1 – Introduction: • What is a Local Development Plan (LDP)? • What is the purpose of the meeting? • Neath Port Talbot – the major issues; • Key tasks in setting the LDP Strategy. • Part 2 – Considering the Overall Strategy: • The LDP Vision (2011-2026); • The Overall Level of Growth; • The Overall Spatial Strategy. • Part 3 – Considering the Strategy for Pontardawe: • Local / Neighbourhood Strategy; • Strategy for Pontardawe; • Strategy for Other Key Topic Areas.

3. PART 1: Introduction

4. What is a Local Development Plan? • The Council is required to prepare a LDP; • The LDP will set out the Council’s strategy, objectives and policies for the development and use of land in Neath Port Talbot – or more simply, ‘identify what can be built and where’; • When adopted the LDP will be the primary document for use in the determination of planning applications and appeals; • It will have a major influence on the future shape of Neath Port Talbot and its individual communities.

5. How will the LDP be prepared? • The Council is committed to engaging with you – the stakeholders – and the community throughout; • This will ensure that the Plan reflects the needs of the area and its communities; • Council Members will act as local champions: • Not expressing definitive views at this stage but simply identifying the issues and passing on local aspirations & opinion to officers; • For Plan preparation, the County Borough has been split into 8 Spatial Areas – based on what we regard as identifiable communities.

6. The LDP Spatial Areas:

7. The LDP Stages: • Pre-Deposit Plan: • Stakeholder Engagement – May 2011. • 6 week formal consultation – Sept / Oct 2011. • Full Deposit Plan: • Stakeholder Engagement – Oct / Nov 2012; • 6 week formal consultation – February 2013. • Examination in Public (EIP): • November 2013; • LDP Adoption: • November 2014.

8. The Purpose of the Meeting? To help develop and agree the LDP Strategy, we need to: • Present & discuss the range of alternative strategic options with you; • Gain your views on our proposed‘preferred option’; and • Consider the implications for Pontardawe. • Ultimately, you can either: • Agree or Disagree; or perhaps • Suggest an additional alternative option. • Either way – your views will be recorded and considered!

9. Neath Port Talbot – a description: How do we best describe the County Borough today… “An area with potential, but in need of support”

10. Neath Port Talbot – the positives: • High value landscapes in terms of the: • Underlying geology; • Cultural & historical heritage; • Ecology; • Visual amenity; • Tranquillity & sense of place. • A wealth of natural resources that are significant on a National scale – both mineral & wind related; • Tourism opportunities focussed on the Upper Afan Valley, Neath Valley & Margam Park; • Community spirit / cohesion.

11. Neath Port Talbot – the negatives: • After a period of growth, more recently the trend in population change has been one of ‘slow decline’; • Ageing population with poor health; • Valleys and Towns losing jobs with little commercial investment in our centres; • Commuting has become a necessity but is a cause of congestion.

12. Key Tasks in setting the LDP Strategy: The key tasks in setting the overall Strategy are to: • Identify the appropriate level of population and economic growth; • Identify how this growth should be shared out across the County Borough; • Focus on delivery at the neighbourhood level; • Deliver healthy, safe and sustainable communities; and • Identify what residents should expect to be within easy walking distance and be easily accessible.

13. PART 2: Considering the Overall Strategy

14. The LDP Vision (2011-2026): …simply put – how do we want the County Borough to look in 2026? • Our vision takes account of: • The Wales Spatial Plan; • Neath Port Talbot Community Plan; • Comments made at the Stakeholder Meetings held in the Spring 2009.

15. The LDP Vision: “Neath Port Talbot will develop a vibrant waterfront and coastal corridor with a modern, competitive, knowledge-based economy complemented by a network of distinctive valley communities. Communities will be strengthened as greater opportunities are provided for all and Neath Port Talbot becomes a stronger, more vibrant, community focussed and sustainable place. Neath Port Talbot’s natural resources and potential for renewable energy will be conserved and when exploited the benefits to the local communities will be maximised. The culture and heritage will be protected and enhanced as the County Borough adapts to environmental and economic change in a greener, healthier and safer environment. Within the Amman and Swansea Valleys the well-being of the Welsh Language, as a significant part of the communities’ social fabric, will be promoted”.

16. The Overall Level of Growth – Options: • Setting the ‘Growth Strategy’ has important implications on the scale and location of new development; • 7 Growth Options for new housing across the County Borough have been considered and assessed for the LDP: • Very High (705 residential units built per year); • High (599 residential units built per year); • Medium (460 residential units built per year); • Low (419 residential units built per year); • Static (285 residential units built per year); • Moderate Decline (231 residential units built per year); and • High Decline (178 residential units built per year).

17. Our ‘Preferred’ Growth Option: • LOW GROWTH – why is this option preferred? • It reflects past levels of population growth and house building in the area; • It provides enough growth to promote new investment in the area; • It provides enough growth to sustain communities and their existing facilities, businesses and services; and • The level of growth minimises adverse impacts including loss of countryside and the creation of traffic / pollution.

18. Our ‘Preferred’ Growth Option: • Your views? • Do you agree or disagree? • If you disagree – tell us why / and what would be your preference?

19. The Overall Spatial Strategy: • Having considered the level of growth, it is now necessary to discuss the Spatial Strategy – i.e. ‘where to steer and focus the new development and investment’. • 4 Spatial Options have been considered and assessed for the LDP.

20. The Overall Spatial Strategy – Options: • Option 1 – Continue with the current UDP Strategy: • Some new development in main urban areas and coastal belt; • Some new housing and regenerating activities in the valleys. • Option 2 – Focus on the M4 / Fabian Way Corridor: • All new development in main urban areas and coastal belt; • Decline in the valleys.

21. The Overall Spatial Strategy – Options: • Option 3 – Promote significant growth in the valleys: • Large-scale housing led development in the valleys; • Increased commuting and travel; • Relocation of public sector jobs to valleys. • Option 4 – Focus on coastal area & reinvigorate valleys: • Majority of development in the main urban areas & coastal belt; • Greater emphasis to reinvigorate the valley communities through promoting housing, small business & commuting.

22. Our ‘Preferred’ Spatial Option: • OPTION 4 – focus growth on the coastal area and reinvigorating the Valley communities. • This option will: • Focus majority of development along the M4 corridor and in the urban areas of Neath, Port Talbot & to a lesser extent Pontardawe; • Support small businesses and tourism; • Prioritise Pontardawe & Glynneath as growth points in the valleys – reflecting employment growth in retail, manufacturing & coal related activities; and • Encourage increased house building in Valleys.

23. Our ‘Preferred’ Growth & Spatial Options: When combining the preferred Options, this means: • An average build rate of 420 residential units across the County Borough per year; • When taking into account existing commitments (i.e. current planning permissions such as Coed Darcy) – this means that extra land allocations will need to be identified across the County Borough over the Plan period to accommodate approximately 700 houses; • Based on past build rates over the last 10 years – the distribution would be Neath (240 houses), Port Talbot (280 houses), Pontardawe (50 houses) and the Valleys would take up the remainder.

24. Our ‘Preferred’ Spatial Option: • Your views? • Do you agree or disagree? • If you disagree – tell us why / and what would be your preference?

25. PART 3:Considering the Strategy for Pontardawe

26. Pontardawe Spatial Area: Communities: • Pontardawe; • Alltwen; • Rhos; • Trebanos.

27. Local / Neighbourhood Strategy: • Overall – to promote healthier, safer and stronger communities: • Neighbourhood level – to provide access to open and green space, local shops and community facilities; • Community level – to provide a wider range of services, facilities & shops; and • Neath, Port Talbot & Pontardawe – identified as important hubs in the local public & community transport network with a wide range of services, facilities & shops;

28. Strategy for Pontardawe: • HOUSING – the LDP will deliver housing ‘need’ through a combination of: • Allocating ‘large’ strategic sites [i.e. 10 or more dwellings] / Pre-Deposit Stage; and • Identifying ‘small’ sites [i.e. less than 10 dwellings] – delivered through so-called ‘infill’ plots, extensions to settlement limits and candidate sites / Deposit Stage. • Today we will only be discussing the options for the allocation of large sites…

29. Strategy for Pontardawe: HOUSING: • Issue: to deliver ‘Low Growth’ there is a need to provide extra land allocations for 50 new houses in Pontardawe (over the Plan period); • Strategic Options: this future additional growth will need to be delivered in one of the following areas: • Rhos; or • Alltwen; or • Rhydyfro.

31. Strategy for Pontardawe: EMPLOYMENT: • Issue: apart from retail development, historically it has been difficult to attract employment to the area (e.g. Glanrhyd Industrial Park remains undeveloped after many years). • Proposed Strategy – to support: • The creation of further retail – including the protection of the site adjacent to the ‘Lidl’ store; • The expansion of existing businesses; and • The creation of new small enterprises.

33. Strategy for Pontardawe: SWANSEA CANAL: • Issue: in the current UDP, the route of the canal is protected from Trebanos to Ystalyfera – however, the entire route would be difficult and expensive to restore. • Proposed Strategy: • The Canal restoration is focussed on the stretch of canal between Trebanos and Ynysmeudwy; • Abandon the safeguarding / potential to restore the route between Ynysmeudwy and Ystalyfera.

34. Strategy for Other Key Topic Areas: RENEWABLE ENERGY / WINDFARMS: • WAG Strategic Search Areas identify areas for large windfarms (greater than 25mw) – the Council must accept the likelihood of the exploitation of such resources in these areas; • Outside these, areas of search will identify areas for small windfarms (less than 25mw); • Potential for other sources of renewable energy will be identified; and • ‘Developer Contributions’ should be used to support the local communities.

36. Strategy for Other Key Topic Areas: MINERALS (COAL & AGGREGATES): • NPT has a wealth of mineral resources that are significant on a National scale – the Council must accept that such resources will need to be safeguarded and ‘where appropriate’ will be allowed to be exploited; • Settlements (10+ houses) will be protected from mineral development by 500m buffer zones; • ‘Developer Contributions’ should be used to support the local communities.

39. Strategy for Other Key Topic Areas: WELSH LANGUAGE: • Prioritise protection of the Welsh Language in the Welsh Language Board’s ‘Area of Special Language Importance’ – i.e. Cwmgors / Brynamman / Cwmllynfell / Ystalyfera; and • Ensure development proposals in Welsh speaking areas are supported by a: • ‘Welsh Language Impact Assessment’; and • ‘Welsh Language Action Plan’ which should identify potential mitigation measures.

40. Strategy for Other Key Topic Areas: TRANSPORT: • Provide ‘Park & Share’ facilities to improve commuting; • Provide a network of cycle and walking routes for everyday use; • Support public & community transport; and • Target key bottlenecks to tackle congestion.

41. Strategy for Other Key Topic Areas: ENVIRONMENT: • Protect countryside & wildlife – in particular the protection of Priority Habitats; • Designation of Green Wedges; • Creation of Special Landscape Areas (SLAs); and • Open / Green Space Strategy will protect habitats within urban areas.

42. Strategy for Other Key Topic Areas: SUSTAINABLE & HEALTHY COMMUNITIES: • Location of new development – avoid areas of noise / air pollution & flood risk; • Improve access to facilities, services and open space at the local level (i.e. within walking distance); • Where appropriate apply ‘secure by design’ principles; • Encourage proposals for mixed-use development within settlement limits.

43. Contact Details: Website: www.npt.gov.uk/ldp E-mail: ldp@npt.gov.uk Phone: [01639] 686421 Thank You