(1)Section Six – Glossary

Glossary

Affordable Housing

Affordable housing includes social rented, affordable rented and intermediate housing, and is provided to eligible households whose needs are not met by the market. Affordable housing should:

• Meet the needs of eligible households including availability at a cost low enough for them to afford, determined with regard to local incomes and local house prices.
• Include provision for the home to remain at an affordable price for future eligible households or, if these restrictions are lifted, for the subsidy to be recycled for alternative affordable housing provision

Arboricultural Plan

A tool that identifies trees within and adjacent to the site, to inform site design and layout. It will present opportunities to retain, mitigate, compensate or enhance tree cover as part of the overall development

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

The primary purpose of AONB designation is to conserve and enhance natural beauty. This “is not just the look of the landscape, but includes landform and geology, plants and animals, landscape features and the rich history of human settlement over the centuries”. The legal framework for AONBs in England and Wales is provided by the Countryside & Rights of Way Act (CRoW) 2000. Guidance on the legislation and its application in practice to assessing landscapes for designation as an AONB is provided by Natural England

Amenity

A positive element or elements that contribute to the overall character or enjoyment of an area. For example, open land, trees, historic buildings and the inter-relationship between them, or less tangible factors such as tranquillity

Amenity Green Space

Open land, often landscaped, that makes a positive contribution to the appearance of an area or improves the quality of the lives of people living or working within the locality. It often provides opportunities for activities such as sports, and can serve other purposes such as reducing the noise from a busy road or providing shelter from prevailing winds

Ancient Woodland

An area that has been wooded continuously since at least 1600 AD

Archaeological Assessment (desk based): A programme of assessment of the known or potential archaeological resource within a specified area. Assessment must follow Institute for Archaeologists guidance and for this and other aspects of the archaeological process such as geophysical and evaluation survey.

See: http://www.archaeologists.net/codes/ifa

Archaeological Interest: There will be archaeological interest in a Heritage Asset if it holds, or potentially may hold, evidence of past human activity worthy of expert investigation at some point. Heritage Assets with

archaeological interest are the primary source of evidence about the substance and evolution of places, and of the people and cultures that made them. The significance of a heritage asset is the sum of its architectural, historic, artistic or archaeological interest

Biodiversity

The whole variety of life encompassing all generics, species and ecosystem variations, including plants and animals

Brownfield Sites/Previously Developed Land

Land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land and any associated fixed surface infrastructure.’ The definition includes defence buildings, but excludes:

• Land that is or has been occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings.
• Land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill purposes where provision for restoration has been made through development control procedures
• Land in built-up areas such as private residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments, which, although it may feature paths, pavilions and other buildings, has not been previously developed
• Land that was previously-developed but where the remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape in the process of time (to the extent that it can reasonably be considered as part of the natural surroundings)

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

The combined production of heat, usually in the form of steam, and power, usually in the form of electricity

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

A new levy that local authorities can choose to charge on new developments in their area. The money can be used to support development by funding infrastructure that the Council, local community and neighbourhoods require

Conservation Area

Local authorities have the power to designate as conservation areas, any area of special architectural or historic interest. This means the planning authority has extra powers to control works and demolition of buildings to protect or improve the character or appearance of the area. Conservation Area Consent has been replaced by planning permission for relevant demolition in a conservation area

Hastings Planning Strategy

The overall strategy setting out how the town will develop up to 2028. It includes strategic policies to guide development, and includes a local housing target and retail and employment floorspace requirements. Formerly called Core Strategy

Density

In the case of residential development, a measurement of either the number of habitable rooms per hectare or the number of dwellings per hectare

Development Management Plan

Forms part of Hastings Local Plan. The Development Management Plan is designed to be consistent with, but not repeat, the Planning Strategy and sets development management policy guidance for use in the determination of planning applications and provides site allocations for residential and employment development up to 2028

District Centre

Usually comprises of groups of shops often containing at least one supermarket and a range of non-retail services such as banks, building societies, restaurants, as well as local public facilities such as a library

East Sussex County Council (ESCC)

County Authority for East Sussex

Economic Constraints and Opportunities Plan (ECOP)

A tool that identifies where biodiversity might act as a constraint to development, informs site design and layout and analyses where the development site presents opportunities to retain, mitigate, compensate or enhance biodiversity

Examination in Public (EIP)

An examination chaired by an independent inspector into objections to the Local Plan documents and the overall “soundness” of the Local Plan Documents

Flood Risk Assessment

An assessment of the likelihood of flooding in a particular area so that development needs and mitigation measures can be carefully considered

Greenfield Sites

Sites that have never been developed or used for an urban use, or are on land that has been brought into active or beneficial use for agriculture or forestry i.e. fully restored derelict land

Green Infrastructure

A network of connected, high quality, multi-functional open spaces, corridors and the links in between, that provide multiple benefits for people and wildlife

Heritage Asset

A building, monument, site, place, area or landscape identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions, because of its heritage interest. Heritage asset includes designated heritage assets and assets identified by the local planning authority (including local listing)

Historic Environment Record

Information services that seek to provide access to comprehensive and dynamic resources relating to the historic environment of a defined geographic area for public benefit and use

Local Centre

Usually comprises of a small range of shops of a local nature, serving a small catchment – could include one small supermarket, a newsagents, a sub-post office, launderette etc)

Local Plan

The collective name given to all policies and documents forming the planning framework for the town

Local Plan Monitoring Report

A report to show progress made in the preparing the Local Plan and the effectiveness of its policies

Local Nature Reserves (LNR)

Non-statutory habitats of local significance designated by Local Authorities where protection and public understanding of nature conservation is encouraged

Local Wildlife Site

Local green spaces identified and selected for their local nature conservation value

Mixed use

Provision of a mix of complementary uses such as residential, community and leisure uses on a single site or within a particular area

National Planning Policy Framework

National Planning Policy that sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied

Neighbourhood Shopping Area

A number of shops serving a local neighbourhood and separate from the district centre

Policies Map

A map showing site allocations and geographical areas where policies apply

Renewable Energy

Energy flows that occur naturally and repeatedly in the environment, for example from the wind, water flow, tides or the sun

Regeneration

The economic, social and environmental renewal and improvement of rural and urban areas

Setting of a heritage asset

The surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced. Its extent is not fixed and may change as the asset and its surroundings evolve. Elements of a setting may make a positive or negative contribution to the significance of an asset, may affect the ability to appreciate that significance or may be neutral

Special Area of Conservation (SAC)

Areas that have been given special protection under the European Union’s Habitats Directive. They provide increased protection to a variety of wild animals, plants and habitats

Significance (for heritage policy)

The value of a heritage asset to this and future generations because of its heritage interest. That interest may be archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic. Significance derives not only from a heritage asset’s physical presence, but also from its setting

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

A site identified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 as an area of special interest by reason of any of its flora, fauna, geological or physiographical features

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDs)

SUDs are designed to control the quantity of runoff from a development, to improve the quality of the runoff and to enhance the nature conservation, landscape and amenity value of the site’s surroundings

Supplementary Planning Document (SPD)

Provide supplementary information to support the policies in Development Plan Documents

Transport Assessments

A comprehensive and systematic process that sets out transport issues relating to a proposed development. It identifies what measures will be required to improve accessibility and safety for all modes of travel, particularly for alternatives to the car such as walking, cycling and public transport and what measures will need to be taken to deal with the anticipated transport impacts of the development. Please see East Sussex County Council guidance for further information on thresholds and the detail required

Transport Report

A simple report submitted alongside the planning application that looks at issues such as site access arrangements, transport impacts and mitigation measures, to be prepared in accordance with East Sussex County Council’s guidance. The level of detail is dependent on individual circumstances

Transport Statement

A simplified version of a transport assessment where it is agreed the transport issues arising out of development proposals are limited and a full transport assessment is not required

Travel Plan

A long-term management strategy for an organisation or site that seeks to deliver sustainable transport objectives through action and is articulated in a document that is regularly reviewed. Please see East Sussex County Council’s Travel Plan guidance for further information on thresholds and the information required

Travel Plan Statement

A simplified version of a Travel Plan that includes its core concepts and principles. Required for smaller scale developments, in accordance with East Sussex County Council Travel Plan guidance

Use Classes Order (UCO)

Puts uses of land and buildings into various categories. Also identifies the changes between these classes that would, or would not require planning permission