Report

The Woodsmith Project - S73 Project Amendments: Appendix 3 Statutory Development Plan

for new development (including minor development and change of use) in Flood Zones 3a or Flood Zone 2, a site-specific flood risk assessment and drainage plan is required. Policy N 1 (‘Landscape’): aims to protect and enhance the Borough’s landscape. The policy encourages all proposals to include measures to enhance, restore or create special features of the landscape. Policy N 2 (‘Green Infrastructure’) encourages the integration of green infrastructure into new development and fundamental to the planning of major new development. Policy N 4 (‘Biodiversity and Geological Conservation’): explains that the Borough’s biodiversity and geological resources will be protected and enhanced. This should be considered at the early stage of the development process. Policy TA 1 (‘Transport and New Development’): seeks to ensure the transport requirements of new development, commensurate to the scale and type of development, are taken into account and seek to promote sustainable travel to minimise environmental impacts. Policy TA 2 (‘Improving Accessibility Within and Beyond the Borough’): states that, where necessary, developers may be required to fund transport improvement schemes through Section 106 agreements where infrastructure provision and capacity would be affected or could constrain new development.

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RCBC - Tees Valley Joint Minerals and Waste Development Plan

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The Tees Valley consists of five Boroughs: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees. The five authorities have joined together to prepare a Minerals and Waste Development Plan Document (DPD). Policy MWC1: Minerals Strategy identifies a number of areas which can help achieve the sustainable use of minerals resources. This includes “safeguarding the necessary infrastructure to enable the sustainable transport of minerals, in particular the use of the existing rail and port facilities in the Tees Valley” . Policy MWC1 adds that all minerals developments must be compatible with their setting and not result in unacceptable impacts on public amenity, environmental, historic or cultural assets from their design, operations, management and restoration.

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Local Guidance

NYMNPA Dark Skies SPD

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In December 2020, the North York Moors National Park was awarded ‘International Dark Sky Reserve’ status. Dark night skies are rare, and an intrinsic part of the character of the National Park landscape and one of its listed “special qualities.” The Authority adopted a planning policy in 2020 (North York Moors Local Plan Policy ENV4) to guide and control lighting in new development. This Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) (adopted in December 2023) helps explain how the policy will be implemented and confines itself to planning matters only. The guidance is based on a Lighting Management Plan prepared by a professional lighting consultant.

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