Staffordshire Moorlands District Council

Have your say about local issues that matter to you

The Staffordshire Moorlands is an attractive mainly rural District with many unique features. The BIG Debate is a chance for you to have an input into 2 key Plans that will influence the quality of life and the future of the Staffordshire Moorlands:

•the Staffordshire Moorlands Community Strategy
and
•the new style Local Plan, the Staffordshire Moorlands Local Development Framework (LDF).

We are looking for your views to help identify community priorities to assist with the review of the Staffordshire Moorlands Community Strategy and shape planning policy in the Local Development Framework (LDF). Your views will then be fed directly into the Community Strategy and the LDF. To have your say now, please click on the link called 'online issues questionnaire' further down this page.

The Local Development Framework and in particular the Core Strategy, is a key component in the delivery of the spatial aims (i.e. relating to the development and use of land) to be set out in the Community Strategy. It is therefore beneficial to undertake early consultation as a joint exercise as input from the community and other stakeholders is crucial to both documents and their aims can then be clearly related.

Listed below are some key facts about the Moorlands at present.

The BIG facts about the Moorlands

•The population of the Moorlands is 94,600.
•The Moorlands enjoys very low unemployment (0.9% in 2005).
•The Moorlands has 14 Conservation areas and over 1,000 Listed Buildings.
•The Moorlands is home to large companies such as Britannia HQ, JCB and Alton Towers.
•Leek has the only working cattle market in Staffordshire.
•The Moorlands has high quality landscape with the need for rural employment and farm diversification.
•The number of houses built each year in the Moorlands may need to fall to stem migration out of Stoke and South Cheshire.
•750 affordable houses need to be built each year to meet demand from those unable to afford to buy a home1
•At £337, the average gross weekly wage in the Moorlands is lower than the national, regional and Staffordshire averages2
•At 7.8 business start-ups per 1000 population, the Moorlands rate in 2004 was the lowest in Staffordshire, and well below national and regional averages2
•According to a number of agencies, the delivery of rural - and in some cases urban - services such as emergency services, youth and community facilities, education, health and libraries, will be increasingly through mobile facilities and/or the sharing of premises.3
•Moorlands town centres are losing considerable trade to surrounding towns - between 65% and 94% in the case of non-food items - and will lose even more as competing centres like Macclesfield, Congleton and Uttoxeter continue to improve their range of shops.4


1 Housing Needs Survey 2004 update
2 The State of the Borough, Local Futures for SMDC 2006
3 Forward Plans Group discussions with all agencies, reported in Issues Paper on Rural Issues, 2006
4 Retail Capacity Study, GVA Grimley for SMDC, 2006


What is the Community Strategy?

The Community Strategy is the plan that sets out a long-term vision for the future of Staffordshire Moorlands and is the most important plan in the District. Responsibility for developing and delivering the plan rests with the Moorlands Together LSP - this is a local partnership of the key local public service agencies, voluntary and community groups and business sector.

The Moorlands Together LSP is aiming to launch a new Community Strategy in 2007. When it is written key public agencies such as the District Council will make sure that their own plans and priorities support the delivery of the Community Strategy. In fact we are already making sure that we revise some of our own key plans to support the Community Strategy - the Local Development Framework is an example.

Up until January 2007 we are keen to give the people of Staffordshire Moorlands the opportunity to tell us about what you think should be the key priorities in the Community Strategy. These could be aspects of life you want to see improved, challenges you think we need to address, opportunities that could benefit Staffordshire Moorlands or the good things we need to protect. We will then consider these issues and also the hard evidence about the quality of life locally - that is government statistics and other research we have undertaken - and write the strategy. In February 2007 we will publicise the draft Community Strategy, including the details of what was said by local people, and consult people about whether we've got the strategy right. Following this consultation we will make any necessary amendments before the Strategy is finally agreed - in May 2007. After that we have to get on with the work of achieving the results set out in the Strategy and make sure that local people know how well we are doing.


What is the Local Development Framework?

The Local Development Framework (LDF) is a District wide development plan, which has replaced the old Local Plan system. A LDF differs from a Local Plan as it is made up of several documents which all undergo a separate production process and public examination. The aim is to make the review process quicker and easier to carry out as each document can be reviewed at separate times as appropriate.

The District Council is in the early stages of producing its third LDF document, the Core Strategy. This is a District wide strategic document. The Plan will broadly set out what type of development is required in the Moorlands over the next 10-15 years, broadly how much and broadly where in the District. The Core Strategy will be followed by further LDF documents detailing plan policies and specific sites for development in the District. You can find out further information about other LDF documents by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.

It is important for those with an interest in development in the District to be involved in the Core Strategy production process at an early stage. The Core Strategy is the key planning policy document where matters such as the Council's approach to housing development, employment development and retail development will be determined. To find out more about facts and issues surrounding these and other topics, please refer to the 'core strategy issues papers' link at the bottom of this page. These papers are part of the Council's evidence base and contain information from key organisations involved in the delivery of services along with a summary of the planning policy position.


Core Strategy Production Process

The production of the Core Strategy (shown below) will follow a statutory process.

1.Evidence Gathering (Complete)
2.Consultation on issues. (We are here)
3.Consultation on options (in the form of development scenarios).
4.Public Participation on the Preferred Options.
5.Submission of the Draft Core Strategy to the Secretary of State and a further 6 week consultation.
6.Independent Examination of the Core Strategy.
7.Adoption of the Core Strategy.


The locally important issues identified from this consultation will be used to create potential options for the future development of the Staffordshire Moorlands.

Further consultation will then take place on these development options next spring.

Sustainability Appraisal

Under the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, when producing a plan for the future development of their area, the District Council must consider the wider social, environmental and economic impacts of the plan. These impacts are considered through a process called Sustainability Appraisal (SA).

The first stage of SA is the production of a Scoping Report. The Report includes:

•draft Spatial Objectives (the objectives the Council and its partners wish to see achieved on the ground) and Sustainability Objectives for the Core Strategy;
•Sustainability Indicators (ie a selection of ways of measuring what the environmental effects of implementing the Core Strategy 'option' are likely to be);
•Baseline Information collected on the District so far;
•and the structure and methodology proposed for undertaking subsequent stages of the Sustainability Appraisal (SA), including development and refinement of Options, and an assessment of their likely effects on sustainability and arrangements for monitoring of the SA.

To view the Scoping Report for the Core Strategy, you can click on the link called Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report under the 'background documents' heading below. If you would like to make comments on any aspects of the Scoping Report, please contact the Forward Plans team using the details provided below.


Have Your Say Now

Have your say now! Complete our on-line questionnaire by clicking here

All completed questionnaires will be entered into a prize draw for an iPod nano ®, so please ensure you enter your full contact details. The winner will be anounced in the new year. The deadline for responses is Friday 29th December 2006.

The consultation process will last for the next few months and forms a major part of the council's consultation activities.


The results of the questionnaire will be used to create a draft of the Community Strategy and generate possible development options for the Core Strategy.

Paper copies of the BIG Debate questionnaire are available from the Leek, Biddulph and Cheadle Councils' Connect Offices.


BIG Debate Events

Public events will be taking place as follows:

Cheadle Town Centre Tuesday 5th December 2006 (10.00am - 12.00pm)
Leek Town Centre Wednesday 6th December 2006 (10.00am - 12.00pm)
Biddulph Town Centre Saturday 9th December 2006 (10.00am - 12.00pm)

Questionnaires will be available for people to make their views known about issues important to them.

If you would like to discuss any matters relating to the Community Strategy or Core Strategy please use the contact details below:

Community Strategy
LSP Manager
Moorlands Together
Moorlands House
Stockwell Street
Leek
ST13 6HQ

01538 483518

lsp@staffsmoorlands.gov.uk


Core Strategy
Forward Plans Team
Regeneration Services
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
Moorlands House
Stockwell Street
Leek
ST13 6HQ

01538 483574

forward.plans@staffsmoorlands.gov.uk

Further consultation will take place on both documents in early 2007. If you would like to be kept informed about progress on these documents you could register your interest when you fill out the issues questionnaire or by using the contact details above. Alternatively, look out for further information on the Council's website and in the local media.

Background Documents

Core Strategy Issues Papers.

Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report

Local Development Framework 

Community Strategy

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