Natural England

Natural England and High Peak Borough Council have won a prestigious planning award for their work in preserving the prized character of the Peak District.

The two bodies have been working together over the past two years to secure the traditional landscape and heritage of the High Peak.

The work has culminated in a design tool that ensures all development proposals put forward for the area are in keeping with the character of the landscape, towns and villages in the area as identified by The Derbyshire County Council Landscape Character Assessment.

And last month, they were rewarded for their efforts at this year’s Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Awards ceremony by scooping the Rural Areas and Natural Environment award.

The RTPI accolades highlight the best examples of the planning profession’s contribution to the quality of life in the UK.

Natural England and High Peak Borough Council, with help from Derbyshire County Council, Peak District National Park, multi-disciplinary consultancy Countryscape and the Buxton-based Planning Cooperative, produced a Supplementary Planning Document to set clear guidelines for planners and developers on the standards expected.

Senior planning officer at High Peak Borough Council, Hilary Senior, said: “The planning document gives clear policy advice that can be easily understood by applicants and officers alike to make sure that future developments help to keep the High Peak and its landscapes special.”

Natural England’s Karen Devonport said: “It has really helped to integrate landscape character assessment into the planning process. It shows how the sensitive design of development can help to respect and strengthen local landscape character.”

The RTPI judges applauded the Supplementary Planning Document for being “clear and concise but not too prescriptive” and “easily understood by its prime target audience of developers, agents and home owners”.

They were also impressed with the methodology, the thoroughness of the approach, its positive use of best features of the new planning system, the document quality and its potential for adoption in many parts of the country.

Karen Devonport added: “We would like to see more local planning authorities using this excellent example to help develop their own practical and useful landscape character guidance for planners and developers.”

Call Karen Devonport on 0115 900 5361 for information or view the guidance (pdf 1.6 mb) on the High Peak Borough Council website.

ENDS

Issued on behalf of Natural England by Cristina Chapman at AURA PR. Phone 01636 636398 or 01636 611774 or email cristina@aurapr.co.uk with all media enquiries.

Notes to editors:

1. Natural England was established by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. Its purpose is to ensure that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future generations, thereby contributing to sustainable development.

2. Natural England has been formed by bringing together English Nature, the landscape, access and recreation elements of the Countryside Agency and the environmental land management functions of the Rural Development Service.

3. Natural England has a budget of £500 million and employs 2,500 people.

4. The High Peak is a small, mainly rural authority in north Derbyshire, mostly lying within or on the fringes of the Peak District National Park.

5. Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) were established in law as part of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 - the legislation that created the new planning system. An SPD is a document with a Local Development Framework that may cover a range of issues, thematic or site specific, and provides further detail on policies and proposals contained in Development Plan Documents.

6. The government describes the need to develop alternatives to local landscape designations in Planning Policy Statement 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas (2004). Paragraph 24 states that: “The Government recognises and accepts that there are areas of landscape outside nationally designated areas that are particularly highly valued locally. The Government believes that carefully drafted, criteria-based policies in LDDs (Local Development Documents), utilising tools such as landscape character assessment, should provide sufficient protection for these areas, without the need for rigid local designations that may unduly restrict acceptable, sustainable development and the economic activity that underpins the vitality of rural areas.”

7. Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) is an approach to understanding the differences between landscapes, and can serve as a framework for decision-making that respects local distinctiveness. It is a way of 'unpacking' the landscape and understanding how its distinctive elements contribute to sense of place. LCA is promoted by Natural England, the public body with responsibility for the protection and improvement of England's natural environment. For information about LCA, visit www.landscapecharacter.org.uk.