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Local Development Framework - Core Strategy

Role of Core Strategy

The Core Strategy will set out the Council’s vision, objectives and overall strategy for the future development of the Borough.

All other DPD s in the LDF will need to conform to the Core Strategy. When the Core Strategy and Allocations DPD are adopted they will replace the UDP . The role of the Core Strategy is to:

  • Give more detailed spatial guidance on the level and broad location of development, the identification of strategic sites and their relationship with transport and other infrastructure;
  • Be integrated with other strategies of the Council, its partners, other organisations and neighbouring authorities; and
  • Provide a more robust framework for the physical regeneration of the Borough.

The Allocations DPD will provide detailed site allocations boundaries and policies. In the preparation of the Core Strategy the following stages have been carried out:

Current stage of Core Strategy

 
Examination in Public Stage - 2011
 
Background

Following on from the Submission Stage of the Core Strategy to the Secretary of State on 31 March 2011, the next stage was the Examination in Public.

Current News

An Inspector undertook an Exploratory Meeting to explore a number of his concerns relating to the soundness of the document on 27 July 2011. Following this the Council requested a suspension of the Examination process for a period of six months to allow them time to review the evidence base.

Officers have now concluded that the best course of action is to withdraw the Core Strategy completely and to draw up a new one as a matter of urgency.

As a result the hearings set out below WILL NOT BE GOING AHEAD:

  1. Pre-Hearing on 6 March 2012, and
  2. Hearings to deal solely with the South Heywood Economic Growth Corridor  week commencing 16 April 2012

The formal decision to withdraw will need to be made by the Cabinet and full Council. Given the Committee timetable, the earliest opportunity to get a Council resolution is 19 March 2012.

The letters setting out full details of the inspectors review and the subsequent exchanges of correspondence can be viewed and downloaded from this site.

Officers will also be asking Cabinet to agree a timetable for the preparation of the new Core Strategy and details of that will be published on this web site in due course.

For more information and documents relating to the Examination in Public and Core Strategy, please use the link below (please note that you do no need to register to view the documents).

If you have any queries at this stage or should you wish to discuss any of the above please do not hesitate to contact the Council on the telephone number 01706 924369 or email: corestrategyEIP@rochdale.gov.uk

Previous stages of the Core Strategy

 
Issues and Options Report Stage - 2008

We consulted on the Issues and Options report and other documents, along with a call for possible development sites, in late 2008. The report set out what we thought the key issues are in planning the future of the borough and the options for tackling those issues. It outlined six spatial options on where new development could be focused. It offered choices on what and how much development is needed, and where it could go.

To read the Issues and Options report and other documents, the comments that were made and our response to those comments, please use the link below (please note that you do not need to register to view the documents):

Preferred Options Report Stage - 2009

We considered your views and suggestions from the Issues and Options Report consultation, and took account of new information, in preparing our Preferred Options Report. We called these Preferred Options because we wanted to give you the opportunity to tell us what you thought of them.

We carried out a public consultation on the Preferred Options Report between 2 November 2009 and 29 January 2010. We then produced a document that listed all the representations received and provided our response to the points made.

To read the Preferred Options report and other documents, please use the link below (please note that you do not need to register to view the documents):

Publication Draft Stage - 2010

The Publication Draft Core Strategy is the version of the Core Strategy that we intend to submit to the government for approval, and was subject to a formal 6 week public consultation.

In preparing this document we have taken into account all the representations we received on the Preferred Options Report. We have carried out further studies to support proposals and to answer objections, and have tried to make the document clearer and to ensure it is fully consistent with government policy.

The new government has announced intended changes to the planning system that have had a direct impact on our work on the Core Strategy. The most important of these was the revocation of Regional Spatial Strategies, with their proposed eventual abolition. The RSS for the North West has provided strategic policies and target figures for employment and housing development in the borough. Because of this we have reviewed and amended our proposed strategy to ensure that it is still sound in this new policy context.

We carried out our formal 6 week public consultation from 8 November 2010 to 23 December 2010. We have also published a report with our responses to the points you made on the Preferred Options, and have provided other documents and evidence that supports our proposed strategy.

To read the Publication Draft Core Strategy and other documents, please use the link below (please note that you do not need to register to view the documents):

Submission Stage - 2011

The Core Strategy was submitted to the Secretary of State on 31 March 2011. Other relevant documents submitted alongside the Core Strategy (Publication Draft) include:

  • Core Strategy Submission statement of consultation;
  • Schedule of changes to the Core Strategy Publication Draft and accompanying documents;
  • Main issues raised at Publication Stage and schedule of responses;
  • Responses made on Publication Draft Core Strategy (Database report);
  • Explanation of categories within the submission database;
  • Evidence base informing the production of the Core Strategy;
  • Submission document - Conformity with Town and Country Planning regulation 2008; and
  • Statement of availability of the Submission document.

To read the documents relating to submission, please use the link below (please note that you do not need to register to view the documents).  They can also be viewed at libraries and Customer Service Centres in the borough.