Agenda item

To submit a report by the Head of Regulation and Economic Development.

Submitted – a report by the Head of Regulation and Economic Development.

The Chief Planning Officer reported that the report sets out the policy requirement to establish a settlement hierarchy as part of the process of developing a Local Development Plan and is essential to identify the different settlements to receive growth in terms of their location, role and function.  This involves an assessment of the current role and function of settlements, as well as an understanding of the relationships between settlements.  The topic paper seeks to assess the role of settlements within the Plan Areas and subsequently group settlements into different tiers/types based upon their role and function.  The tiers set out within the settlement hierarchy are:-

·          Sub-regional Service Centre

·          Urban Service Centre

·          Local Service Centres

·          Villages

·          Clusters

·          Undefined Rural Settlements

Based on the scoring for each settlement assessed, all settlements were subsequently grouped into different tiers based upon their role and function.  The majority of settlements have remained within their relative tiers as categorised in the Anglesey and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan.  Where settlements have been upgraded to a higher tier, it means that the services and facilities (as identified in the assessment methodology) that are available in those settlements have increased in number/availability since the situation in the Joint Local Development Plan.  Conversely, where settlements have been downgraded to a lower tier, the availability/number of those facilities/services have reduced.  The following settlements have been re-classified to reflect the results of the scoring methodology used for this assessment:-

·          Holyhead has been re-classified as a Sub-regional Centre;

·          Menai Bridge has been upgraded from a Local Service Centre to an Urban Service Centre;

·          Brynsiencyn and Penysarn have been upgraded from Local Villages to Service Villages;

·          Newborough has been downgraded from a Service Village to a Local Village;

·          Pentre Canol, Pentre Berw and Rhostrehwfa have been upgraded from a Cluster to a Local Village;

·          Llanrhuddlad, Pencaernisiog, Carreglefn, Llanfaethlu, Llanddona and Llanbedrgoch have been downgraded from Villages to Clusters.

Councillor Kenneth P Hughes said that the majority of the area on Anglesey are rural areas and Welsh Governments’ Planning Sustainability Policy discriminates against rural area.  Councillor Hughes proposed that a letter be sent by this Committee to Welsh Government highlighting that the current Sustainability Policy discriminates against rural areas and is a barrier in establishing a Local Development Plan which will create the needs of Anglesey. 

The Chief Planning Officer said that the developments in Wales need to be sustainable, and a new Development Plan will need to address National Planning Policies.  The Local Development Plan also needs to reflect the services available within communities.

The Vice-Chair said that consideration should be given that there will be the Senedd Elections in May with a possibility that an answer to the question raised will not be forthcoming.   Councillor Nicola Roberts said that she considered that the matter, firstly, should be discussed with the Group Leaders.

Councillor Nicola Roberts said that Canolfan Ysgol y Bont, Llangefni should be included within the settlement strategy points scoring as has all the Primary and Secondary Schools.

Councillor Robert Ll Jones said that the Well-being and Futures Generation Act should be a focus within the establishment of a Local Development Plan for Anglesey.  The Chief Planning Officer responded that the new Local Development Plan will have to create the needs of the Well-being and Future Generation Act as part of the process in establishing the Local Development Plan for Anglesey.

It was RESOLVED:-

·          to endorse the draft Settlement Strategy Topic Paper as the basis for the settlement hierarchy to be used in the emerging Anglesey Local Development Plan.

·          that Canolfan Addysg y Bont be included in the settlement strategy point scoring process.