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PART
ll VOLUME 2
Policy Reasoned Justification |
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| Community Facilities |
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9.1 THE ROLE OF THE PLAN |
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9.2. GOVERNMENT POLICY GUIDANCE |
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9.3 POLICY JUSTIFICATION |
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| 9.1 THE ROLE OF THE PLAN |
| 9.1.1 The development strategy outlined
in Volume 1, and the specific allocations made in Volumes 3, 4, and 5, will
have a fundamental impact on the prospects of different communities within
the District. These proposals can also be expected to have major implications
for the future scale and nature of demand for educational, medical and social
and other community services. It is essential that the Council, in allocating
land and considering individual development proposals, takes account of
the capacity of community services to meet anticipated needs. |
| 9.1.2 The Unitary Development Plan has
only a limited role to play in terms of allocating land for specific community
purposes. This is partly because the scale of the Plan has precluded the
allocation of sites below approximately 0.4 hectare (1 acre). The majority
of local community facilities fall below this threshold and consequently
such proposals do not feature on the Proposals Maps. However, a number of
allocations are made in the Plan for such purposes as hospital and school
extensions, where it is anticipated that land will be required within the
Plan period. Other relevant factors limiting the number of allocations which
can be made at this time for community facilities are identified in the
following sections on service provision. |
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| 9.2. GOVERNMENT POLICY GUIDANCE |
| 9.2.1 The Council is the key provider
of education, community and social services within the District. Wakefield
Health Authority is the strategic body responsible for primary health care
and hospital provision, which is delivered through primary care groups /
trusts and hospital / community trusts. Co-ordination between the various
agencies involved in health and social issues is achieved through joint
planning arrangements. |
| 9.2.2 The agencies referred to above have
been undergoing a period of upheaval as a result of fundamental and far-reaching
changes in legislation. The following sections on the individual services
make reference to those changes which have particular land-use implications.
Uncertainties over funding and increasing constraints on spending have also
had a major impact on service provision in recent years. These factors pose
significant difficulties for the service providers in identifying their
long-term land-use requirements. |
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| Primary Health Care and Hospital
Provision |
| 9.2.3 Wakefield Health Authority is currently
carrying out a review of service and strategic development, which will impact
on primary care and hospital provision. This has included a site identification
and shortlisting process, leading to active consideration of three potential
sites for major capital investment in acute hospital services. Completion
of this process is dependent upon local decision making, and then regional
office/NHS Executive approval for capital spending. |
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| Community and Social Services |
| 9.2.4 In recent years the Council has
faced a period of dramatic change in the way community and social services
are provided. The Housing and Social Care Department has responded positively
to a range of national policy initiatives e.g. Quality Protects and National
Priorities Guidance which aim to secure integrated care services, Health
and Social Services. The modernisation agenda seeks to ensure quality health
and social care is available to the most vulnerable children and young people
as well as adults and older people. |
| 9.2.5 The Department has clear objectives
to continue work in partnership with local people, service users, carers
and statutory and voluntary organisations to: |
- secure democratic renewal and the promotion of citizenship through
comprehensive and meaningful consultation;
- share and develop information about local needs;
- agree common goals and priorities with partners;
- target joint action to secure most benefit.
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| A key priority is to address inequality and social
exclusion especially families in poverty, ethnic minority communities, people
with physical or learning disabilities and older people. |
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| 9.2.6 Major reviews of fieldwork and support
services have been undertaken to: |
- ensure continued advocacy for excluded groups including welfare benefits
services;
- targeting services and resources at the most vulnerable individuals
and communities;
- address social and economic inequality in planning services;
- overcome problems of access to services by working in partnership
to develop integrated local and accessible services;
- continue investment in family support and community care services
to provide independence and recovery for vulnerable groups.
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| 9.2.7 The Department's commissioning strategy
includes the prioritising of independent sector residential and nursing
care to meet continuing demand for those services for vulnerable people.
Additionally, the commissioning and purchase of day care services will be
needed to extend community support. |
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| Education Services |
| 9.2.8 The Council has reviewed the need
for school places in the 1990's and has removed a number of surplus places.
This has been coupled with the introduction of a coherent system of the
age of transfer to secondary school at 11 throughout the District apart
from Normanton and Altofts, where the change will be made in September 2001,
from the current transfer at age 12. |
| 9.2.9 Recent legislation has had a major
impact on the Council's role as local education authority. School governing
bodies control the use of school facilities, both within and outside school
time. The Council has powers to direct governing bodies to allow use of
school facilities but these are rarely used as the Council works in partnership
with governing bodies to provide leisure and other educational activities
for the community on school premises. The community use of schools is considered
in more detail in the Leisure Section of this Volume. |
| 9.2.10 Where significant housing developments
take place, additional school facilities will be needed at both Primary
and Secondary level. The Council will negotiate with developers to secure
a planning obligation relating to the provision of such facilities, in accordance
with policy R2. |
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| 9.3 POLICY JUSTIFICATION |
| 9.3.1 It should be noted that all proposals
for development of community facilities will be subject to Environment,
Transport and Open Land policies in addition to Policy C1 below. |
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| Location of Community Facilities |
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| C1 |
THE PROVISION OF COMMUNITY FACILITIES WILL
BE ENCOURAGED AND PERMITTED IN LOCATIONS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH IDENTIFIED
NEEDS WHICH OFFER GREATEST PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY, PARTICULARLY IN TOWN AND
LOCAL CENTRES, WHICH ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SERVICES
PROVIDED AND ARE IN ACCORDANCE WITH POLICY T2. |
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| 9.3.2 For the reasons outlined above,
the Plan has only a limited role in shaping the future pattern of community
facilities through the allocation of land for such uses. However, it is
important that all new community facilities, irrespective of their size,
should be as accessible as possible to the people they serve. This principle
is embodied in Policy C1 which will provide a general framework for considering
proposals to develop community facilities. In particular, it is important
that new facilities take account of the travel needs of people without vehicles,
and Transport Policy T2, referred to in the above policy, emphasises the
importance of this factor. |
| 9.3.3 The development control process
also has an important role in ensuring that the design of new buildings,
and adaptations to existing buildings, take full account of the needs of
people with disabilities. Off-street parking provision should include appropriate
spaces for disabled people. In addition, changes to the Building Regulations
in 1991 require that disabled people should be able to gain access to and
within buildings, and use them. This applies to new buildings and many extensions
to existing buildings. (Transport Policy T16 is also relevant to this issue).
Clear signposting should be provided, readily understandable by people of
all physical and sensory abilities. |
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| Supplementary Planning Guidance |
| 9.3.4 A series of Development Control
Guidelines have been approved by the Council to further assist the control
of development. These guidelines are listed in Appendix 1 and they will
constitute material considerations in the determination of planning applications.
Here attention is drawn to guidelines relating to Parking Standards. |
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