18.1.22

Once finalised, the replacement Local Development Plan (LDP) will shape the Cardiff we all see around us, setting out guidance and policies for developers to ensure the right development happens in the right place, at the right time.

There’s a long way to go before the plan is complete – planning is complicated, and the whole process, is expected to take three years.

Currently we’re at stage two of the process - asking residents for their views on a variety of options on housing and jobs growth for the city, up to 2036. You can find out more about that, and have your say, here: https://cardiffldp.consultation.ai/

This is big stuff, so it’s really important everyone is involved. Please, do take part – your views matter.

The first stage of the process was to consult on our draft vision for the replacement LDP. Over the summer more than 1200 residents took part in our online survey, sharing their views.

That might not sound like much, but for a consultation on planning strategy, it’s a pretty good figure.

But what did you tell us? And what has it changed?

Well, you can read the full results of the consultation here: https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s51432/Appendix%203%20Summary%20of%20consultation%20and%20engagement%20findings%20-Part%201%20Findings%20from%20Questionnaire%20Surv.pdf?LLL=0

But for those of you who don’t have the time (or the patience) to wade through all 141 pages, here are some statistics we think you might find interesting.

·       Overall, there was support for lower levels of housing growth (46%), however under 35s, and people who identify as disabled, wanted to see higher levels of housing growth, with many commenting on a shortage of affordable housing.

·       36.5% felt that only brownfield sites should be used for new housing land, compared with 2.3% who favoured greenfield sites for new homes, and 10.8% who chose the midpoint between the two.

·       A fifth of respondents (19.4%) indicated that the plan should seek to prioritise sustainable forms of transport, compared with 4.3% prioritising private car use, and 12.2% favouring a balance between the two.

·       ‘Tackling climate change’ was seen as the most important of the draft plan objectives, with 45.4% ranking this in their top three, and 27.4% ranking this as the single most important.

·       This was followed by ‘healthier environments’, ranked in the top three by 38.8%, and first by 6.0%. ‘Protecting green & blue infrastructure’ (that’s things like green space, trees, rivers) was ranked in the top three by 36.3%, and first by 10.2%.

So that’s what you told us. It will make a difference as we go through the process, and in fact, it already has, because we’ve revised the vision and objectives of our LDP as a result of your responses, tweaking some of the objectives and adding more detail.

Some examples of these changes include:

·       Instead of just providing “more homes to address future housing needs” the LDP will now look to provide “low-carbon homes” to address that need.

·       And the new plan will look to ensure “development is promoted in the most sustainable locations and land is efficiently used with a ‘brownfield-first’ priority.”

·       Lines on increasing “tree canopy cover across the city” and supporting “wider biodiversity” have also been added.

We could go on, but it’s probably simpler if you just read the full revised vision and objectives. You’ll find them here: https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s51429/Appendix%201%20Replacement%20Local%20Development%20Plan%20Vision%20and%20Objectives%20V0.23.pdf?LLL=0

So thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts and had their say.

There’s a long way to go and it’s probably fair to say that when it comes to planning the devil is in the detail, but hopefully you can already see from these changes that your views, alongside those of others, really do make a difference.

The next step is for us to develop a ‘Preferred Strategy’ – essentially a draft version of the LDP with lots of detail on strategic sites, policies and plans. That should be ready in Autumn 2022, at which point we’ll ask you what you think of it.

If you’re interested in finding our more about how the planning system works, we published a Q&A last year which may be useful. You’ll find it here: https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/26663.html