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5.2 Regional Policy Context

5.2.1 Regional policy sets the context for development for the East Midlands region as a whole. The vision and policies of this plan should be in general conformity with regional policy. Regional policy is set out in the East Midlands Regional Plan, which was adopted in March 2009. The Regional Plan replaces part 2 of the Milton Keynes South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy (MKSM-SRS).

5.2.2 West Northamptonshire is a key part of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub Regional Growth Area. West Northamptonshire has the potential to attract significant growth for employment and housing whilst regenerating other areas.  The East Midlands Regional Plan sets out the minimum numbers of houses and jobs to be provided as well as guidance on environmental standards for building. Some pieces of major infrastructure- such as public transport connections and new roads- will need to be provided alongside development to ensure that development does not place undue pressure on existing communities.

5.2.3 The East Midlands Regional Plan sets out the minimum numbers of houses and jobs that need to be provided in the area as:

62,125 homes in the period 2001 - 2026

37,200 jobs in the period 2001 – 2021

5.2.4 Reliable figures that relate to jobs over the plan period are presently unavailable. These are being reviewed as part of the work on the Strategic Employment Land Assesment, which is being prepared by Northamptonshire Enterprise Ltd.

5.2.5 The plan period runs from 2001-2026. This means that some of the houses and jobs that we are required to deliver have already been built, have planning permission, are identified in existing Local Plans or comprise urban capacity. The remaining amount is the “residual” requirement- the amount for which the final Core Strategy must find land. The Northampton Implementation Area is a conceptual area that contains the land that will be built when Northampton has expanded so includes the extensions to the town that will actually be located within Daventry District and South Northamptonshire District.

5.2.6 The table below sets out the 'residual' requirement.

Regional Context - Settlement Hierarchy

5.2.7 The East Midlands Regional Plan, March 2009, published by the Government Office for the East Midlands establishes the settlement hierarchy for the region as:

• Principal Urban Areas
• Sub Regional Centres
• Rural Service Centres.

Northampton: Principal Urban Areas (PUA)

5.2.8 Principal Urban Areas are identified as settlements that can develop into sustainable urban communities where people will wish to live work and invest.  They have the potential for:

• A variety and choice of high quality, healthy, affordable and sustainable living and working environments;
• A sufficient number and variety of jobs to meet employment needs, along with associated education and training opportunities;
• Modern urban transport networks and modal interchanges with an emphasis on public transport provision;
• Vibrant central areas and local centres to serve communities with high quality services, to promote identity and social cohesion and to drive economic growth; and
• Improved infrastructure capacity, including healthcare, recreational, cultural and other facilities and green infrastructure.

5.2.9 The East Midlands Regional Plan has replaced Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub Regional Strategy Northamptonshire Policy 2. The Statement for Northamptonshire states that new development will be delivered through a combination of urban regeneration and intensification and the development of new sustainable urban extensions, integrated with the development of enhanced public transport and new public interchanges.  The following principles must be included:

• Meet all the principles for creating sustainable communities;
• Provide for housing growth using both Greenfield land and previously developed land, but maximising opportunities for recycling redundant and under-used urban land especially at nodal sites and on good-quality public transport routes;
• Provide an adequate choice of high-quality employment sites for targeted office and high-value knowledge-based industries and for existing key sectors, making a realistic assessment of the prospects for continuing use of older sites and including an appropriate degree of mixed use on suitable sites, both new and existing;
• Reduce the need to travel by integrating land use and transport planning, reviewing the need for new orbital and other roads, achieving a step change in the attractiveness of public transport within the urban area, implementing town-wide park and ride schemes, comprehensively improving the attractiveness of walking and cycling, and implementing demand management measures;
• Provide for suitable urban extensions (without reference to local authority boundaries) clearly linked, where appropriate, with the completion of any key items of necessary associated infrastructure;
• Identify an appropriate number of existing and possible future District Centres (urban hubs) to form sustainable sub-centres for shopping and for the provision of commercial and social services, giving an emphasis to regeneration needs and opportunities for urban renaissance where relevant;
• Achieve a better quality of new development throughout the urban area, including strategic improvements to the public realm, and sympathetic design in the countryside and in and around the towns;
• Review, and if necessary, set new targets for the provision of affordable housing within the area of the Local Development Document;
• Consider the opportunity for the further development of higher education facilities in Northampton;
• Provide for additional primary health and social care services within existing primary care outlets, in bespoke new healthcare centres within the sustainable urban extensions and within new and expanded community hospitals;
• Expand, reconfigure and modernise secondary healthcare facilities as required to ensure sufficient capacity; and
• Make appropriate provision for green infrastructure including the Nene Valley Regional Park which will play an important role as a strategic recreational resource and offer opportunities to protect and enhance landscape character, biodiversity and cultural heritage.

5.2.10 Policy 3 of the Northamptonshire Statement sets out development priorities for Northampton Central Area. This is being progressed through both the Joint Core Strategy and a separate planning document, called the Northampton Central Area Action Plan.

Daventry: Sub-Regional Centres (SRC)

5.2.11 Sub Regional Centres have been identified for their ability to perform a complementary role to the Principal Urban Areas and have been selected on the basis of their size, the range of services they provide, and their potential to accommodate further growth.  They have the capacity to support sustainable development objectives through:

• The use of design-led approaches such as master planning and town centre renewal activity to enhance existing character and community infrastructure;
• Additional development;
• Providing opportunities for economic diversification;
• Providing a range of services to support surrounding hinterlands; and
• Being the most accessible centre in an area with a range of transport nodes.

5.2.12 The Regional Plan emphasises that development in Sub Regional Centres should support individual roles and functions.  It should not be of a scale and character that prejudices the urban renaissance of the Principal Urban Areas.

Towcester and Brackley: Rural Service Centres

5.2.13 The Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub Regional Strategy designated Brackley and Towcester as Rural Service Centres and states that Brackley and Towcester will seek to extend their roles in providing local services for their rural hinterlands.  Growth will be accommodated in line with the sequential approach within the existing built up areas or in the form of one or more sustainable urban extensions at each town.  Any significant growth will need to make provision for the expansion of new employment opportunities and the provision of necessary improved social infrastructure such as primary healthcare provision.  The centres of these towns should also be the focus for enhancement proposals and the maintenance of basic services.

5.2.14 In considering the growth of Towcester, the East Midlands Regional Plan states that growth will be accommodated within the existing built up area or in the form of one or more sustainable urban extensions. A key consideration is the need to regenerate the historic town centre and the East Midlands Regional Plan requires a co-ordinated approach to appropriately manage the development of the town and its centre, and to integrate with future changes to the road network. The East Midlands Regional Plan concludes that the bypass when completed will enable traffic management measures and other environmental enhancements in the town centre and along the present A5 corridor. It states that the bypass is also necessary to provide for the long term growth of the town.

5.2.15 The East Midlands Regional Plan focuses growth on the main towns with further development in rural areas to be confined to that required for 'local needs'. The precise locations of the future development, its quality and the way development and infrastructure come together to make places that meet the needs of people and businesses are all matters to be addressed by the Joint Core Strategy. The Emergent Joint Core Strategy sets out our present thinking on addressing “where” and “how” we will deliver the growth required.