1.0 Introduction
Government Guidance contained in
PPS
12 (para. 4.9) states that :
“…Local planning authorities should ensure that the delivery of
housing and other strategic and regional requirements is not
compromised by unrealistic expectations about the future
availability of infrastructure…” Policies in the Core Strategy
therefore need to be in step with investment in new infrastructure
and take account of other constraints. The specific aim of this
Background Paper is therefore to find out:
the main constraints, investment
requirements and development opportunities which need to be taken
into account in the Core Strategy.
PPS
12 (Annex B, para. B 3)
refers to ‘infrastructure’ as including “…transport facilities,
water supply and sewers, waste facilities and other community
facilities…” Delivering the South East Plan : A
Revised South East Plan Implementation Plan (October 2006)
provides a wider definition (see Table 1).
Table 1 : Infrastructure Definition in The South East Plan
Implementation Plan
|
Infrastructure Definition
|
|
|
Transport
|
Airports, ports, road network, rail network,
travel management and transport improvements.
|
|
Housing
|
Affordable housing, gypsy and traveller
sites.
|
|
Education
|
Further and higher education, secondary and
primary education, nursery.
|
|
Health
|
Acute care and general hospitals, mental
hospitals, health centres/primary care trusts and ambulance
services.
|
|
Social Infrastructure
|
Supported accommodation, social and community
facilities, sports centres, open spaces, parks and play space.
|
|
Green Infrastructure
|
Outdoor recreational and sports facilities,
parks, gardens and allotments, tracks and pathways, natural and
historic sites, canals and water spaces, as well as accessible
countryside. It is a network of multi-functional green spaces in
urban areas, the countryside in and around towns, and the wider
countryside.
|
|
Public Services
|
Libraries, cemeteries, emergency services
|
|
Utility and Waste
|
Water (supply and wastewater treatment),
energy, waste management.
|
|
Flood Defences
|
Coastal and fluvial.
|
The scope of this Background Paper is confined
to education, social infrastructure (health provision and community
centres), public services (libraries, cemeteries and emergency
services) and utility services (water supply, waste water
treatment, gas and electricity). Evidence on Transport,
Housing, Green Infrastructure (including Leisure Centres) and Flood
Defences is being developed in other Background Papers. Waste and
Recycling is a type of utility service but it is considered to be
outside the scope of this Background Paper.