Forward Planning
The formulation, monitoring and review of those policies which are the basis for the decisions made by local planning authorities is normally referred to as Forward Planning. The Dartmoor National Park Authority is the local planning authority for the whole of the National Park and was responsible, jointly with Devon County Council, Torbay Council and Plymouth City Council, for the review of the Devon Structure Plan, which was completed in 2004. In the same year the Authority also completed a review of the Dartmoor National Park Local Plan.
Those documents together are known as the Development Plan and need to be referred to by anyone who is considering proposing a development in the National Park. However they will, over the next few years, be replaced by new statutory plans called the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and the Local Development Framework (LDF).
The preparation of the RSS is the responsibility of the Regional Planning Body (the South West Regional Assembly). However the National Park Authority is a statutory consultee in respect of the RSS and we have worked closely with colleagues from Exmoor National Park Authority and the South West Protected Landscapes Forum (SWPLF) to influence the content of the RSS in so far as it relates to the nationally protected landscapes of the region (the two National Parks and the fourteen Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and their surroundings.
Once the RSS is completed, probably in late 2008, it will supersede most of the current content of the Devon Structure Plan. Some of the more detailed policies in the Structure Plan are, however, likely to remain in place until they are replaced by policies in the LDDs. The programme for the completion of a full set of LDDs currently runs through to the end of 2009.
The Authority has also commenced the preparation of the Local Development Framework for Dartmoor National Park. That will consist of a series of Local Development Documents (LDDs) together with a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) and an Annual Monitoring Report.
In addition to these ‘spatial plans’, the Authority has to prepare, monitor and review its National Park Management Plan. That plan sets out a five year framework for the work of the Authority and partner organisations in managing the National Park and was adopted by the Authority in December 2007.
