Draft Core Strategy and Policies Focused Review

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

1.1 What the Document Covers

1.2 This document is the Core Strategy and Policies development plan document for Ipswich. It forms part of the Ipswich Local INSERTED: Plan DELETED: Development Framework. It covers three areas of policy.

• Firstly it sets out a strategic vision and objectives to guide the development of the town (Chapter 6);
• Secondly it promotes the spatial strategy for the development of the town over the next fifteen years through strategic policies (Chapter 8); and
• Thirdly, it provides a suite of policies to control, manage and guide development across the Borough (Chapter 9).

1.3 It also includes two non-policy based areas. Firstly a section on the context to the whole document which explains, amongst other things, the planning system (Chapter 2), DELETED: other regional INSERTED: the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and local documents of particular relevance (Chapters 3 and 4), and an explanation as to how all Ipswich's planning documents fit together (Chapter 1). It also paints a picture of Ipswich in terms of its geography, history and character and provides some facts about Ipswich as a place (Chapter 5). Secondly, there is a section on implementation, targets and monitoring proposals (Chapters 10, 11 and 12).

1.4 At the back of this document there are a limited number of appendices providing more detail to the policies, for example on open space standards.

1.5 How the document is structured

1.6 Each of the two main policy chapters (8 and 9) follows the same broad structure. In each case a policy is identified and then structured into the following sections:

• A short introduction to the issue;
• The policy; and
• A justification of that solution.

1.7 The purpose of the document

1.8 This document sets out the strategy for the future development of Ipswich to INSERTED: 2031 DELETED: 2027. It indicates broadly how and where the Borough will accommodate development to meet local needs identified in the Ipswich Community Strategy INSERTED: and through local evidence DELETED: , and as required by the government to meet targets set out in the Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England. It also explains how it will ensure this is done in a sustainable way. It contains detailed policies to enable the INSERTED: management DELETED: control of development in Ipswich.

1.9 More fundamentally, the purpose of the document is to support the Council's 'place shaping' role. This involves the Council in showing community leadership and working closely with partners locally, to ensure that Ipswich's problems are tackled and that a shared vision for the future is realised in a coordinated way.

1.10 The Local INSERTED: Plan DELETED: Development Framework consists of a series of documents that together will guide development in Ipswich (for more information see Chapter 2).

(1) 1.11 The Local INSERTED: Plan DELETED: Development Framework itself sits in a context of many more plans and strategies prepared at sub-regional and local levels to guide the work of the Council and its partner organisations. The most important of these is the Ipswich Community Strategy, which identifies the outcomes that partners are working together to achieve for Ipswich and informs the Core Strategy and Policies document. Chapter 4 explains more about the Community Strategy. Some of the key sub-regional and local strategies are illustrated in Diagram 1.

1.12 The status of the document

1.13 The adopted Core Strategy and Policies development plan document is formally part of the development plan and therefore has significant weight via the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 - i.e.

"... for the purpose of any determination to be made under the planning Acts the determination must be made in accordance with the (development) plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.” (Section 38(6) of the Act).

(1) 1.14 The Council is required to keep the plan under review and INSERTED: this focused review updates the adopted plan of December 2011 DELETED: it is therefore anticipated that a review will be commenced in 2012/2013 .