Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I am writing to object to the inclusion of SP2 as an allocated site in the Local Plan (Chapter 4 . Policy SP2 and Paragraph 13.324)

I believe the Plan is not legally compliant and unsound for the following reasons:

1. Breach of NPPF requirement to engage with community
SP2 has been included without proper community involvement or consultation as outlined in the Statement of Community Involvement. The site was actually allocated ne green belt in the previous consultation to which the community responded positively. As the housing need has been reduced in the current iteration of the plan from 14,400 to 13,800 it can be argued that the site is no longer required.

2. Unsuitability of site for development
The site itself is completely unsuitable for development. It is categorised as 1 in 30 year risk of surface water flooding and therefore application of the sequential test, as required by the NPPF, means that new developments should only be considered if there are no alternative sites available with a lower risk of flooding. Given all the sites available in the Local Plan and the oversubscription buffer it follows that this site should not be developed.

The site is adjacent to a conservation area, can be viewed from historic pathways and is key component of the landscape character of the village, development of the site would have a huge impact on the rural nature of the settlement and lower its appeal to the high number of walkers and cyclists who visit at weekends from surrounding towns. Whitwell has very limited employment opportunities and is largely reliant on visiting tourists.

The site is not sustainable as it will encourage increased car usage (nearest secondary school supermarket, train station are all 7- 8 miles away and nearest bus stop is >400m). the sewage system and flood mitigation rely on power hungry pumps which conflict with Gov sustainability and low carbon policy.