IDP review wants to promote building on brownfield sites
NEW pledges could be made to keep Guernsey a green and pleasant island which offers a good quality of life for residents.
The Development & Planning Authority has set out its proposed five-year review of the Island Development Plan, which will become the blueprint for how the island evolves.
Stronger prioritisation of brownfield land over greenfield for residential building is recommended and the DPA wants better protection of Guernsey’s natural beauty.
The second annual monitoring report of the IDP has also been published and its key finding is that the building policies are working, although there is recognition that there has been a shift in the conversation with more focus on the importance of the green environment.
DPA president Dawn Tindall said the wide-ranging report was informed by valuable contributions from the community.
‘Whilst the AMR has shown that the policies of the IDP are effective and relevant and are delivering the land use aspects of the States’ priorities, the DPA acknowledged in its action plan that there were elements of the IDP which some felt were not working as intended.
‘So, as I stated during the IDP requete debate in 2019, the policy letter with amendable propositions gives another opportunity, during this political term, for members to raise concerns, or ideas for further research and analysis, and guide the future of the IDP.’
It had been anticipated that the next five-year review would focus only on housing and employment land, but the recommendation is that the scope should be broadened to include six other key aspects.
These are areas of biodiversity importance, development frameworks, prioritisation of brownfield land over greenfield land, important open land, agriculture priority areas and visitor accommodation.
While developers, architects and lawyers might pore over the diverse 423-page report, it is not anticipated to be cover-to-cover reading for ordinary islanders.
However, it is designed to be dipped in and out of, and there are flagged-up sections on different types of development such as visitor accommodation, parking, redundant glasshouse sites, housing, offices, and horticulture.
On the issue of affordable housing, the idea is to investigate the case for an alternative requirement for developers to make a tariff payment equivalent to the value of the land which would be set aside for affordable housing.
When it was adopted in 2016, the IDP represented a major shift in policy because for the first time it brought land planning policies for the whole of Guernsey into a single document.
The shackles of the former Urban Area and Rural Area Plans were cast off, but since the launch there have been questions about whether it is working.
The new review will aim to answer those questions and, following a planning inquiry, changes to the IDP should be completed by November next year.
