Land use plan will set tone for the next decade

IT IS a document that will shape the future of planning.

Yet for something potentially so wide-ranging in its impact, the Strategic Land Use Plan has generated little debate.

It was not so in the past, when arguments raged about things like the split between the urban and rural areas – much of the sting has been taken out of things.

But for islanders wanting to develop derelict greenhouse sites, or build new houses near village centres, the SLUP is key.

Deputy Bernard Flouquet has led its development politically, while the public also had its say as part of the Guernsey Tomorrow initiative.

Anyone looking for the green light at this stage to build their pet project is racing ahead of the game. The SLUP sets the higher-level policies within which the Environment Department will add the detail to bring this thinking to reality.

'This subject did not take off in the way I thought it would. It's not sexy, it doesn't grab people's imagination,' said Deputy Flouquet.

One of the reasons is that the plan does not signal a radical change, but a subtle evolution.

'It is also a measure of how much people have adapted to the idea of development mainly being in the urban area.'

The document is also an opportunity to overturn that philosophy – although a States members' workshop held while developing the plan showed no support for spreading development across the island.

But it does signal a loosening of the straitjacket on development.

'We're opening the tap a little bit for development in local centres and for small-scale industry outside the main centres.'

This latest strategic plan has to fit with the vision for all high-level States policies and visions.

So if, for example, the States identified an opportunity for offshore tidal power in its economic plan, then the land use plan has to make provision for the infrastructure to develop.

The energy plan and population policy are all pieces of a jigsaw that have to fit together in a way policy formation never happened in the past, when it was much more ad-hoc and whimsical.

The SLUP outlines a more pragmatic approach to development control, a presumption that if something does not impact on the corporate objectives of the States, there is a presumption it should be allowed to happen.

It is about trying to focus planning on bigger, more important things and away from small-scale detail.

There is a tension even within the deputies who developed the SLUP on this area.

Some have a tendency to be more conservative, strongly controlling everything, while others are more libertarian.

A link can be seen in this objective with the planning exemptions brought in with little debate a few years back.

'The exemptions could be expanded further in a planning context rather than being focused on the minutiae. That's up to the planners. This doesn't give the instructions, but it does give the strategic direction.'

There is a recognition in the SLUP about the need for policies to link up.

Town is not just about shops, it needs areas for people to spend their leisure time and to live.

There is a link to funding as well, a recognition that not everything can be delivered by the public sector and that the private sector is always looking for development opportunities.

'We're saying in this plan, let's extend the hours of operation of our Town beyond 9am to 5pm – put other uses in there so it's not dominated by one social group at a time. If you've got families going to the cinema, to the theatre or walking up and down a nice quayside, you get mix of social groups and that's good for everyone.'

It is down to the Environment Department to deliver that opportunity with the detailed development plans.

Derelict greenhouse sites have dominated many discussions about planning.

In the past the underlying use of these sites has always been agriculture, putting a stranglehold on their future uses.

'This plan puts the issue on the agenda to be dealt with, but doesn't say exactly how, or address the funding situation.'

As already said, the SLUP is not about that level of detail.

But it could, as things are taken forward, allow for limited development on some sites – other tools also include the States funding removal of derelict glass or even a tax on dereliction.

'The majority of greenhouse sites will go back to agricultural or horticultural uses, but we're also saying with the centres that there's a possibility maybe redundant sites could lend themselves to open space or partial development. That's something planners will have to pick up and look at.'

The SLUP also has to make allowances for design being different in the future – it is not just about traditional granite cottages.

As environmental thinking develops, energy efficiency and sustainable design could become an overriding factor in new build – the island could look a very different place and the SLUP needs to be flexible enough to allow that to happen. There is a lot going on in the plan. It struggles at this stage to become an engaging topic but it is now that the tone will be set for the next decade or so.

It is vital to get things right and not come too late to the party when it gets down to the details.