Planning Policy Guidance

The council has produced a new guidance note in relation to criterion (e) of Policy SS6 of the Adopted Local Plan 2011-2029 (ALP). The guidance note provides further information on how the Policy should be applied to planning applications and can be viewed below:

The council occasionally produces action plans for specific areas.

The North Basingstoke Action Plan was adopted in July 2003, and provides information on the context of this area's regeneration.

The Central Area Action Plan was adopted in October 2003.

The council has a number of adopted development brief sites in the Local Plan in addition to design guidance for Upper New Road in Basingstoke. These are available to download below:

The Central Area Action Plan (adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance in October 2003) shows how the centre of Basingstoke could develop further. Its purpose is to inspire everyone to make a difference by helping to build an attractive, vibrant and accessible central area.

Towns and their central areas continue to need to change and adapt. In the 1960s parts of Basingstoke's central area were redeveloped to provide a new shopping centre, with the streets and Market Place in the Old Town retained and pedestrianised. Separate zones just beyond the town centre were established for offices and leisure activities. New roads and roundabouts were built to connect traffic between these different zones.

The Action Plan establishes three urban design principles for new developments within the central area. These promote mixing compatible uses within sites and buildings, re-connecting parts of the town centre for pedestrians and cyclists, and enhancing the quality of public spaces and streets.

The draft plan was subject to extensive public consultation during 2003 and was adopted as supplementary planning guidance in October 2003.

The following Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) notes have been produced and adopted by the council to guide development affecting these important heritage assets.

For further information on any of the subjects covered please contact a member of the Conservation Team by emailing conservation@basingstoke.gov.uk or by phoning 01256 844844. Alternatively please visit the Historic Environment of Basingstoke and Deane webpage.

The Historic Environment: Listed Buildings
The council has adopted this document as SPG, to provide advice on the maintenance and improvement of listed buildings. The SPG also provides guidance on the law and listed buildings, and on how to apply for Listed Building Consent.

Adopted: February 2003.

The Historic Environment: Conservation Areas
The council has adopted this document as SPG, to provide general advice on the preservation and enhancement of conservation areas.

If you have any queries about conservation areas, or would like to discuss proposals within one of the borough's existing Conservation Areas, please contact a member of the conservation team or visit the Conservation areas webpage.

If you would like advice regarding trees in a conservation areas, please contact one of the Tree Officers in the conservation team, or visit the Trees webpage.

Adopted: February 2003

Conservation Area Appraisals
We have produced a Conservation Area Appraisal for each conservation area in the borough, and have adopted these as SPG.

These documents and their associated appraisal maps can all be downloaded from the Conservation Area Appraisals webpage.

Historic environment leaflets

The following leaflets provide guidance on listed buildings and conservation areas. These can be downloaded below, or can be picked up from the Civic Offices during normal office hours (8.30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am to 4.30pm on Friday).

Listed Buildings: A guide to the law
This leaflet provides general guidance on the legislation that protects listed buildings.

Information required as part of a Listed Building Consent application
This leaflet is useful to anyone who is applying for Listed Building Consent to carry out works to a listed building. It also contains guidance for prospective purchasers of listed buildings.

Planning controls in Conservation Areas
This leaflet provides general guidance and advice for the special planning controls that exist in Conservation Areas. It should be read in conjunction with the leaflet entitled 'Article 4(2) Directions: Guidance for Residents' below.

Article 4(2) Directions: Guidance for Residents
This leaflet provides general guidance to owners of houses affected by this extra level of planning control that can apply to some Conservation Areas.
This currently applies to two of the borough's Conservation Areas - Brookvale West and Fairfields, both in the centre of Basingstoke.

We have produced and adopted the Supplementary Planning Guidance on a range of topics concerned with the landscape of the borough to help applicants, agents, designers, developers and council officers prepare and evaluate development proposals. These adopted guidance documents are a material consideration when determining planning applications.

The Country Design Summary and Trees and Development are available to download below. The Landscape Assessment, Living Landscapes, Rural Strategy and Tree Policy are available to view and download from the Natural Environment webpage.

Countryside design summary This explains the essential design relationship between the borough's landscape, settlement patterns and buildings. It identifies distinct character areas and sets out design criteria for each of these, against which any future development proposals can be assessed. The countryside design summary document is available below. Trees and development Guidance for assessing the suitability of sites containing trees for development can be found in the council's Landscape and Biodiversity Supplementary Planning Document - available below.

In addition further information on trees is available in the Tree Policy - available below.

In some cases, the Local Plan requires applicants to carrying out a marketing exercise of a property/site to determine whether there is a demand for an existing use.

This guidance note sets out what is expected from an applicant when they are undertaking a marketing exercise, and the minimum standard of information that should be provided as part of any submission.

It is the council's responsibility to set residential parking standards. These standards recommend an approach that takes account of expected levels of car ownership in a new development and that sufficient provision is made for the amount of parking that is likely to be needed by residents with the emphasis on promoting good design. The current standards promote emphasis on design and layout and greater use of communal (unallocated) spaces to provide a more flexible solution for both residents and visitors.

The existing parking standards for other forms of development (non residential) continue to apply and closely reflect the standards and strategy developed by Hampshire County Council and the Basingstoke Environment Strategy for Transport:

Basingstoke Environmental Strategy for Transport (BEST) - available to download below.

Non residential Parking Standards 2003, including standards for cycle and motorcycle parking - available to download below.

The council has adopted Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) on a range of topics to help designers, applicants and council officers prepare and evaluate development proposals. These adopted guidance documents are a material consideration when determining planning applications.

In addition, the council has produced several Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs), which fulfil a similar role to SPGs. It is important to be aware of these documents in putting together any planning applications. Please click here for details of the Supplementary Planning Documents

Planning obligations are negotiated through S106 agreements to enable development proposals to meet the needs of the local community by securing developer contributions towards the provision of community infrastructure, affordable housing and services. The Planning Obligations and Community Infrastructure Guidance document was adopted by the council in July 2005 (revised April 2015).

A copy of the Transport Contributions Policy can be downloaded below.

The council will aim to secure affordable housing provision on development sites of a certain size.

Find further advice on Planning Obligations and Legal Agreements.

A Village or Town Design Statement (VDS) is a practical tool to help influence decisions on design and development. Prepared correctly, a VDS will provide a clear statement of the character of a particular village or town against which planning applications may be assessed. It is not about whether development should take place (this is one of the purposes of the borough's Local Plan), but about how development should be carried out to respect the local identity.

An effective VDS:

• is developed, researched, written, and edited by local people
• is representative of the views of the village as a whole and has involved a wide section of the village community in its production
• describes the visual character of the village and demonstrates how local character and distinctiveness can be protected and enhanced in new development
• is compatible with the statutory planning system and is suitable for approval by the council as supporting its Local Plan
• is applicable to all forms and scale of development
• is about managing change in the village, not preventing it

Local people in villages and small towns are well placed to identify local character and distinctiveness, described in terms of the landscape setting of the village, the pattern and shape of the settlement, and the nature of buildings, spaces, landmarks and special features.

The borough's Local Plan Review gives explicit support to community engagement in preparing a VDS, and contains policy E1, which states that all development must be in keeping with the local character. If the VDS is adopted by the council it can become a material consideration when determining planning applications.

Every village and small town should consider the benefits of preparing a VDS and any group may promote a VDS. The parish council need not necessarily take the lead role, but is often best placed to do so and is an established channel for grant aid that the council can provide.

A VDS will involve a lot of work, organisation and commitment. Experience across the borough suggests that at least 12 and usually 24 months are needed to produce an effective document.

You can download the adopted VDS documents from across the borough below. The date of adoption by the council is including in the document name.