Policy Statement on

The Coast and Countryside of Cornwall and their Protection

Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Cornwall

Our Aim

CPRE Cornwall works to protect the countryside, coastline and communities of the county.

1. Introduction

1.1 The coast and countryside of Cornwall are major assets, as they combine to give the county its unique feel and character. The beauty of the coast and countryside attracts many visitors to the county every year, as well as being major positive considerations when people decide to permanently live in Cornwall. Many areas have local, national and international designations and protection as an acknowledgement of their importance as landscapes and areas of interest, etc. About one third of the landscape of Cornwall is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). But our coast and countryside as a whole are also important to our general wellbeing and economic prosperity, and this cannot be understated or underestimated. The tranquillity provided by the coast and countryside is an essential counterbalance to busy urban lifestyles, yet both are under growing pressure from general changes to the environment and specifically from development proposals of all kinds that result in the loss of that tranquillity and the destruction of its beauty.

1.2 The countryside also helps to produce essential food for the county and beyond as well as local employment. As the country tries to move to sustainable food production the countryside will become even more important and will need additional protection from development proposals as it is a finite resource and once lost cannot be replaced.  The need to protect the best and most versatile agricultural land from development is now again recognised as an essential part of the planning system and CPRE Cornwall support this protection.

1.3 Cornwall as a peninsula county it is dominated by the sea and its impacts. The coastline of the county is nationally and internationally accepted as being some of the very best. There is little of the coastline which is not afforded some degree of designation or protection at a national level. As with the countryside, the coast and sea provide recreation and employment opportunities. The coast supports a fragile but very important local fishing industry which operates within sustainable principles and adds positively to the attractiveness of the coast and Cornwall.  

1.4 The question is how do we balance the need to protect the countryside and coast of Cornwall and accommodate development which is needed for local communities and people?

2. Pressures for Change

2.1 Much of the pressure for change in the environment comes from servicing the needs of a growing population, (housing, roads, shops, schools, hospitals, etc) tourism and economic development. Housing to meet the needs of local people is also a major user of land. While nearly 80% of new housing in Cornwall is built on Previously Developed Land (PDL) a significant amount of new housing is proposed to be built on greenfield land or countryside. CPRE Cornwall has produced a Policy Statement ‘Housing in Cornwall – A New Way Forward’ detailing how future house building can be achieved with minimal impact on the countryside.

2.2 In addition to new housing there is the need for essential infrastructure. Again this will require land to be built on and much of that land will be countryside. The planning system tends to plan in 15 or 20 year periods and allocates land for new developments according to a calculated need. This is then repeated for every plan period. For example, the present plan proposes to build 68,000 new houses in Cornwall by 2026. But by that time more houses, perhaps as many again, will need to be built in the next twenty years, and so on in perpetuity.  Over a period of perhaps 60 years then the amount of new houses to be built might be as much as 200,000. That requires a lot of land. But more importantly as much land again will be needed for the associated infrastructure. The impact on the countryside will be immense.

2.3 But some development proposals are driven by other factors. For example, wind turbine and wind farms are largely being built in response to Government targets to produce energy by renewable means. They have a damaging impact on Cornwall’s countryside both individually and cumulatively. There are far more environmentally friendly ways for the county to help address the problems caused by climate change which have little if any impact on the countryside.  CPRE Cornwall has produced a separate Policy Statement ‘Wind Turbines and other forms of Renewable Energy’ detailing an alternative approach to just the major reliance on wind energy.

3. Getting the Right Balance

3.1 Protecting the countryside and coast of Cornwall is about getting the right balance in planning decisions and understanding that protection means exactly that. The countryside, designated landscapes and the protected coastline must be protected in an absolute sense from all development proposals.

3.2 At present all too often development proposals are approved in designated landscapes or the protected coastline based on the weakest of cases or justification and often on the false pretence of the creation of jobs or meeting a unproven local need. While in isolation these may appear insignificant or minor, there are now so many that the cumulative impact is significant and the special character of the coast and countryside is now gradually being eroded forever. There is evidence that some of these proposals have been granted permissions to secure development needed to meet one problem or issue, such as affordable housing, at the cost of creating another problem, such as eroding the character of the countryside especially protected landscapes. In part this is because the LPA does not have a clear understanding of its obligation absolutely to protect designated and protected areas. Also there appears in the LPA to be an opinion that the adverse impacts of development proposals in protected or designated areas can be successfully mitigated against either by securing obligations from the developer or attachment of planning conditions. This is a dangerous and misinformed opinion. In most cases if not all the adverse impacts of development can never completely or 100% be mitigated against. Hence if approved the developments will if built, as a matter of fact, erode the special character of countryside or coast.

3.3 CPRE Cornwall does not want to prevent all development. Some is needed to meet local needs. But all new development has to sustainable and located away from and without adverse impacts on our countryside and coastline. If this policy is not applied rigorously then the LPA will fail in its fundamental obligation to the people and communities of Cornwall and to the nation as a whole to protect the environment.

3.4 So how do we get the balance right? The LPA has to produce a Local Development Framework (LDF). This is like a planning blueprint for the development of Cornwall in the future. In the LDF a number of documents, policies and development proposals are drawn together. In CPRE’s opinion it is important that the LDF makes it clear that development proposals in designated landscapes or protect coastline or in the open countryside will not be permitted. Equally the LDF must make it clear where and when development can take place.

3.5 It is also important that in respect of all the countryside the importance of tranquillity is properly recognised and is protected. CPRE has in recent years shown through its excellent research work both the importance of tranquillity and its gradual erosion. Tranquillity in the countryside is now recognised as important and in need of protection. Therefore, CPRE Cornwall will want to see in the LDF a policy to deal with this important issue otherwise it fears tranquillity will be further eroded.

3.6 Most importantly though is that once the LDF is approved (and when approved the LDF has paramount importance when planning application decisions are made as they form a part of the statutory Development Plan) it is then critical that the LPA apply its contents, policies and proposals consistently and in all cases and not be selective in its application and us.

4. Conclusions and CPRE Cornwall’s Three Principles

4.1 Cornwall’s Coast and Countryside is special and this is reflected in the national protection afforded to much of it. Once lost this unique asset cannot be replaced. Therefore CPRE Cornwall suggests the adoption of the following three simple principles:-

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1.    Protection of the coast and countryside has to mean exactly that. Development essential to meet local needs has to be built only on land designated or identified for such development which should never be the protected land.

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2.    The LPA must in its forthcoming LDF make it clear that the coast and countryside will be protected from inappropriate development and identify clearly when and where development can take place.

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3.    Once approved the LDF policies and proposals must always be followed.

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END

CPRE Cornwall’s definition of sustainable development:

“Sustainable development is development which in respect of all its elements, components and impacts, meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Richard Ward 

CPRE Cornwall

4^th May, 2010

Copyright CPRE Cornwall

Policy Statement on

Housing in Cornwall – A New Way Forward

Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Cornwall

Our Aim

CPRE Cornwall works to protect the countryside, coastline and communities of the county.

Summary of the CPRE Cornwall Proposal

CPRE Cornwall puts forward a new integrated approach in the county to deliver the housing the county needs in the future.  CPRE Cornwall suggests a policy founded on seven principles which are outlined below and then explained in more detail in the rest of the statement.

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1.     The number of houses to be built in the county in the future will be based only on anticipated local needs, local considerations and the local environment.
  
2.    Local communities and people will be actively engaged in determining where new housing is to be built in the future. Their views and needs will be of paramount importance in determining which sites are developed as well as when and how. 
 
3.    There will be greater control over the phasing of house building reflecting the needs and abilities of host communities to absorb the social and physical consequences.
 
4.    The availability and capacity of the local infrastructure to accommodate and deal with the consequences of new house building will be of paramount importance in deciding if a site should be developed at all and any stage. Any new infrastructure required by the new housing will need to be built and operational before the additional housing is occupied.
 
5.    At the heart of any new policy will be the need to deliver affordable housing, of a high quality, in accordance with all other planning policies.  There will be a need to ensure in the future that affordable housing is only built in sustainable locations.
 
6.    On second homes, CPRE Cornwall favours action be taken to allow the Council and Local Planning Authority to control second homes through the planning system. This is provided that there is an agreed policy in place locally to guide the determination of planning applications for second homes and that this is not based on a quote.
 
7.    New housing should be built commensurate with the character of the area and at densities to reduce the amount of countryside to be taken for housing. All new housing will need to retain and add to local distinctiveness to ensure the county retains its unique character. Volume house builders will be required improve significantly their house designs. House building will look to be carbon neutral and carbon negative in advance of national targets <!--[endif]-->

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1. Introduction

1.1 Housing is one of the most important basic necessities of life. Historically housing was just a way to provide shelter. Today our homes provide not only shelter but often economic security and a major investment opportunity.

1.2 Calculating the amount of housing to be built in the future to meet local needs and finding suitable locations to build new housing are issues of major environmental importance which the planning system and local communities struggle to both deal with and agree upon.

1.3 Not only do we need more housing but it needs to be affordable in perpetuity, retain local distinctiveness, be fit for the requirements of 21^st century living and be built in a way that helps to combat the problems of climate change. We need to focus on quality as well as quantity! New housing needs to be linked to and delivered with the essential infrastructure which is often missing from recent developments and proper integration into the host community. However, building more houses uses large amounts of land and the countryside is a finite resource. In the past fifty or so year’s, house building in Cornwall has failed, in CPRE Cornwall’s view, to deliver what local people needed or wanted. 

1.4 We also need to improve the way housing development is delivered in terms of the timetable and impact on host communities. Prior to the introduction of national planning in 1947 most villages and towns generally evolved and developed in an organic way. This allowed for limited and steady house building over a long period and for the social and physical infrastructure to naturally absorb and accommodate successfully the expansion of the village or town. The planning system now tends to deliver no development for long periods and then large housing estate(s) built in just a few years or no development at all. This frustrates communities some of who want development but not as the planning system wants to deliver it. The current system appears to favour only developers and not anyone else.

1.5 The purpose of this Policy Statement is to try to look at the various issues involved in delivering housing and to suggest ways to deal with this important issue in a more sensitive way and holistic way. It focuses on:-

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2. Determining the number of houses to build in the future

The Current Process

2.1 This is undoubtedly the major issue and biggest problem mainly due to the current way the number of new houses to be built is calculated. Simply it can be described in the following way. The number of houses to be built locally by a specific date is largely determined by what is referred to as the top down planning. This works by national government firstly deciding how many houses we need to build nationally taking account of many factors (household formation rates, occupancy rates, future population levels and growth and migration). This figure is then split between the various regions of the country based on regional factors such as anticipated economic growth. Regional government through its forward planning document (currently referred to as the Regional Spatial Strategy or RSS for short)   determines how the total for the region is sub-divided between the various counties and the local authorities in those counties. Therefore minimum house building targets are set by regional government for each Local Planning Authority (LPA) in the region to meet. It is the LPA who then have to find sites and host communities to accept future house building to meet the local target. This is now done through forward planning documents looking at the planning for a specific area for perhaps the next 15 to 20 years. These planning documents are called a Local Development Framework (LDF). It is often at this point or stage in the planning process when many local people hear for the first time of the housing targets which have to be delivered in the local area as sites to accommodate the housing target have to be found. Local people then find it difficult if not impossible to object to the housing figurers. Communities are often turned against one another as they try to protect their area from unwanted, unneeded and damaging development. The LPA however have to find sites and can end up selecting ones which generate the least resistance rather than being the best site in planning terms.  

2.2 During the process outlined in 2.1 there is some reflection of local issues (political views, limited community opinion, account of the area to actually accommodate the number of houses proposed and infrastructure considerations) but these have limited impact. Most importantly what is missing is any real assessment of the amount of housing needed locally or local views. Hence house building figurers and targets are imposed on local communities regardless of what they think. Equally these targets and figures are imposed on the local environment regardless of its ability to satisfactorily absorb it. .

2.3 The fact is that other than for house builders, the system described in 2.1 has little support and certainly has none within most of the communities in Cornwall. It is also fair to say it does not have the support of many planners and politicians in the county.

What is the alternative?

2.4 CPRE Cornwall advocates that the housing needs of Cornwall must be determined locally based on local factors and not national and regional targets. Such a process will require major changes to how the planning system works for it to be accepted.  The planning system will need to change from the current “top down” system to a “bottom up” one. It is a change that is likely to be supported and welcomed in every county and CPRE branch in the country and by many groups, town and parish councils, and communities and individuals.

2.5 It is not necessary to detail all the local factors that will have to be taken into account in arriving at a local need housing figure. It is likely to involve, projected population increases, household formation and occupancy rates, numbers on the waiting list and other factors. But one important factor will be environmental considerations. This will range from factors such as the agricultural land quality (an important factor as we strive to be more sustainable in terms of food production) to protected landscape or countryside designations such as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) which cover about one third of Cornwall and where housing development (individually or cumulatively)  is not normally allowed.

2.6 Calculations of future house building needs have to be able to take account of the current large number of empty houses. In Cornwall this is currently estimated to be around 8,000. It is better as a priority to bring these houses back into use than just build more houses.

2.7 House builders will also need to change their perspectives and role. They will need to accept that they have no right to impose onto a community something it does not want. They should not, as they do presently, be able to use the planning system to achieve what they want.

2.8 What is critical is local engagement and ownership of the whole process of assessing the number of houses that are needed locally and where they are to be built. Such debates should not have to wait until planning applications for development are submitted. Consultation is not, and should not, be used as a substitute for true and meaningful engagement. The end objective should be to secure local ownership of housing targets and objectives including delivering a quality product! We are currently a long, long way from achieving this.

3. Selecting suitable locations

3.1 CPRE Cornwall has been concerned recently about the number of new housing sites, especially for affordable housing, being proposed in AONBs. While there is a desire to justify developing the sites, the fact remains that protected landscape and countryside of Cornwall has to be protected in an absolute sense.

3.2 It is accepted that selecting suitable locations for new housing is always highly controversial. It is the point where figures and quantities become a field or a special piece of countryside next door to someone, or a community or you. It is therefore the point at which local people perhaps for the first time begin to be able to see the real impact of the number of houses being built locally often exceeding what is needed. Selecting sites is a detailed and complicated process. It often starts with developers and landowners putting forward parcels of land for consideration for future housing development. Local people are often the last to have an opportunity to express a preference or opinion.

3.3 As with establishing the numbers of houses to be built locally, CPRE Cornwall would like to see local communities engaged in both identifying possible sites and helping select sites for development from the outset. This process needs to be undertaken at the same time as the number of houses to be built is considered locally and within the general area.  In this way environmental issues will have a greater impact on the sites selection process. It is communities with land owners who should bring foreword sites for allocation for future housing and not house builders and developers.

3.4 When selecting sites for new housing development the emphasis should remain on redevelopment of brownfield or previously developed land (PDL). This will minimise the take of greenfield and countryside and will also help with regeneration and rejuvenation of areas. The target should be that a minimum of 80% of PDL should be used to provide sites for future housing needs.

4. Phased House Building

4.1 Currently at the completion of each planning blueprint for an area a set amount of land is allocated for future house building. Developers then secure planning permission on the sites and normally at some point the site is built on. The building is often undertaken quickly to suite the financial needs of the developer and to maximise profit. For settlements where several sites are allocated they might be all developed quickly at the beginning of the plan period, or no development for several years. In all cases building is always concentrated into a short period. This creates major social and physical problems within the host community and is contrary to the way settlements have generally evolved, quite successfully, post 1947 as referred to in paragraph 1.3 above.

4.2 The planning system and communities need to have control over the rate of development in an area. Even if a site for 50 houses welcomed by the community is developed there needs to be provision for development to take place over 10 or so years at 5 houses per year rather than over 2 years which is more the normal way sites of this size are built. Again this will requires fundamental changes to the planning system with decision on development rates locally being handed to local people rather than being made by developers.

4.3 The advantage with such a change will be that communities will return to being gradually able to successfully absorb new development. If they can do this they are then more likely to accept and want more development in the future

5. Supporting Infrastructure

5.1 It is no good building just more houses without the infrastructure to support them. In the recent past while large amounts of new housing has been built and planned across Cornwall little of the essential infrastructure to go with it has been delivered. This places a further burden on the existing infrastructure of an area. While the Government has made a greater commitment to linking housing development to support infrastructures there are few signs that it is actually happening. The planning system all too often still allows developers opportunities to negate building infrastructure projects for a variety of reasons. In addition larger infrastructure projects requiring public funding have had to be prioritised due to the backlog of such projects and the limited funds available. Given recent announcements about the need to cut back public spending it is likely that the amount of funding available for infrastructure projects needed to support housing will be significantly reduced. It is unlikely that developers will be able to meet any shortfall. Hence the future does not look good with the clear prospects of creating a major infrastructure deficit or backlog.

5.2 So what is the solution? Well again as the issue of numbers of houses to be built suitable locations and phasing is being considered so must the existing infrastructure. The lack of suitable infrastructure should be capable of being an absolute embargo on any new housing development. Furthermore until the required or new infrastructure is built and fully operational  any new house building should not be occupied.

6. Affordable Housing

6.1 There is much confusion on what exactly is affordable housing. The Government definition as set out in Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) “Housing” is-

“Affordable housing includes social rented and intermediate housing, provided to specified eligible households whose needs are not met by the market. Affordable housing should:

-Meet the needs of eligible households including availability at a cost low enough for them to afford determined with regard to local incomes and local house prices.

- Include provision for the home to remain at an affordable price for future eligible households or, if these restrictions are lifted, for the subsidy to be recycled for alternative affordable housing provision.

Social Housing is rented housing owned and managed by local authorities and registered social landlords. For which guideline target rents are determined through the national rent regime.

Intermediate affordable housing is housing at prices and rents above those of social rent, but below market prices or rent and which meets the criteria set out above. They can include shared equity products, other low cost homes for sale and intermediate rent.”

6.2 Affordable housing is an acute problem in Cornwall like other counties. It is a problem than until the 1980’s largely did not exist. It is also a problem to which there is  no quick fix; a problem that is complicated and made worse by many factors. The response to date can be summarised as one of an attempt to build ourselves out of the problem. Many affordable housing schemes have been built and more are planned. These generally come about by social landlords (Housing Associations) obtaining planning permission and building mainly on Exception Sites ( sites on which the Local Planning Authority would not grant planning permission for private house building) or by a percentage of affordable housing being provided within a larger private housing scheme on a site allocated for housing. Despite this with continued council house sales and growing affordability problems there is no real sign of the overall problem improving. In many recent cases planning permission has been granted on sensitive sites, often in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) for schemes of poor or inappropriate design to ensure, it appears, the Council and Local Planning Authority are being seen to deliver, at all cost,  affordable housing which is a major target/requirement placed on them by national government.  CPRE Cornwall is also concerned that in trying to solve one problem the Council with its current policy approach (it is in fact six policies inherited from the previous Council’s and Local Planning Authorities which have yet to be  replaced by a single policy for the county) on affordable housing might be causing other problems. For example building affordable homes in non sustainable locations appears to CPRE Cornwall just to be adding to the problems of climate change.

6.3 Cornwall CPRE supports proposals for affordable housing when:

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6.4 While the Council and LPA are clearly committed to solving the affordable housing problem there is evidence that inappropriate schemes are being granted planning permission in order to ensure targets are met. It is understood that new county wide affordable housing policies are being prepared. Given this CPRE Cornwall considers that it would be wise for the LPA to only approve affordable housing proposal on designated sites or those fully in accordance with the development plan. Other sites including exception sites should not be approved until any new policy is fully adopted and tested. The use of exception sites should also incorporate the development of suitable (in terms of scale, use and design) employment generating development to minimise the need to travel to work and help sustainability. CPRE Cornwall believes that affordable housing has to be close to where employment opportunities exist, otherwise travel to work requirements will either need more public transport or contribute to a greater level or private car travel and usage and thereby greater carbon emissions contrary to Government policy.

6.5 At the heart of any new policy must be the need to deliver affordable housing, of a high quality, in accordance with all other planning policies. Building affordable houses in unsustainable locations only adds to climate change problems and increases the carbon footprint of developments and that of the county. It is a classic example of solving one problem by adding to another. Therefore any new policy will need to switch to building affordable housing only in sustainable locations.   This will be controversial in Cornwall but it is a policy approach followed by other Councils/LPAs. CPRE Cornwall asks why that policy cannot be applied in Cornwall?

6.6 Of equal importance to where and how many affordable houses are built is the issue of quality. Often public money is used to fund affordable house building. In these cases the design and building standards need to be of the highest quality. While there are some examples in the county of exciting design and quality building in terms of affordable housing this is very much the exception. The quality of some affordable housing scheme recently built or approved has generally been poor to say the least. The Council/LPA has admitted this. Poor schemes should not, regardless of pressures to deliver affordable housing, be approved and CPRE Cornwall looks to work positively with affordable housing providers and the Council/LPA to improve the overall standard as a matter of urgency.  The contents of section 8 below must apply equally to all affordable housing as a minimum and must be exceeded when public money is used to fund it.

6.7 All affordable housing needs to be retained as such in perpetuity. There can be no justification to deviate from this position at any time.

7. Second homes

7.1 The problem is not widespread across all of Cornwall and is generally concentrated to specific areas of the county and locations. There is evidence that second home ownership does assist the local economy. Equally it causes community problems and has major impact on the availably and cost of housing in Cornwall.

7.2 This is a controversial issue. CPRE Cornwall is not against second homes but agrees action must be taken to control them in order to, in part, address their adverse consequences. It favours action be taken to allow the Council and Local Planning Authority to control through the planning system second homes. This is provided that there is an agreed policy in place locally to guide the determination of planning applications for second homes and that this is not based on a quota (a pre determined set limit or amount of affordable housing) or a first come first served basis. The right balance (as with all planning issues) has to be found.

8 Density, design,  local distinctiveness and building to combat climate change

Density

8.1 To date too much emphasis has been on just delivering high density housing schemes and the layout and design has consequently suffered. CPRE Cornwall supports making the maximum use of land for future house building as this reduces the amount of countryside needed to be built upon. The density of new housing development, especially on PDL, should accord with the requirements of PPS3 subject to these being appropriate to the character of the area and the site. It is critical that higher densities are achieved and at the same time developments harmonise with their surrounding and retain or add to local distinctiveness. Higher density proposal which do not achieve this balance will not be acceptable.

Design

8.2 Development of all types including housing should add to the enjoyment of our environment as well as being functional. Housing particularly gives an area its strong character and identity. However over the past fifty years local identity and character has been diluted and lost by: (1) the use across the country of standard house design; (2) the erosion of the use of local materials with which to build houses; 3) the drive to build quantity and not quality; (4) modern building practices based on faster building; and the false premise that good design costs and makes houses more expensive.

8.3 Good design starts with the client being committed to it from the very outset. Without this it will be impossible to achieve good design. Investing in good design will not only produce a better housing development it is likely to improve the financial return to the developer.

8.4 The planning system cannot itself deliver good design. Planning primarily seeks to stop unsatisfactory or inappropriate design. It should encourage good or excellent design at all times.  Cornwall Council in its role as the Local Planning Authority must be committed to excellent design when undertaking developments itself or releasing council land for housing development, and it should use all the means and opportunities available to deliver good design rather than to just rely on the planning system to deliver good design. It is essential that good design in housing is a major corporate objective of Cornwall Council.

8.5 Volume house builders have to accept they have a responsibility to the communities of Cornwall to deliver housing which is of an appropriate density for the location and is well designed. They may in particular need to use the expertise of professional architects and designers to help to achieve the right blend. Volume house builders need to be as committed to good design as they are to maximising the financial return from developing a site.

Local Distinctiveness

8.7 Retaining local distinctiveness is now a requirement of the planning system. This does not mean copying or replicating the past, although this might be appropriate in a few cases.  It means producing modern contemporary design which respects the past, shapes the future and adds positively to the architectural diversity of the county.

8.8 CPRE Cornwall looks to the Development Plan to be sufficiently strong and robust to ensure that all proposals for future housing which cannot demonstrate that they retain or add positively to local distinctiveness is refused planning permission. If this does not happen then within the next fifty years given the volume of houses to be built in Cornwall the county’s distinctiveness will be lost forever.

Building to combat climate change

8.9 Housing is a major contributor to the causes of climate change for many reasons, but it does not have to be like this.

8.10 House building offers an opportunity to address climate change issues and problems. While the target nationally is to have house building carbon neutral by 2016 it is possible for this target to be achieved earlier. It is already feasible to produce carbon negative housing. Cornwall should lead the way in ensuring all its housing makes a positive contribution to addressing climate change. CPRE Cornwall would support Cornwall Council in using the Development Plan to introduce policies to deliver carbon neutral housing by 2014 and carbon negative housing by 2016.

8.11 It is also important that other problems associated with climate change, such as flooding is comprehensively addressed. CPRE Cornwall would support policies to ensure all future housing developments in the county are required not to increase surface water run-off from the development site beyond at existing or pre development levels or volumes.

END

CPRE Cornwall’s definition of sustainable development:

“Sustainable development is development which in respect of all its elements, components and impacts, meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Richard Ward  

CPRE Cornwall

9th April, 2010

Copyright of CPRE Cornwall