27.1 The policies in this plan will be an important mechanism for delivering the strategic objectives. However, it is important to recognise that many other processes will influence their achievement, including the implementation of other plans and strategies produced at the national, sub-regional and local levels, investment by the public, private and voluntary sectors, and the actions of individual businesses and residents. The plan is therefore an essential component in delivering the strategic objectives, but not sufficient on its own.
27.2 The development management process will be the primary way in which this plan will be implemented. The individual policies of the plan will provide the starting point for the determination of planning applications, along with the other parts of the development plan including the Greater Manchester Joint Waste Development Plan Document, the Greater Manchester Joint Minerals Development Plan Document, and, once they are adopted, the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, the Salford Core Strategy and Allocations plan, and any neighbourhood plans. Other material considerations will be taken into account where relevant, including the National Planning Policy Framework, Planning Practice Guidance and Salford’s supplementary planning documents.
27.3 This plan will also have a role in influencing and providing a positive framework for investment decisions. Ultimately, it will be investments by individual developers, businesses, residents and other organisations, as well as the city council, which will deliver the strategic objectives and implement many of the policies of the plan. It is therefore vital that the plan provides clarity regarding what is required to deliver development in a sustainable way that benefits everybody, so that this can be taken into account in the huge number of decisions that will be made regarding individual developments and other investments.
27.4 This plan provides a comprehensive set of planning policies for Salford. However, it will be appropriate to provide additional guidance on some issues so as to explain how individual policies should be implemented, such as through supplementary planning documents.
27.5 The strategic objectives in this plan provide the basis for its monitoring framework. The plan includes more detailed indicators and targets at the end of each chapter, which will be used to monitor the achievement of policies within it. These will be reported on annually.
27.6 Some of the indicators that have been included will be influenced by many factors and not just this plan, but they still provide a useful way of monitoring the outcomes that the document is seeking to help achieve. For some policies, quantitative indicators will not be appropriate and the main focus will be on monitoring whether there have been any problems with implementing the policies through the development management process, for example because of a lack of clarity or change in circumstances.
27.7 Most of the indicators and targets in the Local Plan relate to the whole of the plan period. The policies in the plan will have been applied immediately from adoption, and where appropriate prior to this, but it may take several years for the impacts in relation to some issues to be discernible.
27.8 It is crucial that this plan supports a built environment that is able to respond to changing needs. Social and economic demands are not static, and areas cannot be redeveloped every time needs vary. Perhaps the clearest example of this in recent years has been the changing role of the high street, as internet shopping increases rapidly and shopping habits alter. Policy TC3 seeks to manage this change, enabling town centres and local centres to evolve whilst ensuring that they continue to meet local needs.
27.9 The application of the nationally described space standards through policy H2 and the accessible and adaptable standards through policy D7 will help to ensure that new homes can adapt to a variety of requirements, and enable households to remain in their homes as their needs change. The emphasis in policy GI1 on supporting the multi-functionality and integration of the green infrastructure network will enable it to fulfil a wide range of roles, which may change over time depending on the pressures. The application of higher energy efficiency standards than required under current building regulations, set out in policy EG1, will reduce the need and expense of the retrofitting of buildings that will inevitably be required to respond to the challenges of climate change.
27.10 Although this plan covers the period up to 2037, and has been designed to be sufficiently flexible to respond to changing circumstances, it is likely that it will need to be updated well before its end date. There is a legal requirement to review a Local Plan at least every five years, starting with the date of adoption. The purpose of the review is to determine whether the plan or any of its policies needs to be updated, and if so then a timetable for that update should be set out in the city council’s Local Development Scheme.
27.11 In reviewing this plan, and also in determining whether reviews more frequent than every five years are required, the city council will take into account the results of the monitoring of the plan as described above. In particular, any major changes in the following are likely to be especially significant in deciding whether the plan needs to be reviewed or updated:
27.12 The decision to take forward the Salford Local Plan in two parts has narrowed its scope from that of earlier versions of the plan. The Salford Local Plan: Development Management Policies and Designations document will set the development management policies and protective designations that will provide a policy framework against which development proposals can be considered. It is not the role or purpose of this plan to consider the scale of development needs within the city or allocate land to deliver it.
Issues of development need and the allocation of land will instead be considered through the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) and the subsequent Salford Local Plan: Core Strategy and Allocations document. It is therefore possible that decisions taken through the GMSF and/or the second part of Salford’s Local Plan, could require the review of elements of this plan, including in respect of protective designations. The preparation of the Salford Local Plan: Core Strategy and Allocations document, following on from the GMSF, will provide an opportunity to consider any relevant issues in this regard.
27.13 The ‘duty to cooperate’ bodies, including neighbouring local authorities, will be involved in the review process [1]. Any review of this plan will explain what has changed since it was adopted, whether this results in any issues for the implementation of the plan, and if such issues necessitate an update of the plan.
27.14 A proportionate approach to updating the plan will be taken. Any review is likely to identify some change of circumstances that would result in somewhat different policies if the plan were being rewritten. When such amendments would be significant, and are necessary to ensure a coherent and up-to-date planning framework for the city, then the plan will be updated. Where such amendments would be more minor in nature, then an update to the plan may not be considered proportionate, and any such decision will be regularly reviewed.
27.15 All Local Plan reviews will be published on the city council’s website. Where a review concludes that an update is required, the Local Development Scheme will be revised to include a timetable for that update.
[1] As set out in Regulation 4 of The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012