Call for Candidate Sites
In early 2006 the Council issued a 'Call for Candidate Sites.' We invited developers, landowners, elected members, community groups, members of the public and any other interested parties to tell us about potential ‘candidate sites’ for development or reuse in the County Borough. The official closing date for receipt of Candidate Sites was 9th March 2007.
Candidate sites can be for any use, not just housing or employment. However, this exercise is only part of the LDP information gathering process and should in no way be interpreted as a commitment from the Council that candidate sites will be taken forward into the Deposit Torfaen LDP.
Candidate site submissions cannot be treated as confidential. All candidate sites have been included in the ‘Candidate Sites Register’ which is available for public inspection at County Hall, Cwmbran during normal office hours.
Over 200 candidate sites have been submitted, a copy of the register can be viewed at County Hall and the Civic Centre. All accepted candidate sites will be assessed, firstly to test if they are developable, and secondly if they are compatible with the LDP strategy and associated Sustainability Appraisal. Candidate sites should therefore be consistent with overall sustainability principles and objectives, including protecting and improving the environment; reducing the demand for car use and increasing the use of public transport, walking and cycling; a preference for the development of appropriate ‘brownfield’ land; making people fitter and healthier; minimising the use of non-renewable resources; meeting the needs of communities; etc.
The Council consulted on the Draft Candidate Sites Assessment Methodology| as part of the LDP Preferred Strategy Consultation between January 28th to March 10th 2008. This document identifies the evaluation process which will be used to determine which sites have the potential for further investigation to help the development of the Deposit LDP.
The Council is currently reviewing the consultation responses to Draft Candidate Sites Methodology. Once agreed the final methodology will be used to assess the candidate sites in Autumn 2008 before the final sites are chosen for inclusion in the Deposit LDP, in early 2009.