Torfaen Replacement Local Development Plan: Candidate Sites

The Council’s Call for Candidate Sites exercise was held for 8 weeks between 1st August 2023 and 26th September 2023 and has now closed. Officers are currently undertaking the Stage 1: High Level Assessment as set out in the published methodology - Candidate Sites Assessment and Register Methodology (May 2023) and Candidate Sites Assessment and Register Methodology (May 2023) - Executive Summary.

The Candidate Site Register and draft Stage 1 Assessment will be published for public consultation alongside the RLDP Preferred Strategy expected in May / June 2024 (tbc). At the same time, the Council will open a Second Call for Candidate Sites and the opportunity for site proposers to submit Additional Supporting Information. You can register to be kept informed of updates, consultations and key stages in the Plan process, including the Call for Candidate Sites, here https://torfaen.oc2.uk/register/process/0

Additional supporting information for sites already submitted in September 2023

The draft Stage 1 Assessment will identify whether your site will progress to Stage 2 of the assessment process. All sites which proceed to the Stage 2 assessment will be required to submit appropriate Ecological Surveys and a financial viability assessment (see Guidance Notes and DVM below) to support their consideration. There may be additional surveys or reports required depending upon your site circumstances. These should have been raised through the reactive submission process in OpusConsult and the advice remains available to you as part of your submission details.

New sites for the second call for candidate sites

The Council will open a Second Call for Candidate Sites expected May / June 2024 (tbc) to run alongside the public consultation on the Candidate Site Register and draft Stage 1 Assessment. All new candidate site submissions (unless for protection of the existing use) will need to be accompanied by ecological survey, financial viability assessment and any other site specific reports or surveys necessary to evidence that the site is capable of delivering the proposed development. Further information is available below.

What is a candidate site?

A candidate site is a site submitted to the Council by an interested party (e.g. developer or landowner) for potential inclusion as an allocation in the new RLDP.

What types of sites can be submitted?

Landowners/proposers are welcome to submit sites for the range of uses that the Plan makes provision for. This includes, but is not limited to, land for:

Housing (Market and Affordable); Employment; Retail; Community Facilities; Tourism and Recreation; Renewable Energy Generation; Gypsy and Traveller sites; Transport Infrastructure; Waste; Education; Health; Biodiversity; Green infrastructure; Minerals Extraction.

Submitting a candidate site

Torfaen Council has adopted OpusConsult (incorporating OpusMap) to undertake the Call for Candidate Sites which provides responsive forms, associated mapping and the ability to upload accompanying documents to support a Candidate Site submission. Further information on submitting a site will be provided nearer to the time.

Before submitting a candidate site, site proposers are advised to review the Candidate Site Submission Guidance Note (May 2023) and Candidate Site Submission Guidance Note (May 2023) - Executive Summary, which provides advice on the types of site that are likely to be acceptable and the information that will be required to support the submission of a candidate site.

Financial Viability is a key consideration in the candidate site assessment process. Planning Policy Wales (PPW) Edition 11 states that a viability assessment must be provided for candidate sites to demonstrate whether delivery of the site is viable or not. Please see the Call for Candidate Sites Financial Viability Guidance Note (May 2023) and Call for Candidate Sites Financial Viability Guidance Note (May 2023) - Executive Summary which sets out the Council’s requirements and provides useful supporting information in this respect.

In addition to the above, site proposers should also refer to the following:

GDPR

On 25th May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, placing new restrictions on how organisations can hold and use your personal data and defining your rights with regard to that data. Any personal information disclosed to us will be processed in accordance with our RLDP Privacy Notice.

Development Viability Model (DVM)

The Council has worked in partnership with other Councils across the region, alongside Town Planning and Development consultants Burrows-Hutchinson Ltd, to establish the assessment tool. The DVM has been created as a comprehensive, user-friendly model that can be used by site promoters and decision makers for the purpose of assessing the financial viability of a development proposal. Site promoters must submit a financial viability assessment using the DVM as part of the Stage 2 Candidate Site Assessment process. The fees for the provision of a copy of the DVM are as follows:

Residential Schemes

  • 1 - 9 dwellings - £195 +VAT (£234)
  • 10 - 50 dwellings - £345 +VAT (£414)
  • 51 - 100 dwellings - £495 +VAT (£594)
  • 101 - 150 dwellings - £595 +VAT (£714)
  • 151 - 250 dwellings - £650 +VAT (£780)
  • 251 - 350 dwellings - £750 +VAT (£900)
  • 351 - 450 dwellings - £850 +VAT (£1,020)
  • 451 - 550 dwellings - £950 +VAT (£1,140)
  • 551 - 650 dwellings - £1,050 +VAT (£1,260)
  • 651 - 750 dwellings - £1,150 +VAT (£1,380)
  • 751 - 850 dwellings - £1,250 +VAT (£1,500)
  • 851 - 950 dwellings - £1,350 +VAT (£1,620)
  • Over 950 dwellings - £ to be agreed with Council depending on size / complexity of proposal

Commercial Schemes

  • Less than 0.4ha - £195 +VAT (£234)
  • 0.4ha to <2.0ha - £345 +VAT (£414)
  • 2.0ha to <4.0ha - £495 +VAT (£594)
  • Over 4ha - £ to be agreed with Council depending on size / complexity / type of proposal

To obtain a site-specific copy of the DVM, together with the user guide and videos, or to discuss any matters relating to the DVM, please contact us on ldp@torfaen.gov.uk.

Last Modified: 05/10/2023
For more information contact:

Planning Policy and Implementation

Tel: 01633 648039 / 648140

Email: ldp@torfaen.gov.uk

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