The NDP has Five Key Topics:

• Housing
• Landscape & Environment
• Nature & Wildlife
• Mobility & Communications
• Energy & Economy

For each topic we have produced a series of Draft Policies which we offer for comment. These Draft Policies are based on the following criteria:

• The public consultations held in 2019 (Pre-Covid).
• The Housing Needs survey conducted by GRCC in 2021.
• The Parish wide survey conducted in 2021.
• The Ecological and wildlife survey conducted by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in 2021.

HOUSING

1. In designated development areas throughout the Parish, new housing will be encouraged to meet local housing needs. This means that there will be encouragement and support for developments which produce smaller (1, 2 and 3 bedroomed) homes to meet demand from

• Singles and couples who may wish to remain in the Parish or to move into the Parish.
• Young Families (to help support the school) (72% support and 16% maybe).
• Older local people “downsizing” (62% support plus 26% maybe).

2. Where in alignment with SDC Local Plan policies, rural and redundant agricultural buildings will be given encouragement to be re-purposed as either residential or business premises. (69% support and 25% maybe)
3. Any new development (new build or alterations) will be supported if it follows the guidelines contained within the Design Code prepared alongside this NDP. (69% support plus 16% maybe)
4. With all new building and any alterations to existing buildings requiring planning permission, we will seek to have planning conditions imposed appropriate to the particular site to meet environmental and energy commitments to help achieve the 2030 target date for carbon neutrality. (66% plus 21% maybe)

These will include

• Additional insulation and energy saving/generation equipment in other parts of the existing property
• Preservation of trees or other natural assets on site
• Controlling building operations to make sure that they cause minimum damage and inconvenience to other residents in the area and minimum environmental damage (66% plus 22% maybe)

5. Support will be given to any Community owned and locally based organisations involved with supplying housing to meet the identified needs of the Parish. Community Land Trust would be the preferred vehicle for such enterprise and developments may include some market priced property, but the majority should be smaller and cheaper (including some affordable) housing. (39% support and 29% maybe).
6. Planning applications for new development and extensions or alterations to existing dwellings will not be supported unless they include adequate on-site car parking (which in some cases may mean additional car parking) commensurate with the number of residents and visitors.
7. There will be support for new communal car parks, screened by hedgerows and trees, in or close to village centres to alleviate the problems associated with the lack of on-site car parking. (56%support and 20% maybe).

Note – Percentage figures given in Brackets refer to responses from the parish wide survey.

LANDSCAPE AND ENVIRONMENT

Objective: To maintain the ambience and open character of the High Wold plateau and the intimacy of the High Wold Valleys in line with the Cotswolds AONB Landscape Strategy and Guidelines, and Cotswold National Landscape Management Plan.

Landscape Character:

1. Encourage the retention, conservation and enhancement of the highly sensitive, wooded ambience of the parish, ensuring that hidden valleys with their quiet pastoral quality, wells, springs, streams and lakes, do not have development inappropriate to the location nor generate activities that could visually or physically pollute or cause flooding.
2. To maintain local distinctiveness by having regard for traditional settlement patterns and plots, and drystone boundaries, whilst retaining open public green spaces identified as parish assets.
3. To protect Vistas and Views with high scenic quality from any intrusion by new development:

• in rural areas, beyond the settlement boundaries, including hard tarmacadam surfacing.
• from public and existing private residential space within the core of villages.
• as seen from higher slopes and high points eg Tunley.
• Promote retention of permanent pasture and unimproved grasslands whilst connecting woodlands through new planting initiatives.

4. To uphold tranquillity and dark skies.

Setting:

6. To protect the setting of villages and hamlets within naturally regenerated green infrastructure; maximising opportunities to replant the ‘spine’ of mature trees, principally pine, beech, and  sycamore, that runs through the Eastcombe Conservation Area on the skyline.

7. To protect the setting of dwellings and public buildings with existing ‘exotics’(non native) and designed landscapes, by enhancing and restoring-

• Garden fruit trees and old orchards
• Conifers: cupressus and yew around the churchyards, and copses of spruce within vistas on the hillsides, Tunley woodlands, and mixed conifers including larch on the periphery of Eastcombe.

• Mature avenues, principally limes within the extended Conservation Area of Bisley and All Saints churchyard.

• Landmark trees within the heart of villages eg Bournes Green, Eastcombe, Bartholomews Church, Oakridge Lynch.

LANDSCAPE AND TREES

Objective: To Uphold the Cotswold Landscape Heritage: 

8. To work with GCC to re-establish GREEN CORRIDORS of trees of substantial size at maturity, along roads between villages eg Brimscombe to Eastcombe along Toadsmoor, and between Eastcombe and Bisley on the Bisley Road, while ensuring that the Cotswold National Landscape character typologies* continue to be the basis for tree selection or otherwise. To encourage farmers and landowners to plant trees that can cope with extreme climates along field boundaries and woods.
9. For the re-establishing of traditional garden fruit trees: Fruit trees should be replaced that have been removed for development and the Parish council encourages the increase in number to continue the tradition of historic orchards and garden trees for fruit.
10. To promote learning of skills to maintain traditional landscape features. Encourage rebuilding of drystone wall boundaries and request for a planning condition to rebuild, should a stone wall be demolished or damaged for the purpose of development.

12   To protect local archaeological monuments and historical features from development. Promote initiatives that  enhance places of special local interest eg local green spaces, and their relationship with the settlements.

13. Replacement trees,- where approved to be removed,- shall be in accordance with Bisley with Lypiatt Parish Council’s Tree Replacement Policy August 2019, Tree Management Policy 2022 and ‘Tree Planting Suggestions for Eastcombe 2019-2020/bisley/oakridge wards.
14. Retain ash as landmark trees growing in isolation, following a health check and written report by a qualified Arborist: pollard in preference to fell.

MOBILITY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Objective: To promote a modal shift to active and sustainable transport, improve road safety, and ensure that as transport options change suitable facilities are implemented e.g. electric vehicle charging points, improved bus services, cycleways and footpaths.

DRAFT POLICY:

1. Development proposals will be supported when they deliver accessible, safe and attractive infrastructure that promotes and enables walking, cycling and public transport choices for local journeys to schools, health and community facilities, neighbourhood and village centres and the surrounding countryside, and to important destinations in the area, such as Stroud.

Aspirations:                                                  

• The Parish will seek to maintain and improve active travel routes between settlements through better pathways, new connections to Public Rights of Way, safe cycling routes, promotion of quiet lanes, including for those with mobility issues. In particular, the Parish will seek the creation of safe cycle routes between Eastcombe, Bisley and Stroud.
• The Parish will seek to encourage the reduction in dependency on the use of private cars through improvement of public transport and promotion of sustainable, safe active travel. This will include cycling, walking, on-demand, and autonomous vehicles if appropriate. The Parish will support community initiatives to increase the use of sustainable, low carbon transport, such as electric vehicle share schemes.
• Opportunities will be sought to improve pedestrian safety, on all roads in the Parish. The Parish will work with Gloucestershire Highways on traffic calming measures, to enhance safety on all roads in the Parish, especially those near schools and through all our villages.
• The Parish will consider opportunities to enhance gateways into settlements, to welcome visitors and to slow down traffic particularly in busy locations.

NATURE AND WILDLIFE

1. Development will not be permitted on designated biodiversity sites or core areas of local ecological networks as defined by the Nature Recovery Network within land identified as high priority areas for restoration and on land outside designated biodiversity sites, core habitat or high priority zones of the Nature Recovery Network that could cause direct or indirect harm to them including further isolating them from the network.
2. Existing trees/hedgerow in the Parish shall be retained. Developments should strongly consider the use of hedgerows /stone walls rather than fencing to provide boundaries between dwellings as a contribution to Biodiversity Net Gain and enhance local ecological networks. When new planting takes place developments should consider orchard trees to enhance arboricultural diversity and enhance sites for insect and bird life.
3. Allotments and community orchards have a high biodiversity and amenity value, are publicly well supported, providing green space for people and contributing to wildlife connectivity. Therefore, if any development permitted it is expected to enhance, extend and improve the provision of these spaces.
4. Key ecological networks – such as the Toadsmoor Valley and Holy Brook – support good public access and have high and publicly well supported amenity value. If any development is permitted in these areas it should only be allowed under exceptional circumstances and shall enhance, extend and improve the provision of these spaces and streams for wildlife and people.
5. Recreational equine facilities have amenity value. An ecological appraisal is required for recreational equine developments before development is permitted on land in the open core habitat or high priority restoration areas.
6. All built extensions to dwellings and businesses are encouraged to integrate support for wildlife such as bat and bird boxes, and onsite projects such as ponds that help enhance biodiversity: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/homes_for_people_and_wildlife_lr_-_spreads.pdf

ENERGY AND ECONOMY 

1. Planning applications that link land working and dwelling on the land will be support with a recommendation that an agricultural condition be attached.
2. Small scale business and working from home applications that involve change of use but limited physical change will be supported.
3. Planning applications will only be supported if it includes an Environment and Wildlife Statement which states how consideration for the natural environment on the site is dealt with, including proposal for water management, both rainwater and waste water. All planning applications for building changes will only be supported if they include renewable generation.
4. A policy to make solar panels a Permitted Development on Listed Buildings with the condition that there must be no structural change and they must be removable.
5. Community energy schemes will be supported whether they are small solar systems on community buildings or large wind turbines supplying the community. Large scale solar proposals on grade 1 or 2 agricultural land will not be supported.
6. Listed Building energy upgrades involving changes to windows and insulation will be supported provided they are reversible and involve no major structural change.
7. Proposals for waste or recycling facility, like the Bisley Community Composting Scheme (BCCS), will be supported if small scale and appropriate for the Parish.