NPPF P1: Planning for clean and safe places

P1: Planning for clean and safe places 1. To support efforts to avoid and mitigate risks from natural and man-made hazards, minimise levels of pollution and create clean, liveable and safe places for people to live, work and visit, development plans should: a. Allocate land for development where, taking into account the potential for mitigation: i. Opportunities can be taken to improve local environmental conditions, such as by remediating despoiled, degraded, derelict, contaminated and unstable land; ii. Ground conditions will not inhibit or pose a risk to the nature of the development proposed (such as due to land instability), and occupiers and users will not be put at risk from, or be adversely affected by, unacceptable levels of pollution; iii. Development proposals will not cause unacceptable levels of pollution, either alone or in combination with other pollution sources, taking into account communities which may be particularly vulnerable to its effects, such as children and older people, as well as habitats and species which may be vulnerable to pollution; and iv. The intended uses will not place unreasonable restrictions on the operation of existing businesses, community facilities, public services, defence and security activities. b. Consider any wider opportunities to reduce air, water, soil, noise or other forms of pollution, and contribute to compliance with national and local environmental targets and objectives, through the spatial strategy and policies for specific parts of the plan area (such as by identifying opportunities for strategic nature-based solutions); c. Identify whether restrictions on certain types or forms of development are necessary as a consequence of consultation zones around hazardous substances sites, safeguarding areas around aerodromes, technical sites or military explosives storage areas50, and consultation zones around nuclear sites51 (and reflect the implications of these areas in any allocations of land within the plan); As identified through The Town and Country Planning (Safeguarded Aerodromes, Technical Sites and Military Explosives Storage Areas) Direction 2002. Including the existing Detailed Emergency Planning Zones and Outline Planning Zones, required under the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (REPPIR) 2019. 79 d. Identify other locations where natural or man-made hazards may influence the way in which land is allocated or developed. This includes (but is not limited to) town centres and other locations where large numbers of people are expected to congregate52, and Coastal Change Management Areas (policy F3); and e. Assess whether land needs to be allocated for development which is required to maintain public safety and security, including for the purposes of flood management in accordance with policy F2(1)(b) and national defence. National decision-making policies P2: Ground conditions 1. Sites proposed for development should be suitable for their proposed use taking into account: a. Ground conditions, including any risks arising from land instability or contamination (whether due to natural hazards or current and former activities such as mining or fuel storage); and b. The extent to which any such risks can be mitigated, and the potential impacts on the natural environment arising from remediation. 2. Where land is remediated it should, as a minimum, not be capable of being determined as contaminated land under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. 3. Adequate site assessment information, prepared by a competent person, should be available to inform these considerations. 4. Where a site is affected by contamination or land stability issues, responsibility for securing a safe development rests with the developer and/or landowner.