Chapter 4
Urban Priority Areas

UP1
Development in Urban Priority Areas
(Part 1 Policy)

Introduction

4.1 Many communities in the South of the Borough experience comparatively high levels of social and economic deprivation. Additionally there is a smaller concentration of deprivation within the central area of Southport.

 

4.2 National and EU regeneration programmes have been targeted towards these areas for over a decade. Completed programmes and those in progress will result in £600 million of investment in social and economic regeneration in the priority areas. The main programmes currently in progress are summarised in Figure 4.1.

 

4.3 There is a complex pattern of regeneration activity in the South of the Borough, where the boundaries of different initiatives overlap, as shown in Figure 4.2.

 

4.4 There is a distinction between those programmes which are derived from and funded by the EU Objective 1 programme for Merseyside, and those which are funded through national and regional programmes. The North West Development Agency has a key funding role in these domestic programmes, with a total budget of about £1 billion up to 2003 including the current Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) programme.

 

Figure 4.1 – Urban Priority Areas and Programmes Area Atlantic Gateway Strategic Investment Area
Programme Objective 1	Duration 2000-2007
Area Pathways: Dunningsbridge – Bootle/Seaforth/Orrell
Programme Objective 1	Duration 1996-2006
Area South Sefton Partnership – including 13 Priority Neighbourhoods
Programme SRB6	Duration 2001-2007/8
Area Neighbourhood Renewal – Linacre, Derby, Litherland, Netherton and Orrell, St Oswald, Ford, Church, and parts of Dukes and Cambridge wards
Programme Neighbourhood Renewal Fund	Duration 2001-2008
Area Mersey Waterfront Regional Park
Programme NWDA	Duration 2001-2007
Area Housing Market Renewal, Pathfinder Area
Programme Housing Market Renewal Fund	Duration 2002 onward
Area Southport Seafront Master Plan
Programme Objective 1/LTP/NWDA	Duration 2002 onward

4.5 Although regeneration programmes are funded from a variety of sources, each with its specific focus and targets, they are nevertheless being co-ordinated - particularly through the Community Strategy - to achieve fundamental improvements in social, economic and environmental conditions in the Urban Priority Areas. The UDP will support the implementation of these programmes and, equally important, will provide a framework for physical development and environmental improvement over a longer period.

 

 

Figure 4.2 Urban Priority Areas and Regeneration Programmes

Explanation

4.6 The definition of Urban Priority Areas is largely based on the Government's Indices of Local Deprivation (2000). This ranks local authorities and wards against a range of indicators of social and economic deprivation. Nine wards in Sefton rank amongst the most deprived 25% of wards in the country, as shown in Figure 4.2. This includes seven wards in the South of the Borough. In Southport, Dukes and Cambridge wards are included because of the concentration of social and economic problems in the central area of the town, and it is this part which is included in the Urban Priority Area. In addition, there are areas of poor housing adjacent to the central area of Southport where problems are less concentrated but where Housing Renewal Areas were declared to target investment and assist in recovery and stabilisation. The Southport Housing Regeneration Area is identified in Appendix 2 of Supplementary Planning Guidance ‘Regulating the Supply of Residential Land’ which was adopted by the Council in July 2003. In addition, there are areas of poor housing adjacent to the central area of Southport where problems are less concentrated but where Housing Renewal Areas were declared to target investment and assist in recovery and stabilisation. The current programmes for planning and funding regeneration in the Urban Priority Areas are described in the Introduction.

 

4.7 The Neighbourhood Renewal Fund was introduced by the Government in 2000 to support integrated plans of social, economic and physical regeneration in the most deprived urban areas. The NRF programme operates in all the areas identified in Policy UP1. The Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy for the NRF area is approved by the Sefton Borough Partnership - which is the Local Strategic Partnership for the whole of Sefton. The other programmes listed in Section 2 of the policy are more geographically focused and local partnerships have been formed to approve their strategies and action plans. All these plans have some implications for land use and development, but three have particular significance for this UDP:
- The Atlantic Gateway Strategic Investment Area, which includes major economic development and land reclamation proposals;
- The Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder Area, for which the South Sefton Regeneration Strategy provides the development framework. Within this area Neighbourhood Development Plans for major physical renewal and improvement are being prepared in an area which contains 22,500 homes;
- A Vision for Southport Seafront: Final Masterplan, which includes proposals for large-scale new tourism facilities and improvements to the public realm and transport access.

 

4.8 The local partnerships involve business, voluntary and community representatives, as well as the Council and other public sector partners. Their strategies and action plans are approved by a Partnership Board, following extensive public participation and consultation. As one of the partners, the Council has been able to advise on the planning policy context during their preparation. Whilst the plans of the local partnerships do not over-ride the policies and proposals of this Plan, they are material considerationsG in making decisions, in as much as they can give local emphasis and priority to the more general criteria set out in Plan policies.

 

4.9 Although the regeneration programmes currently in progress in the South of the Borough (Section 2 (a) – (f)) differ in focus, it is possible to identify a set of criteria for development in these areas that will be most likely to support their combined objectives. These are listed in Section 3. Specific guidance on development in the Southport Seafront area is given in Policy EDT15.

 

4.10 Accessibility to the facilities and opportunities within and nearby the urban priority areas is a fundamental aspect of social inclusion. In accordance with the Merseyside Local Transport Plan, the Council and Merseytravel will continue to improve transport choices within the urban priority areas, in particular public transport, cycling and walking facilities. The UDP will also play an important role in ensuring that development is both located in accessible locations and accessible by a choice of travel, including by walking, cycling and public transport.

 

4.11 The boundaries of the priority areas defined for the various regeneration programmes may change during the life of the Plan as the present programmes come to an end and new national and regional regeneration initiatives are introduced. Changes to the programme areas and any new plans approved by local partnerships which may be relevant to planning decisions will be incorporated and kept up to date in supplementary planning documents, as well as any review of the Plan itself.

 

Implementation

This policy will be implemented through the Action Plans of the Sefton Borough Partnership and local partnerships, the capital programmes of the Council and Merseytravel and the development control process.

 

Sustainability Appraisal

Policy not changed as it already states that development will be judged in terms of its economic, social and environmental sustainability merits.

 

Policy Links

RSS Policies -
SD1 The North West Metropolitan Area;
SD3 Key Towns and Cities outside the North West Metropolitan Area;
EC7 The Regeneration Challenge: Bringing the Benefits of Economic Growth to Areas of Acute Need
UDP Policies -
EDT1 Strategic Employment Locations;
EDT2 Provision of Employment Land;
H7 Housing Renewal and Clearance;
H8 Redevelopment within the Pathfinder Area;
H9 Hawthorne Road / Canal Corridor

 

Background Documents

'A Vision for Sefton - The Community Strategy 20002-2007', Sefton Borough Partnership, April 2002; 'Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy', Sefton Borough Partnership, 2001; 'Bootle/Seaforth/Orrell Pathways Action Plan 2000-2006', Pathways Partnership Board, 2000; 'Dunningsbridge Pathways Action Plan 2000-2006', Pathways Partnership Board, 2000; 'South Sefton Partnership: A comprehensive bid for neighbourhood regeneration', SMBC, June 2000; 'Atlantic Gateway SIA Integrated Development Plan Parts 1 and 2', Partnership Board, March 2001; 'Southport Seafront Action Plan', Southport Partnership Board, May 2002; South Sefton Regeneration Strategy, GVA Grimley for SMBC, May 2003; NewHeartlands Prospectus 2003, NewHeartlands Partnership, October 2003; A Vision for Southport Seafront: A Final Masterplan, Scott Wilson URBAN for SMBC, June 2003.

 

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