Responding to climate change:
The revised Plan seeks to strengthen Truro and Kenwyn as a place that respond pro-actively to the challenges of climate change, ecological / biodiversity/ loss of wildlife and growth. We recognise that climate change will inevitably change the way that we currently live. Truro has always been an area of flood risk and the frequency of flooding could increase in the future unless action is taken to reduce the amount of water running off from our urban areas.
. • All schemes must consider their impact and be able to demonstrate how they are improving the flood resilience of Truro and Kenwyn.
• Where appropriate, proposals should take into account and address the latest Shoreline Management Plan
• All development should achieve high standards of sustainable development and proposals should demonstrate how design, construction and operation can help to achieve low carbon and sustainable design, reduce the use of fossil fuels, promote the efficient use of natural resources and reduce flood risk.
Amended and new policies relating to building quality and specific policies for significant development at Pydar Street and Langarth provide additional guidance on development quality and how development can help create more sustainable and efficient places to live.
Protecting wildlife, conserving and enhancing habitat and the Cornish landscape
The revised Plan recognises the value of our natural environment and its contribution to the attractiveness and distinctive local character of the plan area.
Our environment provides the basis for our lives, our food, water and air supply, a good quality and healthy environment is also essential to our mental and physical health. Whilst both Kenwyn and Truro have some outstanding green infrastructure, little is present in our built up areas and the planting of more trees and the creation and improvement of green infrastructure will promote biodiversity for the benefit of people and wildlife. Recognising that Truro and Threemilestone will continue to be the focus for growth into the future, the Plan positively seeks to safeguard and increase our environmental assets.
• Development should not result in the loss of important green spaces or cause harm to their quality or amenity value;
• Proposals for development should limit their impact on the natural environment by retaining trees, hedges and habitat;
• Tree planting is strongly supported and proposals that support new community woodlands of scale will be encouraged;
• All major development needs to provide a biodiversity net gain;
• Green infrastructure provision to shape all new development in the area, providing benefits for people and nature;
• The development of a more comprehensive approach to green infrastructure planning and opportunities will be progressed alongside the plan.
Green infrastructure approaches are embedded in policy for development at Pydar Street and Langarth.
Open spaces policies seek to create and retain public open space. We are keen to ensure that these spaces are creating networks of green rather than isolated play spaces and that spaces that are naturally playful and encourage access to nature for all ages are encouraged.
Economy :
Truro and Kenwyn have considerable employment uses and host both the main hospital for Cornwall and the main offices of Cornwall Council. There is a well-documented mismatch between the number of homes and jobs available and around 14,000 people commute into the plan area for work every day. Truro has the largest retail offer in Cornwall, but is not immune to the difficulties facing retail nationally.
Diversification of employment and the retail focus of the city centre are key issues for the whole plan area. The revised Plan aims to create a vibrant, sustainable, resilient and balanced economy that is responsive to community needs and market conditions.
• Development should support the night time and evening economy of Truro and help to increase diversity in the city centre offer that supports the economy and helps traders and businesses prosper;
• Encourage diversity of employment and create conditions that help attract well-paid jobs;
• Support the redevelopment of existing employment areas and encourage the development of quality employment space, especially grow-on space for small businesses to be able to expand and specialist uses;
• Help balance housing and employment uses, reducing the need for in-commuting and creating a residential population that supports services, facilities and amenities.
It includes general policies to encouraging and safeguarding employment, the diversification of the city centre and increased housing provision and mix of uses.
Health and Wellbeing :
It is vital that we prevent people from entering ill-health and new development and changes made in the plan area should promote and enable healthy, active lives. Truro and Kenwyn house the main hospital for Cornwall and the plan recognises that further conversations are required outside of the plan to ensure that health care facilities and community bed provision are improved for residents.
The revised Plan includes policies relating to the provision of extra care beds and we will work to ensure that additional GP provision to serve residential expansion is prioritised. The plan area is an Air Quality Management Area and proposals must help to reduce air pollution and ensure that residents aren’t exposed to undue risk.
• The plan promotes provision of new facilities for extra care housing and residential and nursing beds in the community. Provision of such capacity is the area particularly in the Treliske and Langarth area to reduce pressure on the main hospital and acute services. This will enable people to live independent lives with some support;
• The plan promotes the benefits of a healthy lifestyle in new development. It encourages residents to take responsibility for the health and wellbeing of themselves and their families whilst also providing for accessible facilities and services;
• Development proposals must create safe and accessible environments that encourage residents to be active and to routinely choose to cycle or walk in preference to using the car for short local journeys;
• Development must also improve the quality of life and community cohesion to reduce the impact of loneliness in new and existing areas of housing. Multigenerational housing can promote community cohesion and independence and proposals will be welcomed, especially where co-designed with local communities;
• Development proposals should protect, improve and extend our green infrastructure network. This is particularly important where the Langarth and Pydar Street sites will create significant new residential areas that need to be linked both to Truro, Threemilestone and the surrounding countryside. Our urban areas need to be embedded rather than merely set amongst green;
• Development should help to reduce the impact of poor air quality and reduce exposure to areas of poor air quality, noise or excess light;
• Productive planting, growing and production of food and community growing spaces will be encouraged throughout the plan area and be a particular requirement of new development areas. Healthy eating options should be encouraged wherever the Council has control over leases of food outlets.
As well as specific policies relating to health care, there are also policies relating to green infrastructure provision, quality of development and provision of open spaces and active travel to support the creation of healthier communities. Each development should use a combination of these factors to ensure that physical and mental health is supported through the design of new built environments. The creation of inclusive green spaces and better designed neighbourhoods can also help to reduce loneliness and increased physical activity across all age groups.
Supporting our heritage and culture:
Good design responds to and integrates with the natural as well as the built environment. In the Conservation Area, design, scale, materials, colours and proportion must respect the prevailing historic context.
The revised Plan recognises that a wide range of features in the natural and built environment contribute to its attractiveness and distinctive character and landscape. This includes the features of the natural environment such as Cornish hedges, milestones, lanes and fords as well as the more obvious listed buildings and historic streets of our conservation area. Throughout the rural area of Truro and Kenwyn are traces of the industries and lifestyles that supported the area, from food production to industry. These often forgotten features such as leats and enclosures are important to the identity of the area and must be respected in new uses and developments.
The west of the plan area contains part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site and this historic landscape and its setting demands particular attention.
• Proposals should promote a positive sense of place and thriving cultural life for all sectors of the community;
• Decisions should ensure that development proposals respect the heritage and environment of the whole plan area rather than just the Conservation Area;
• The value of semi-natural features, leats, Cornish hedges and cultural references must be respected in new development;
• Materials, finishes and bulk of new additions are particularly important to protect and enhance the quality of the historic environment and the city centre.
As well as policies relating directly to the historic environment, the Plan includes policies relating to heritage and culture, and the landscape and natural features of the plan area. These include the impacts on landscapes, highways and byways and the design of new development at Pydar Street and Langarth and other housing sites on the relationship of the built and natural environment on our historic and cultural heritage.
Providing decent homes and future infrastructure:
The revised Plan proposes housing development that supports the overall aspirations of our community and which is sustainable, in the right places and of good design. This needs to include a mix and design of properties to suit the ages and needs of all the community.
At the time the plan was first adopted development had been approved for around 3,800 homes at Langarth, Willow Green and Maiden Green farms (known collectively as the Langarth site) to the west of Truro. Land ownership and aspirations have changed since the approvals were granted and Government funding of new significant infrastructure to open up the sites has increased pressure to improve the quality and layout of the new developments.
• New development must be sustainably located where there are appropriate links to the footpath network and local community assets;
• Proposals for development will be required to identify the likely impact on infrastructure, services and educational facilities and demonstrate how any such impacts will be addressed and mitigated for;
• The development of Langarth and redevelopment of Pydar Street sites will be subject to comprehensive masterplanning to create sense of place, quality of development and linkages to the existing form of Truro and Threemilestone.
Policies have been strengthened in the revised Plan to ensure that new development creates the sort of homes that are needed to create great places to live. Key to this has been the provision of new policies for Pydar and Langarth, setting out more fully the principles to ensure that these sites will provide balanced and good quality living environments.
More sustainable travel :
The overall objective is to assist in the development of an integrated transport system that supports the economy and community in a safe and sustainable way.
The aims are to increase non-motorised accessibility, reduce congestion, improve safety, and strengthen our transport infrastructure. No plan can remove traffic congestion through the creation of new roads or junction improvements alone. The development of an integrated strategy that supports more journeys by non-motorised, particularly for shorter journeys, is essential. We also need to make sure that all routes around and through the city make it easier to travel without a car.
• Developments which improve road safety and transport services will be supported;
• Proposals should help deliver key walking and cycling infrastructure improvements such as the ‘Truro Loops’ proposals that seeks to establish a series of circular walking and cycling routes around the area;
• Developments should always be designed to sustainably connect key sites around the City and surrounding settlements;
• Land will be safeguarded around the railway and station for future rail halts, transport facilities and to enable sustainable transport modes to be integrated with the rail network.
As well as general policies relating to transport, there are specific policies for encouraging active and sustainable transport.
