B2 - Village Development Supplementary Planning Document

2.1 The South Ribble Local Plan allocates land for "village development" throughout the life of the plan period. The purpose of these sites is to allow for the development needs of villages which are tightly constrained by Greenbelt. The policy requires that any application for development on these sites provides evidence as to the local need for the development that is proposed.

2.2 During the application process for recent applications on sites allocated under Policy B2, it became apparent that there was confusion over both the aims of the policy and evidence required to support development on these designations and in particular what constituted 'Local Need'.

2.3 This policy is a 'positively prepared' in accordance with advice in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) - it doesn't seek to prevent development but allows for it in appropriate circumstances. The applicant, in accordance with the policy needs to provide evidence to demonstrate a 'local need' for the development.

2.4 In order to provide greater clarity as to what evidence is required to demonstrate local need, it is this SPD which will set out the requirements for applicants, in terms of the evidence that we will require them to submit in association with their application for development on any site which is subject to Policy B2.