Chapter 15 - Countryside

Introduction

15.1 Approximately two fifths of the land area of Trafford is countryside, which is as varied and contrasting as the built up area it surrounds. Carrington Moss to the west, with the richest soils, supports arable farming. The Timperley Wedge to the east, on less rich soils, supports a mixture of pasture, horticulture and recreational uses. In the Bollin Valley, and particularly in the Mersey Valley with its golf courses, playing fields and the Trafford Water Sports Centre, recreation plays a major role.

15.2 The attractiveness of these areas varies just as much as the uses do. Much is very open and sometimes bleak. Parts, particularly on the urban fringe, are neglected or under-used and poorly managed. In contrast other areas are attractive and like Dunham Park for example, provide a quality of landscape that draws visitors from many miles around.

15.3 The countryside is under constant pressure from a wide variety of development uses of varying scales of intensity. Some of this development pressure comes from within the agricultural industry itself, as it seeks to restructure and diversify in response to changes in agricultural policy and the market place. Some of the pressure comes from the changing sporting and leisure demands of the local population. Some of the pressure comes from the ever-present demand for the building of more new homes and for the development of new commercial office and factory premises.

General Justification for the Policies and Proposals of the Countryside Chapter

15.4 The Policies and Proposals of this Chapter are intended to constrain the pressures for development and change in the countryside in such a way as to protect and conserve its quality, appearance and amenity whilst maintaining its utility to the local economy and people.

15.5 They have been framed within the context of Draft Regional Planning Guidance for the North West Region, the Greater Manchester Strategic Planning Framework and the Trafford Economic and Community Regeneration Strategy. They seek in particular to: -

• Maintain viable farming and horticulture activity;
• Encourage further informal leisure use of the countryside;
• Protect and where possible enhance the attractiveness of the countryside when new development is permitted.

15.6 Policies and Proposals for nature conservation, landscape, woodland areas, access and open space and recreation are set out in Chapter 7 - The Environment, and Chapter 10 - Open Space and Recreation. The Council's Policies and Proposals for the effective management of the countryside, essential if the above aims are to be achieved and sustained, are set out in the Countryside Strategy adopted by the Council in 1992, published separately from this Plan.

15.7 Applications for agricultural dwellings, for the removal of agricultural occupancy conditions and for agricultural buildings will be judged in the light of advice contained within PPG7 The Countryside – Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development.

PART I PLAN POLICIES

Part I Policy C1 – Green Belt

The Council will continue to protect the Green Belt in the following four broad areas: -

- To the south of Hale and Bowdon to the Bollin Valley and the Greater Manchester County southern boundary;

- Between Bowdon, Broadheath, Sale, Carrington, Partington, the Ship Canal and the Greater Manchester County southern boundary incorporating the villages of Dunham Town, Dunham Woodhouses and Warburton;

- Along the Mersey Valley from its junction with the Ship Canal to the Manchester boundary;

- Along the Timperley Brook between Timperley, Hale and Wythenshawe.

Part I Policy C2 – Other Open Land

The Council, during the Plan period, will discourage the permanent development of other open land outside the built up area not protected as Green Belt, except land on which proposals for development have already been approved or supported by the Borough Council.

Part I Policy C3 – Agricultural Land

The Council will safeguard the best and most versatile agricultural land from forms of development that would irreversibly destroy its longer term potential as a high quality agricultural resource.

PART II PLAN PROPOSALS

Part II Proposal C4 – Green Belt

The Council designates as Green Belt the countryside areas defined on the Proposals Map. The primary purposes of this Green Belt are to: -

• Check the unrestricted sprawl of large built up areas;
• Prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another;
• Assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;
• Preserve the setting and special character of historic towns;
• Assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.

Justification

1. Green Belt designation of the land shown on the Proposals Map will protect important countryside areas of the Borough from unnecessary and unwanted development and provide opportunities for informal recreation, landscape enhancement and nature conservation.

2. All of the land designated on the Proposals Map was formerly designated as Green Belt in the Trafford UDP adopted in May 1996.

3. The purposes of the Green Belt as set out in this Proposal are drawn from Department of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance Note 2: Green Belts.

Part II Proposal C5 – Development in the Green Belt

There will be a general presumption against inappropriate development within the Green Belt; development within the Green Belt will therefore not be allowed unless (i) it is for one of the purposes set out below, or, (ii) very special circumstances can be demonstrated.

i) Buildings

The construction of buildings inside the Green Belt is inappropriate unless it is for the following purposes: -

• Agriculture and forestry;
• Essential facilities for outdoor sport and outdoor recreation, for cemeteries, and for other uses of land which preserve the openness of the Green Belt and do not conflict with the purposes of including land within it;
• The limited extension, alteration or replacement of existing dwellings;
• The re-use of buildings in accordance with Proposal C6.

ii) Mineral Extraction

Mineral extraction need not be inappropriate development, provided that the environmental standards are maintained and that the site is well restored.

iii) Other Development

The carrying out of engineering and other operations and the making of material changes in the use of land are inappropriate development unless they maintain openness and do not conflict with the purposes of including land in the Green Belt.

Proposals within the above categories should not prejudice the purposes of the Green Belt by reason of their scale, siting, materials or design.

Justification

1. To ensure that the Green Belt will generally be kept open and protected from inappropriate development. It is for an applicant to show why permission should be granted, justifying inappropriate development by showing that there are very special circumstances that outweigh the harm of the proposal to the Green Belt.

2. The Council considers that the scope for further in-filling development in the settlements of Warburton, Dunham Town and Dunham Woodhouses is effectively exhausted and that further residential development, other than in exceptional circumstances listed in this Proposal, would adversely affect the character of these settlements parts of all three of which, especially Dunham Town, are designated as Conservation Areas.

Part II Proposal C6 – Building Conversions in the Green Belt

The change of use of buildings in the Green Belt will normally be permitted provided that: -

• The openness of the Green Belt would not be eroded or its purposes compromised, either by extensions of the building itself or by associated uses and/or operations;
• The buildings are of a permanent and substantial nature and are capable of re-use or conversion without major or complete reconstruction;
• The form, bulk and general design of the buildings are in keeping with their surroundings and (where appropriate) conversion proposals respect both local building styles and materials and the form and detailing of the existing building.

Justification

1. Rural buildings often provide much of the character of the countryside. Sensitive conversion of buildings no longer required for their present use may extend their useful life and be preferable to allowing them to become derelict.

Part II Proposal C7 – Extensions to Buildings

Rebuilding or extending buildings in a manner or to an extent, which significantly affects their character or increases their impact on the Green Belt or Protected Open Land, will normally not be permitted.

Justification

1. To prevent harm to the character of the Green Belt and the countryside, which may arise through the cumulative effects of inappropriate development.

Part II Proposal C8 – Protected Open Land

The Council will refuse planning permission for new development on the following area of land neither allocated for development nor included within the Green Belt: -

• Land in Warburton (immediately to the south of Partington);
• Land south of Shell, Carrington

except where such development is: -

• Required in connection with agriculture, forestry or mineral extraction;
• A limited extension, essential to the protection of an established industrial or operational activity, outdoor recreation or a tourist facility;
• Necessary to meet an exceptional need, which cannot reasonably be accommodated elsewhere within the constraints imposed by the other Policies and Proposals of this Plan;
• Agricultural diversification in accordance with other Policies and Proposals of this Plan.

In determining any planning applications under (iii) above, exceptional need must be clearly demonstrated having regard to the themes of the Plan set down in Policy GP1.

Justification

1 These areas of land, excluded from the Green Belt and not allocated for development elsewhere in this Plan, may be required to meet development needs beyond 2016. It therefore needs to be protected from all but limited essential development to enable it to make the maximum potential contribution to meeting these as yet unquantified needs.

2. The strict application of this Proposal will maintain a reservoir of potential long term development land to be drawn on at a future date when the extent of longer term development needs become known and this Plan is reviewed, and will reduce the need for the Council to consider alterations to the Green belt boundary established by Proposal C4 in this Plan elsewhere in the Borough.

3. The future allocation of land for development within the Borough will need to be considered in the light of published government advice available to the Council at the time the Plan is reviewed, in particular the advice that identifies the priority areas for future development and the scale of new development to be accommodated within the Borough.

4. Policy SD5 of Regional Planning Guidance for the North West (RPG13) indicates that a strategic study of the Green Belt in Greater Manchester will not be needed before 2011. The future status of the protected open land at Warburton to the south of Partington therefore will be reviewed at the time such a Greater Manchester study is undertaken .

Part II Proposal C9 – Agricultural Land Holdings

The Council will seek to ensure that viable farm holdings are not severed or fragmented by non-agricultural development.

Justification

1. It is important that development does not contribute to the disintegration of farming in Trafford by disrupting management and investment.

Part II Proposal C10 – Agricultural Diversification

Agricultural diversification which requires planning permission will be allowed by the Council where it does not conflict with other Policies or Proposals of this plan and where it is: -

• Sufficiently small in scale or duration not to affect the overall character of the farm and the landscape;
• Of such a nature that agriculture would remain the predominant use of the farm unit;
• Neighbourly in terms of traffic, noise and appearance.

In assessing such proposals the Council will take into account the contribution of the proposal to the long-term survival of the farm in predominantly agricultural use.

Justification

1. Pressure for the non-agricultural use of farmland, to supplement farm income, is growing in the face of structural change within the farming industry. This proposal seeks to prevent development detrimental to the environment, landscape and ecological quality and damaging to the long-term viability of farms and farming.

Part II Proposal C11 – Recreation and Tourism

Subject to (i), (ii) and (iii) below the Council will seek to develop and encourage more use of the countryside for recreation and tourism. The main emphasis will be on informal recreation, and in particular on improved access to the countryside.

• Recreation developments should not conflict with nature conservation or other Policies and Proposals of this Plan and should harmonize with the surrounding countryside, possibly requiring the provision of extensive landscaping;
• Recreation activities that could spoil the enjoyment of the countryside by introducing noise and excessive traffic will not be permitted unless it can be demonstrated that careful siting and design could overcome the problems of disturbance. In farming areas, recreation will generally be restricted to those activities which will not unduly interfere with farming;
• The provision of any overnight accommodation and other facilities for tourists may be permitted where they are in scale and do not harm the character of the countryside.

Justification

1. The countryside areas of the Borough represent a considerable recreation resource. This Proposal seeks to strike a balance between the different uses and users of these open areas, and in particular to protect the agricultural livelihood of farmers.

Part II Proposal C12 – Horses

Riding schools and commercial stables will only be permitted where the Council is satisfied that there is adequate grazing and access to suitable riding routes and exercise areas. All applications for riding establishments will be assessed with regard to impact on the character of the countryside, and local amenity.

When new equestrian facilities are proposed they should be supported with landscape management programmes. If permission is granted, the maximum number of horses permissible and the area of ancillary grazing land will be strictly controlled.

Justification

1. Horse riding is an expanding leisure activity in the countryside of Trafford. This activity and associated commercial riding schools and stables, can damage land and conflict with other forms of recreation and recreational areas if not properly planned and controlled.