What is a call for sites?
We’re calling for people to submit details of sites that could be used for development as part of a review of our Local Plan.
The Local Plan is the formal document that sets out future development of the district, drawn up by us in consultation with the community.
As part of the early scoping work on the Local Plan Review, we’re inviting landowners, developers, agents and other organisations to submit potential sites for uses such as: housing, commercial/business, retail and tourism.
The information received from the ‘Call for Sites’ will inform our assessment of land availability. It will help to shape the policy that will guide and determine future planning applications, and detail the scale and distribution of new development in Ryedale through allocations in the Local Plan Review.
How to complete the submission form
We use a secure e-form completion service to ensure that personal or sensitive data is securely provided to us.
Please do not complete the form electronically by other means as we cannot ensure that your data remains secure.
If you have any reports/surveys please send any PDF documents (such as surveys or site analysis material) to localplan@ryedale.gov.uk these can be sent by a file sharing service. Please ensure that these documents do not contain signatures or personal details.
We are seeking to minimise paper use – so please send material electronically if you can. Please still complete the questions as fully as you can in writing if you do not have access to a computer. Or you can nominate a representative (such as an agent or family member) to act on your behalf. Please make this clear on the form if this is the case.
The sections marked with a * are mandatory in order for the electronic form to be able to be sent to us. Although we would expect that the form is completed as fully as possible.
Information requirements
Most of the questions are self-explanator, but some are not if you’re not familiar with planning policy or some of the terms we have used. The technical terms used are set out below:
Biodiversity Net Gains – this is concerning the measurement of biodiversity impacts as a result of a development which result in measurable benefits to ecology and biodiversity in relation to habitats and or species
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – Ryedale has a CIL charging Schedule in place. You are advised to look at this page which gives information about the type of development which is eligible, and what is not, or would be subject to exemptions.
Development Limits – These are identified on the Policies Maps which are found on this webpage.
They are lines that run round a settlement and are a solid black line. They identify generally the extent of the settlement in which certain development would be considered acceptable in principle.
Density – this relates to how many houses you seek to deliver on the site, and is usually expressed as a number of dwelling per hectare (ha). This can vary across the district- in some areas it is lower (less dwellings) such as in villages and in some more urban areas it is higher (more dwellings) this is what we essentially mean by when we say “local design context”. The density should also factor in whether the site requires formal open space to be provided in the form of children’s pay space, the chosen approach to drainage the road layout, and whether there are any other aspects (such as areas of higher flood risk to be avoided, ensuring appropriate levels of noise attenuation or setting consideration of listed buildings and other residential properties can all influence the density that can be achieved on a site.
Enabling Development and Conservation Deficit – This is a very specific area and for many site submissions this will not be relevant. It relates to the situation whereby a landowner has multiple designated heritage assets (Listed Building (s)) and it requires repairs which cannot be met by existing funding capacity and so needs to release land for development which is currently not identified within the Development Plan. This is therefore not for smaller listed buildings, such as individual dwellings. It relates to much larger properties who have estates with larger properties and a range of historic buildings associated with them, and they have a Business Plan and Conservation Plan to set out how to sustainably protect their historic buildings.
Affordable housing Policy SP3 of the Ryedale Plan- Local Plan Strategy
The review of the Ryedale Plan is a partial one and we may not review the affordable housing policy. The Policy currently requires the following:
(i) The negotiation of the on-site provision of affordable housing will be in line with Policy SP3 of the Ryedale Plan, with the exception that on-site affordable housing contributions will not be sought from sites of 10 dwellings or less and which have a maximum combined gross floorspace of no more than 1,000square metres;
(ii) The negotiation of the on-site provision of affordable housing in line with SP3 of the Ryedale Plan, with the exception that on sites of between six and ten dwellings in parishes outside of Malton, Norton and Pickering, financial contributions will be sought in lieu of the existing on-site policy requirement; and that financial contributions of an equivalent of 40% of provision will be sought on such sites in west and south west Ryedale
(iii) Financial contributions will not be sought from small residential sites through the planning process towards affordable housing on sites of five dwellings or less under Policy SP3 of the Ryedale Plan
Previously developed land – this is subject to a specific definition which is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework: Previously developed land: Land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land (although it should not be assumed that the whole of the curtilage should be developed) and any associated fixed surface infrastructure. This excludes: land that is or was last occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings; land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill, where provision for restoration has been made through development management procedures; land in built-up areas such as residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments; and land that was previously developed but where the remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape.
Proposed Use of the land – This could be around a range of different uses the main ones being:
· Residential use – this could be for different scales of building and types of project- such as individual and custom build self-build, housing estates of different sizes, exception sites, homes to meet different, specific needs;
· Commercial use: this could be for offices, start up units, industrial land;
· Retail uses;
· Tourism uses in relation to tourist accommodation or activities/attractions;
· Renewable energy and low carbon technology schemes;
Please note that mining and waste operations are not identified in the development plan that Ryedale District Council prepares, as they are not the minerals and waste planning authority. Please do not make submissions for these uses.
Self-build – Self-build and custom-build housing: Housing built by an individual, a group of individuals, or persons working with or for them, to be occupied by that individual. Such housing can be either market or affordable housing. A legal definition, for the purpose of applying the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 (as amended), is contained in section 1(A1) and (A2) of that Act.
Advice and further information
If you are unsure please contact us either by phone or by email and we will get back to you. You do not have to, but you may wish to employ the services of an agent to represent you. Please be aware that we cannot recommend individuals or companies. You may wish to look at the following organisation’s websites for further information:
Royal Institute of chartered Surveyors
Royal Institute of British Architects
Land Agents can also act on your behalf.
Technical evidence reports
The submission form asks if you have commissioned or undertaken any of the following technical evidence reports for the submission of your site (see list below). At this stage it may not be necessary or relevant to commission some of these studies, particularly if, for example, your site is relatively small, perhaps for five dwellings or less. But, if your site is a large site, and from previous work you know your site will need these investigations, then please commence commissioning these studies. We will be assessing your site(s) with statutory consultees. We may advise you that such surveys will be required in order for the site to progress in the site assessment process.
- Archaeology and heritage
- Ecology (provision of biodiversity net gains)
- Highways – Transport Assessment or Transport Statement
- For sites over 1ha or over 80 houses- Has a Travel Plan been produced?
- Geotechnical survey (on unstable/sloping land)
- Flood risk Assessment for sites over 1ha
- Air Quality (Malton and Norton)
- Noise (if adjacent to a noise emitting use)
- Drainage – following the hierarchy of drainage – and including the findings of a percolation test
If you have previously submitted a site, and the assessments are more than a year old, then they will potentially need to be updated/refreshed if circumstances have changed. This is less likely in relation to aspects like archaeology and geotechnical surveys for ground conditions. But for other surveys, there could be a change in circumstances. Your assessments need to reflect the situation as it is now. This is particularly the case for ecological surveys, transport assessments and noise assessments.