The Local Development Plan Area is rich in historic assets, has a buoyant tourism industry, excellent transport links, good water and air quality and a high quality natural environment (including coast, countryside and National Park). However, population projections have demonstrated that the population of the Plan Area could increase by as much as 7,250 by 2022. The main characteristics of this population change are:

• The number of people within the 18-64 age group is declining
  
• The number of people 65+ is projected to increase significantly
• The number of children is projected to decrease significantly

The impact of these impending population changes has created a number of priority issues for the Council. The predicted demographic changes, and poor past delivery, results in a greater need and increasing requirement for Affordable Housing for Local Need (AHLN) over the plan period. The Council wishes to protect Conwy’s outstanding natural and built environment, while at the same time maximising the provision of AHLN. Analysis has indicated that the private housing market will need land to accommodate between approximately 6,300 and 9,980 new housing units by 2022. The local demand for affordable housing over the same Plan period would be approximately 1900 units. The Council has determined that it need only accommodate approximately 6,300 dwellings over the plan period, inclusive of the need for affordable housing, while at the same time protecting the natural and built environment and safeguarding the Welsh language.

It is clear that the workforce and younger population within the Plan Area will continue to decline. Therefore, to encourage the existing and future younger population to remain the area, the Council will:

• Make the delivery of AHLN for local need a priority;
• Protect existing employment land, and make land available to meet employment demand and apply an element of flexibility to take account of changing market conditions over the plan period;
• Protect the natural and built environment;
  
• Insist on a high standard of new building design which improves efficiency and incorporates new renewable energy technologies;

To enable the provision and the delivery of AHLN, the Council will contribute through the allocation and delivery of appropriately located publicly owned land and the pursuit of an Empty Homes Strategy.

Having regard to national guidance and sustainability criteria, the Council have concluded that the only satisfactory spatial solution is to direct the majority of new development to either within or adjacent to existing settlements through an Urban Development Strategy, predominantly along the coastal belt. These locations provide the greatest accessibility to key facilities and services, are closely linked to employment areas and are supported by a strategic road and rail network. The Urban Development Strategy is supported by a Rural Development Strategy setting out the approach to meeting the needs of the rural settlements within the Plan Area.

The Council is preparing this Local Development Plan (LDP) to establish a long-term strategy to create sustainable communities and tackle the above challenges. The LDP process is intended to speed up the delivery of development plans. There are three important stages in the plan making process – plan preparation, plan production and plan scrutiny. Plan preparation has already resulted in an approved Delivery Agreement (DA), which sets out the Community Involvement Scheme (CIS) and the timetable for the production of the LDP. This Deposit LDP now represents a key stage in the plan production and is the result of extensive consultation undertaken with the community and stakeholders. It sets out the key challenges facing Conwy, identifies the Vision, Objectives and the Spatial Strategy for development in the area over the period 2007 to 2022.

A Strategic Regeneration Area Master Plan, Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) and Site Development Briefs will support the policy approach in the LDP. Together, these documents will provide the framework for the development and use of land within the Plan Area and will deliver the spatial planning strategy for Conwy until 2022. When adopted, the LDP will replace existing Structure Plans and Local Plans.

This Deposit LDP is formed in light of the consultation responses, new national planning policy and new evidence base. It was clear from the consultation that the proposed growth in the 2006 was not tackling the priority issues impacting on Conwy and, in particular, the changes to the population and demands it will create and the need for local affordable housing. The Preferred Strategy in 2006 also established the spatial distribution strategy of the Plan following the appraisal of alternative spatial distribution strategies. These included an emphasis upon greater levels of development in both urban and rural areas and consideration being given to the establishment of new settlements in urban and rural locations. The conclusion was to concentrate development within the urban coastal belt locations, particularly, within Llandudno, Llandudno Junction, Colwyn Bay, Abergele, Towyn and Kinmel Bay communities.

The structure of the plan is such that clearly demonstrates how the needs and issues facing Conwy are to be tackled and delivered by 2022.

The Deposit Plan is set out as follows:

Section 2: Vision and Objectives

Section 3: The Preferred Spatial Strategy and Key Diagram

Section 4: Key Spatial Policies, Key Diagrams and Supporting Development Control Policies

Section 5: Implementation and Monitoring Framework

The most up-to-date evidence base has been used where certain studies are not to be finalised until after the Deposit LDP consultation. Where a particular background paper (‘BP’ from this point forward) has provided the evidence base to the Deposit LDP or an individual policy, this is included as supporting text to each policy. All documents are available for public inspection, either by visiting the Council’s website (www.conwy.gov.uk), at main Council Offices, Libraries or by requesting a copy of the LDP CD using the contact details and consultation arrangements set out in the supporting correspondence.

Under the terms of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, & c.) (Amendment) Regulations 2006. Conwy County Borough Council is required to undertake appropriate assessment of its land use development plans.

Appropriate Assessment is an assessment of the potential effects of a plan on European Sites (Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection areas and Offshore Marine Sites) and a plan should only be approved after determining that it will not adversely affect the integrity of such sites. An initial Scoping Exercise for the Deposit LDP has been undertaken to assess its overall impact. It has been prepared by the Council as the relevant competent authority and outlines the purpose of appropriate assessment, the methodology to be employed, relevant plans or programmes and provides an overview of the relevant Natura 2000 sites.

The Appropriate Assessment report is available to this Deposit LDP in BP/11. Following consultation with the Countryside Council for Wales and the Council’s Countryside Services, the ‘scoping exercise’ concludes that there are no significant impacts on the Natura 2000 sites from the development sites proposed in this Deposit LDP. In conclusion, it is not considered that a full appropriate assessment is required.

Collaborative work between Councils has informed the LDP preparation in the following areas:

• Planning Policy Liaison: Regular Policy Officer Liaison meetings to discuss matters relating to population change and household formation, including population projections. Further regular liaison with neighbouring Council’s has taken place in the preparation of documents and involvement in regular meeting:
  

1. Officer meetings every six months
2. Conwy Denbighshire Sub Regional Study
   
3. Regional Housing Market Assessment
4. Conwy LDP Focus Group Event in July 2005
   
5. Regional Waste Strategy
   
6. North Wales Pathfinder Group

• economic opportunities: This has included the general location of strategic employment sites in partnership with neighbouring Council’s which has lead to the identification Foryd Harbour as a Marina location and Tir Llywd as a strategic employment site for small and medium sized enterprises. Further cross boundary collaboration has taken place with Snowdonia National Park to promote the former Aluminium Works at Dolgarrog as mixed use tourism/employment and housing site which takes account of the natural environment.
  
• transport links and accessibility; The plan promotes the integration of transport modes including Public Rights of Way, Coastal Paths and SUSTRANS routes between Conwy, Denbighshire and Snowdonia National Park.
  
• rural change; An approach has been agreed to ensure that rural settlements and their facilities and services are protected. Conwy and Snowdonia National Park have worked closely in preparing the settlement hierarchy to ensure that the objectives of shared settlements are compatible.
  
• broad measures of housing need and distribution: An agreed framework for the delivery of AHLN in the rural cross boundary settlements between the Snowdonia National Park and Conwy Council. Policies have been formed to ensure deliverability of AHLN in shared-settlements where land is unavailable as a result of constraints.

When the LDP is adopted in 2010, for the purposes of Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 the following plans will be cancelled:

Relevant Structure Plans

• Adopted Gwynedd Structure Plan (1993)
  
• Clwyd Structure Plan - Second Alteration (1999)

Local Plans

• Adopted Colwyn Borough Local Plan (1999)
  
• Llandudno Conwy District Plan (1982/1994)

The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and accompanying regulations require that the Plan must have regard to the following matters:

• Current national policies (including, for example, Planning Policy Wales, Technical Advice Notes and Local Development Plans Wales 2005)
• The Wales Spatial Plan
  
• The Community Strategy
  
• The resources likely to be available for implementing the plan
  
• Local transport plans and policies
  
• The objective of preventing major accidents and limiting the consequences of such accidents
  
• National and regional policies on waste
• Local housing strategies

The term 'Plan Area' refers to that part of Conwy County Borough that is outside the National Park, and corresponds to the area of the LDP. Unless otherwise stated, the data presented in this Deposit LDP relates to the Plan Area.

Llandudno is a traditional Victorian seaside resort, which combines its existing tourism role with a thriving commercial centre and acts as the sub-regional shopping centre for the area. Colwyn Bay is one of the largest settlements with an increasingly important role in the commercial and business sector. Conwy Town Centre falls within a designated World Heritage Site and is important in terms of its contribution to the tourist economy, whilst Llandudno Junction is emerging as an important location for office and business-led investment. Other settlements include Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr to the west and the towns of Abergele and Kinmel Bay to the east.

The Plan Area is an area of outstanding landscape ranging from sandy beaches and headlands to sheltered valleys, open moors, natural woodland and borders the mountains of Snowdonia National Park. There are a number of Historic Landscape areas as well as five designated nature conservation sites of international importance, which are offered the highest level of environmental protection. The Plan Area also includes a number of locally designated sites which contribute to the overall character and quality of the natural environment.

In general terms, the economy relies heavily upon tourism and service industries, and is largely evident within the urban coastal settlements and the attraction of the rural area. Industrial employment, although limited to a certain extent and predominately located near the coast, includes manufacturing and research, and is found in places such as Kinmel Bay, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno Junction. Agriculture and forestry are important employment activities in the predominately Welsh speaking rural areas. Some of these rural villages are either partly or wholly within the National Park.

These issues are tackled through the Deposit LDP and have formed the basis of the vision, objectives, spatial strategy, spatial policies and monitoring and implementation framework. Further details of these issues are set out in the LDP Consultation Report and BP/1 available on the Council’s website www.conwy.gov.uk/ldp