Unitary Development Plan (UDP)

Introduction to the UDP

The UDP is the adopted Development Plan that guides new development and decisions on planning applications in the City under the Town and Country Planning Act (1990). The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (2004) ( pdf 0.62mb) brought major changes to the planning system including the replacement of UDP's with a series of documents collectively called a Local Development Framework (LDF) which aims to streamline the local planning process and promote a proactive and positive approach to managing development. The UDP and emerging LDF aim to show conformity with the Regional Spatial Strategy which sets out the spatial vision for the future development of the North East of England.

The UDP can be viewed electronically (View an interactive version of the UDP), the full written statement and proposals maps can be viewed at any Council library or at the Planning Reception on the 3rd floor at Sunderland Civic Centre, Burdon Road, Sunderland - Monday to Thursday 8.45am to 5.15pm and Friday 8.45am to 4.45pm.

Hard copies of the adopted UDP can be purchased from the Planning Policy Section, the full document is £55.00 inc p&p.

Please contact the Planning Policy Section either by person at the Planning Reception, by phone (0191) 520 5555 or by email planningpolicy@sunderland.gov.uk

Unitary Development Plan (UDP)

The UDP sets out the future of how land is used within the City and is the land use development plan for the City, the UDP guides development proposals to help safeguard and improve the environment, meet the needs of those living and working in the city and promote sustainable communities.

Sunderland's UDP was adopted in 1998, the aims of the Development Plan are:

• Setting out the City Council's requirements for land use, including the arrangements for transport until 2006.

• Allocating land throughout Sunderland, Washington, Houghton and Hetton for particular uses (housing, schools, employment, etc)

• Provide the Council with a policy framework for making decisions on planning applications. All planning applications must be determined in accordance with the UDP, except in special circumstances.

Saving UDP Policies

On commencement of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (September 2004) the policies in the UDP were automatically “saved” for three years; that is they would remain in force until September 2007.

In view of the need to consider policy coverage beyond this period, guidance was released by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on how local planning authorities could save UDP policies beyond September 2007 and outlining criteria against which the policies should be assessed.  Authorities had to seek a “direction” from the Secretary of State (SoS) which confirms agreement of the saved policies. Accordingly the Council submitted a list of those policies it wishes to save to the Secretary of State – via Government Office for the North East (GO-NE). The schedule outlining the adopted UDP policies the City Council wishes to save and those it wishes to delete are available to download. Schedule of policies ( pdf 1.2mb).

Confirmation of the saved policies and the direction provided by the SoS was received on the 4th September 2007, this supports the intention to maintain the extension of existing adopted policies to maintain continuity in the Development Plan, and ensure a stable planning framework locally, and a continual supply of land for development. The letter from GO-NE is available to download: Letter from GO-NE regarding saved policies ( pdf 1.7mb). Note: As the UDP Alteration No.2 policies had not been formally agreed by Cabinet at that time, it was not possible to amend the Saved UDP Policies to take into account the policies for Central Sunderland. This will take place following the formal adoption of the UDP later this year.

Review of the UDP

UDP Alteration No.1 (Housing)

The City Council began a review of the UDP in 2000, the topic covered at this stage was housing. This document did not progress beyond first deposit due to changing circumstances in the City.

UDP Alteration No.2 (Central Sunderland)

Significant changes in the City, affecting sites such as the former Vaux Brewery and Groves Cranes factory, along with changes in Government Policy signalled a need to revise key parts of the UDP within Central Sunderland, primarily relating to the older industrial areas along the banks of the River Wear, coincident with operational area of Sunderland URC. Following initial public consultation, the Alteration was progressed through the statutory planning process.

A Public Local Inquiry (PLI) into the Alteration was held for 1 week in July 2006 at the Stadium of Light. The purpose of the Public Local Inquiry was to enable any objections to the Alteration to be examined by an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State. The PLI closed on 4th April 2007. After considering objections made to the Alteration, the Inspector prepared a binding report subsequently received by the City Council in July 2007. The Alteration policies were amended to take into account the Inspectors recommendation. These policies were formally adopted by full Council in September 2007.

The suite of documents relating to Alteration No.2 are available on the UDP Alteration No.2 (Central Sunderland) homepage and the Document Centre & Related Links

Supplementary Planning Documents

Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD's) and Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) are not statutory documents, but supplement Development Plan Documents (DPD's) by giving more detailed advice on how to comply with the policies contained within the relevant DPD.

These pages have been designed to assist users of our UDP / LDF website, the pages are updated frequently and provide useful information regarding the production progress of planning documents, overall timetable and when and how you can get involved in the development of the emerging LDF. If you require further information about specific areas of the UDP or LDF, please use the links provided.

Key documents relating to the UDP can be found listed in the Document Centre & Related Links page.

Contact the Planning Policy Team on 0191 561 1537 or email planningpolicy@sunderland.gov.uk

Planning Policy Homepage

Planning Homepage