Glossary of key terms

This following is a glossary of planning terms:

Affordable housing is housing where the price or rent is significantly lower than local market costs and can be afforded by people who are unable to buy or rent adequate housing on the open market.

Annual monitoring report (AMR) is a report prepared by the Council to monitor the number of dwellings, amount of floorspace, etc. built and committed for development in any given year.

Area of archaeological interest is an area of land protected for its archaeological value.

Area of search is the name give the large areas of green belt land which have been identified as having potential for housing or employment development.

BREEAM is the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology which assesses the sustainability credentials of industrial, commercial and institutional buildings.

CABE is the Commission for the Built Environment who assist the Government by providing guidance on the design, layout and sustainability of development.

Climate change refers to the impact of human activities on the planet which is melting ice caps, raising sea levels, changing weather patterns and raising global temperatures.

Community infrastructure levy (CIL) is a mechanism by which councils can secure monies from development to help fund both strategic and local infrastructure needs.

Commuted payments is money given to the Council by a developer to fund affordable housing or other community objectives.

Conservation area is an area of urban land protected for its conservation value due to the quality of buildings, architectural styles, open spaces and general appearance.

Core strategy is a planning document which sets out a spatial vision for the future of Broxbourne. 

Development brief is a document which builds upon the scope of local planning policies to guide development proposals for large, complex and/or important sites.

Development control is the function of the Council which determines planning applications.

Development control policies DPD is a document which sets out detailed local policies that will be used to determine planning application.

Development plan is the collection of national and local documents that will together be used to determine planning applications.

Development plan document (DPD) is the name for planning documents which allocate land or establish policies to determine planning applications.

East of England development agency (EEDA) is the regional economic development agency for Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

East of England plan is the regional spatial strategy, which the Government will shortly revoke.

Environment agency is a Government agency responsible for managing rivers and watercourses and minimising flood risk.

Examination is the process by which the Planning Inspectorate will decide whether the Core Strategy and other planning documents are “legally compliant” and “sound”.

Flood risk is the likelihood that a river or watercourse will flood and the likelihood that any particular site or area of land will be subject to flooding.

Forms of entry (FE) is used to describe the size of a school.  Hertfordshire County Council have a preference for 2 FE primary schools and 6-8 FE secondary schools, with 30 pupils per form.

Government is the coalition Government formed by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

Greater Brookfield is a strategic allocation for land to the north of the Brookfield Centre for comprehensive mixed use retail, leisure and housing development.

Green belt is land surrounding towns and urban areas which helps to check urban sprawl, prevent towns merging together and protect the countryside from inappropriate development.

Green infrastructure is the network of parkland, green spaces, pathways and countryside in and around Broxbourne.

Gypsies and travellers are persons of a nomadic habitat, but include people who may have stopped travelling for health or education reasons or due to old age.

Habitats assessment are undertaken alongside the preparation of planning documents to ensure that important wildlife sites are protected from undesirable and unintended impacts.

Hertfordshire County Council is the local highway authority with responsibility for roads and pavements and the local education authority with responsibility for providing school places.

Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) is the NHS organisation responsible for providing and managing healthcare in Broxbourne.

Highways agency is a Government agency responsible for key motorways such as the M25.

Housing association are charitable organisations who build and manage affordable housing.

Housing land supply refers to the land in the borough that is suitable for housing development.  The Council should maintain a continuous five year supply of housing land and use the core strategy to demonstrate that it has a fifteen year supply of housing land.

Infrastructure refers to the full range of transport networks, utilities, services and facilities that are needed to create sustainable neighbourhoods and support new development.  It includes physical items such as roads and pips and social infrastructure such as schools and healthcare centres.

Issues and options is the first stage of consultation in the preparation of a planning document, when the Council sets out the main challenges and the best options for dealing with them.

Key diagram is a diagram in the core strategy which shows the key elements of the spatial vision.

Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) is the organisation responsible for protecting and enhancing the Lee Valley Regional Park for leisure and recreation purposes.

Listed buildings are buildings protected for their design, construction or architectural value.

London Plan is the spatial strategy for Greater London.

Local development document (LDD) refers to any document which forms part of the LDF including planning documents such as the core strategy and non-planning documents such as the 'statement of community involvement'.

Local development framework (LDF) is the name of the suite of planning and non-planning documents which was going to establish the planning policy framework for Broxbourne.

Local development scheme (LDS) is a document which sets out the timetable for preparing planning policy documents.

Local education authority is one of Hertfordshire County Council’s responsibilities to plan for education needs.

Local highway authority is one of Hertfordshire County Council’s responsibilities to plan for roads and pavements.

Local plan is the old-style planning document for Broxbourne which contains policies on housing, employment, transport, the green belt, etc which are used to determine planning applications.  These policies will be saved until such time as they are replaced by policies in up-to-date DPDs.

Local strategic partnership (LSP) is a partnership of public, private and voluntary sector organisations responsible for preparing the Broxbourne sustainable community strategy.

Local transport plan (LTP) is a planning document prepared by Hertfordshire County Council to guide transport proposals and prioritise transport investment.

Local wildlife site is a site or area of land protected for its local wildlife and/or habitat value.

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out the Government's planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied.

New Local Plan will establish the planning framework for the borough and will replace the 2005 Local Plan and Core Strategy Submission documents.

Planning application is a set of plans and documents submitted by landowners, developers and homeowners to secure planning permission for development.

Planning inspectorate (PINS) is the body responsible for hosting an examination to determine whether submitted planning documents such as the core strategy are “sound”.

Planning obligations or Section 106 are contributions secured by the Council to help provide or fund infrastructure items or services that will help make development acceptable in planning terms.

Planning permission is granted to planning applications approved by the Council which accord with national, regional and local planning policies and other material considerations.

Planning policy statement (PPS) were prepared by the Government to help guide the scope  of planning documents and to help determine planning applications. This has been replaced with the National Planning Policy Framework.

Preferred options is the second stage of consultation in the preparation of a planning document, when the Council sets out its preferred policy approach to the main challenges.

Priority area for regeneration is a status once conferred on Broxbourne by the East of England plan.

Proposals map shows all sites that are subject to particular policies of the local plan and local development framework.  The map is updated each time a planning document is adopted.

Ramsar site is a wetland site of international importance.

Regional economic strategy (RES) is a document which sets out economic objectives for local planning authorities in the region.

Regional spatial strategy (RSS) was the East of England plan which sets policies and targets for local planning authorities, but has been revoked by the Government.

Registered social landlords (RSLs) are charitable organisations who build and manage affordable housing.

Renewable energy is energy derived from sustainable sources such as solar or wind power, as opposed to non-renewable energy derived from fossil fuels such as gas and coal.

Scheduled ancient monument (SAM) are sites and areas of land protected due to the presence of ancient monuments and other man-made features.

Site allocations DPD is a document which allocates sites and areas of land for development.

Site of special scientific interest (SSSI) is a site or area of land protected for its special wildlife, habitat or landscape value.

Spatial vision is a description of how Broxbourne will change by 2026 and beyond.

Statement of community involvement (SCI) explains how the council will involve stakeholders and members of the public in devising planning policies and determining planning applications.

Strategic allocation is a large or important site or area of land which can be allocated in the core strategy rather than in a subsequent site allocation DPD.

Strategic flood risk assessment (SFRA) examines the likelihood that rivers and watercourses will flood and the mechanisms that can be implemented to reduce flood risk.

Strategic housing land availability assessment (SHLAA) is part of the LDF evidence base which examines the sustainability and deliverability merits of sites and areas of land for housing.

Strategic housing market assessment (SHMA) is part of the LDF evidence base which examines how many houses the borough needs to build to resolve housing need problems.

Strategic objectives set out the aims that will be pursued to achieve the spatial vision and those themes of the Broxbourne sustainable community strategy with a spatial aspect.

Supplementary planning document (SPD) is a planning document which provides further detail on the application of a local planning policy such as affordable housing or design.

Sustainable community strategy (SCS) is a document prepared by the local strategic partnership which sets out the aims and aspirations of the local community.

Sustainability appraisal (SA) is undertaken alongside the preparation of planning documents to ensure that there are no undesirable or unintended environmental, economic or social impacts.

Sustainable development is a central aim of national policy to achieve social progress, protect the environment, make prudent use of resources and maintain economic growth

Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) are drainage systems which absorb rain water back into the ground rather than into man-made drains and sewers.

Travelling showpeople are members of a community who travel the country holding fairs and circuses but include people who may have stopped travelling for health or education reasons or due to old age. 

Urban transport plans (UTP) are plans which flow from the local transport plan by focusing on particular towns and urban areas, such as Hoddesdon, Cheshunt and Waltham Cross.

Utilities refer to electricity, gas and water supply, sewers and sewerage treatment works and telecommunications.