Craven supplementary planning documents and information

The  affordable housing supplementary planning document (pdf / 2 MB) provides formal guidance on Craven local plan policy H2: affordable housing and other associated policies.

First homes guidance

The most appropriate and flexible way for us to implement this first homes guidance is on a case-by-case basis in the Craven Local Plan area. Applicants must demonstrate how proposals meet the relevant adopted Local Plan policies. In relation to first homes, the applicant should demonstrate how they propose to “bridge the gap” that will be created between the value of the adopted affordable housing policies and the lesser value to the council of including first homes into the mix. This could be through:

• top-up contribution - details of how this is calculated is detailed in the first homes guidance 
• additional on-site provision (depending on location)
• providing a different tenure split
• higher specification of homes
• additional carbon reduction measures such as solar panels or heat pumps

This will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis and viability will be taken into account as per the provisions of the adopted policies. It's essential that you discuss your proposal with our housing and planning officers as early as possible.

 First homes in Craven (pdf / 55 KB) - information for developers, communities and decision-makers.

 Initial first homes evidence (pdf / 231 KB) - information for developers, communities and decision-makers.

The  good design supplementary planning document (pdf / 3 MB) provides formal guidance on Craven local plan policy ENV3: good design and other associated policies.

Resource papers

 Air source heat pumps (pdf / 67 KB) - information about what air source heat pumps are and how they can contribute to good design.

Domestic solar panels - information about domestic solar panel systems and how they can contribute to the good design of new homes.

 Domestic wind turbines (pdf / 45 KB) - information about power generation from small-scale wind turbines and how it can contribute to the good design of new homes

 Heat exchangers for domestic use (pdf / 66 KB) - information about what heat exchangers are and how they can contribute to the good design of new homes

 Reducing condensation in residential units (pdf / 43 KB) - information about water condensation in domestic settings and how it can be reduced through good design.

Planning for anaerobic digester installations - information about power generation from anaerobic digesters and how it can contribute to the good design of new homes.

The  rural workers' dwellings supplementary planning document (pdf / 442 KB) provides formal guidance on Craven local plan policies relating to rural workers' dwellings.

The  flood risk and water management supplementary planning document (pdf / 5 MB) provides formal guidance on Craven local plan policy ENV6: flood risk and other associated policies.

Resource papers

The creation of SuDS schemes in the landscape – information about the function, design and benefits of sustainable drainage systems.

 Maintaining SuDS schemes (pdf / 47 KB) - information about the practical aspects of maintaining sustainable drainage systems.

 Water efficiency and conservation in dwellings (pdf / 119 KB) - information about practical measures to reduce water use, which can be included in the design of new homes.

The  green infrastructure and biodiversity supplementary planning document (pdf / 4 MB) provides formal guidance on Craven local plan policy ENV5: green infrastructure, ENV4: biodiversity and other associated policies.

Resource papers

Green and blue infrastructure map - map-based information about the network of green and blue infrastructure (GBI) in Craven.

 Environment Act 2021 (pdf / 43 KB) - information about the Act, which sets priorities for biodiversity, air quality, water and waste.

 Environmental net gain (pdf / 42 KB) - information about environment net gain which the government is exploring as part of the 25 year environment plan.

 Biodiversity metric 3.0 (pdf / 38 KB) - information about Natural England's free accounting tool for calculating biodiversity net gain.

 Small sites metric (pdf / 37 KB) - information about Natural England's free accounting tool for calculating biodiversity net gain in small developments.

 Biodiversity offsetting (pdf / 38 KB) - information about biodiversity offsetting, which seeks to compensate for unavoidable damage to biodiversity in one place with biodiversity net gain in another.

 Conservation covenants (pdf / 43 KB) - information about conservation covenants, which are private, voluntary agreements between landowners and a “responsible” body for the purpose of delivering lasting conservation benefits for the public good.

 Species conservation and protected site strategies (pdf / 38 KB) - information about species conservation and protected site strategies, which aim to find better ways of fulfilling existing legal obligations and improving the conservation status.

 Wildlife corridors (pdf / 34 KB) - information about wildlife corridors, which act as links of varying size and composition between habitats, allowing wildlife to move freely and safely without threat from predators or traffic.

 Local nature reserve recovery strategies (pdf / 42 KB) - information about LNRSs, which are new spatial strategies for nature intended to cover the whole of England and to drive more coordinated, practical and focussed action to help nature.

 Mitigation hierarchy (pdf / 41 KB) - information about the mitigation hierarchy, which is a widely used tool for limiting as far as possible the negative impacts of development on biodiversity.

 Protected species and habitats in the development context (pdf / 50 KB) - information about the legal protection of plants, animals, supporting features and habitats, and related planning considerations.

Environmental benefits from nature tool - information about how the environmental benefits from nature tool can be used with the biodiversity metric to enable wider benefits for people and nature.

New planning requirements called Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain came into force in 2024. These new rules are applied to major development applications from February 2024 and to most other developments from April 2024.

For further information and guidance please visit the Biodiversity net gain page.

For applications considered against Craven Local Plan Policies ENV4 and ENV5 this supplementary planning document provides specific guidance.

The householder development supplementary planning document provides formal guidance on Craven local plan policy ENV3: good design and other associated policies.