1.54 The strategy is to maintain a choice of development locations while creating a better balance between housing, jobs, open space and access to services generally. The strategy takes advantage of infrastructure capacity where it exists and contributes to the vitality and viability of communities.

1.55 In providing the choice of locations, the plan seeks to promote a marketable supply of employment and effective housing land, with settlements having the potential to accommodate development at an appropriate scale. Opportunities exist throughout the North East, with sites already allocated by previous plans along with some new allocations being identified for most of the main settlements.

1.56 Further land will also be required to meet longer term requirements, and this plan outlines how these needs will be met. The additional land will be identified in accord with the strategic area roles and functions set out in Table 1.

1.57 The structure plan also requires the choice of use (that is - employment, housing, open space or services) for any particular location to be made on the basis of its value to the community as a whole, while giving special attention to opportunities to regenerate less-favoured areas.

1.58 Energy efficiency and environment-friendly considerations will help to determine the sustainability of location choice, while the density of development will need to consider what is already in the surrounding area and the proximity to services and the transport corridors. Avoiding major hazards, such as oil pipelines, has always been a planning requirement, but the relatively recent growth of concern about the problems of flooding are also fully reflected in the strategy.

1.59 To create a more sustainable way of life, there will be a stronger emphasis in future on regenerating existing sites within the urban fabric, rather than bringing forward peripheral greenfield or even rural brownfield sites, which are often less accessible by public transport and less well connected with necessary services. This will be particularly important in Aberdeen where most of the appropriate brownfield opportunities exist. Preferred sites will cater for a mixture of uses, with opportunities for the creation of urban villages within the existing built-up area being encouraged.

1.60 Not all brownfield sites will be suitable for housing. In some cases the introduction of a new or mix of new uses may be more appropriate, while in others it may be better to retain the original use. This will depend on the considerations in paragraphs 1.54 to 1.58 above.

1.61 However, it is expected that a high proportion of the Aberdeen area’s future housing requirement, offering a choice of housing types, can be accommodated on such sites along with a range of new employment opportunities, particularly in the service sector. The delivery of these elements will require all parties in the development process to work in partnership in order to generate creative solutions to achieve the goals of the strategy. Sites will be required to be well connected with the public transport network and offer good access by a range of different modes of transport to services and facilities.

1.62 There will also be occasions when it is appropriate to use greenfield land, or countryside, for development. Sometimes this may be a desirable and necessary option, if town cramming is to be avoided, or if the proposal is essential to the economy of the area. Greenfield development will sometimes also help in providing choice in locations for investment.

1.63 In these situations, locations that offer good accessibility to all sectors of the community and integrate with environmental and social objectives will be chosen. For instance, the plan allows land for business and industry within Aberdeen, but recognises this cannot always be accommodated within the existing urban fabric.

1.64 This plan supports a strong Green Belt policy around the city of Aberdeen, but the Green Belt’s boundaries are to be reviewed in local plans to ensure sufficient development land is identified. The intention of the review will be:

• to maintain the identity of Aberdeen and surrounding urban areas by defining their boundaries and preventing coalescence for the period of this plan;

• to define a limit to the built area, beyond which it is more sustainable to develop the existing edge of city communities served by the transport corridors;

• to provide a long-term contribution to a system of linked strategic recreational open spaces for Aberdeen; and

• to maintain the landscape setting of the city for all time.

Into the Future

1.65 Taken together, the various elements of the strategy described above will provide firm support for the development of a sustainable community encompassing the whole North East, which would improve social inclusion, respect the environment and help connect individual communities.