Local Plan 2045 Scoping Consultation
Other elements in this consultation
10. Health and Well-being
Objective 5: To encourage and enable healthy and active lifestyles for all, improving health indicators and life expectancy.
Where are we now?
10.1The West Sussex Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) sets out the health and well-being issues within Chichester District as a whole, which include an older age profile compared with England, childhood obesity, physical inactivity, and inequalities resulting from the gap between life expectancy of the people in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived increased in recent years.
10.2The English Indices of Deprivation (IoD25) measure relative levels of deprivation at local or neighbourhood level. These neighbourhoods are then ranked according to levels of deprivation relative to that of other areas, and results can be aggregated to form an overall picture of deprivation. Chichester is less deprived overall than 60% of local authority districts in England[4]. Whilst not considered a deprived area, overall rankings do conceal that there are pockets of deprivation within Chichester when looking at lower super output areas (LSOA).
10.3The planning process can influence the provision of new and improved facilities and opportunities to encourage healthy choices and active lifestyles, when creating new places and new development. Policies in a local plan can enable and support healthy lifestyles for example, by including the provision of safe and accessible green infrastructure, sports facilities, local shops, and housing allocations which encourage walking and cycling.
10.4Due to the lead in times of applications, it is difficult to demonstrate improvements to health and well-being following the adoption of the Chichester Local Plan 2021-39. However, applications over 50 dwellings are now required to submit a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) as part of their submission, must comply with Policy P15 (Open Space, Sport and Recreation), promote improvements to active travel, in accordance with Policy P14 (Green Infrastructure) and Policy T3 (Active Travel - Walking and Cycling) and are required to meet accessible and adaptable homes standards as set out in Policy H10.
What are the challenges and opportunities?
Challenges
10.5Challenges for health and well-being include:
10.6Supporting an ageing population – 27.7%[5] of the population of Chichester are aged 65 over with this number projected to increase. An ageing population will need greater access to health services, adaptable housing and supported accommodation types.
10.7Impact of high cost of housing - 23% of children in Chichester are considered to be in relative poverty after housing costs. Before housing costs, this figure is 13.3%[6].
10.8Development costs – existing viability challenges in the plan area due to high build and mitigation costs, may make it more difficult to achieve ambitions of health and well-being policies where requirements are not explicitly set out in the NPPF.
10.9Issues outside of local plan remit – many factors relating to health and well-being cannot be addressed at a local plan level and require changes to national infrastructure and/or funding.
Opportunities
10.10Opportunities include:
10.11Improving design, accessibility and adaptability of development and providing a range of accommodation type to support an ageing population to live independently.
10.12Improvements to/provision of active travel links to support healthy lifestyles.
10.13Using development to enhance green infrastructure including tree lined streets.
10.14Reviewing how health and well-being link to other plan policies alongside the Chichester District Council Health and Wellbeing team
10.15Working with West Sussex County Council (as an authority with public health responsibilities) to develop and support delivery of health initiatives including ‘Creating healthy and sustainable places’ framework and the Health and Wellbeing Strategy: Start Well, Live Well, Age Well.
10.16Working with other organisations/authorities to support delivery or expansion of services through Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding.
10.17National policy changes in the draft NPPF mean that some elements of the current plan will be covered by national decision-making policies. These are likely to cover new community facilities and public service infrastructure, hot food takeaways and fast food outlets, retention of key community facilities and public service infrastructure, development affecting existing recreation facilities and development affecting Local Green Space. The draft NPPF policy HC1: Planning for healthy communities has a greater emphasis on community facilities and public service infrastructure, referencing early engagement with service providers and allocating land specifically for these uses where appropriate.
10.18The draft NPPF continues to allow for local standards for local green space and outdoor recreational land, including for play, sport, informal recreation and allotments.
Question 31: Do you agree with the health and well-being challenges and opportunities? Comment
Question 32: Are there any other health and well-being challenges and opportunities? Comment
Question 33: What does the draft NPPF mean for the scope of health and well-being policies in the new Chichester Local Plan? Comment
What are the key priorities?
10.19The local plan will need to consider the following priorities for health and well-being:
Support the needs of the local community
10.20Delivering accommodation types that support the needs of the local population to live independently.
Delivering affordable housing
10.21Delivering affordable housing that meets a range of needs and contributes to reducing poverty once housing costs are taken into account.
Access to green and blue infrastructure
10.22Improving/providing access to linked green and blue Infrastructure to provide space for recreation and support healthy lifestyles.
Promote and facilitate active travel links
10.23Support the delivery of safe and accessible walking, wheeling and cycling routes that connect homes with schools, employment areas, local centres, health facilities and public transport. This can encourage healthier lifestyles, reduce car dependency and improve accessibility for all.
Provision of community facilities, services and health Infrastructure
10.24Ensure communities have access to the facilities and services needed to support health, well-being and social cohesion, including healthcare, education, community spaces and local services. New development should contribute to infrastructure required to meet growing demand.
Provision of Local Green Space, Sport and Recreation Facilities, Allotments and Orchards
10.25Provide and enhance access to parks, sports facilities, play spaces, allotments and community orchards. These spaces support physical and mental well-being, encourage healthy lifestyles and provide opportunities for recreation, food growing and community engagement.
Working with West Sussex County Council to support public health initiatives
10.26Work in partnership with West Sussex County Council and other organisations to embed public health objectives within planning and development, helping to promote healthier lifestyles, improve well-being and reduce health inequalities.
Secure development funding to support health services
10.27Secure developer contributions and other funding, where appropriate, to support the provision, enhancement or expansion of healthcare facilities and services, ensuring they can accommodate growth and meet community needs.
