GLOSSARY OF TERMS

ANCIENT SEMI NATURAL WOODLAND

All stands of ancient woodland which do not obviously originate from planting.

BIODIVERSITY

This means “the variety of life”. It is the range in variation of living species and their habitats. It encompasses the whole range of animals, plants and micro-organisms on earth, along with the ecosystems in which they live.

BROWNFIELD SITES (DERELICT LAND, RECYCLED LAND)

Previously developed land that is, or was, occupied by a permanent (non-agricultural) structure and associated fixed surface infrastructure. The definition covers the curtilage of the development. It may occur in both built up and rural settings.

BUS BOARDERS

A form of bus stop used if a bus experiences difficulty in manoeuvring to the kerb side due to parked or loading vehicles. Boarders are located between otherwise continuous parked cars and jut out. They enable buses to align with the kerb and create passenger waiting areas without conflicting with general pedestrian flows.

BUS GATES

These are located at the point(s) of access to bus-only roads or links. They could be traffic signals actuated by the buses, physical barriers surmountable only by buses, or signs such as “No Entry except Buses”.

COMMUTED PAYMENTS

Agreed monies paid by a developer to the Local Authority for the provision and/or future maintenance of specific facilities or infrastructure.

COMPARISON GOODS

High value, non food products, such as clothing, furniture, electrical goods, for which the consumer generally expects to invest time and effort into visiting a range of shops before making a choice.

CONSERVATION AREAS

An area designated by the Local Planning Authority under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as of special architectural or historic interest and the character or appearance of which is desirable to preserve or enhance.

CONSERVATION AREA PARTNERSHIP SCHEME (CAP)

Partnership agreement between the Local Authority and English Heritage to improve environments through a combination of redevelopment, restoration and enhancement.

CONSTANT NATURAL ASSET

Environmental resources (e.g. the general wildlife habitat and species level of the local plan area) that, whilst not necessarily individually unique or irreplaceable, it is necessary to maintain the total amount of, at or above a given level, usually the present level, or even an enhanced level. It is a concept that has been developed in order to help apply the principles of sustainability (see English Nature (1994) Sustainability in Practice).

CONVENIENCE GOODS

Food, newspapers, alcoholic drinks, tobacco and household items and magazines.

DECIBEL (db)

A measure of the level of sound. It is often adjusted to become db (A), which is a sound measurement that better represents people’s assessment of loudness. A change in noise of 3 db (A) is the minimum perceptible under normal conditions, and a change of 10 db (A) corresponds roughly to halving or doubling the loudness of a sound.

DECRIMINALISED PARKING REGIME

The Road Traffic Act 1991 provides for the decriminalisation of most on-street parking offences. The Local Authority may apply to the Secretary of State. Following this, responsibility for enforcement of parking becomes that of the Local Highway Authority, rather than the police.

DEVELOPMENT BRIEF OR SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING GUIDANCE

These are prepared in support of policies and proposals within the Local Plan. They inform developers and other interested parties of the constraints and opportunities presented by the site and the type of development expected or encouraged by local planning policies.

DISTRICT CENTRE

Shops, separate from the town centre, usually containing at least one food supermarket or superstore, and non-retail services such as banks, building societies and restaurants.

DURABLE GOODS

Goods that have a long useful life, such as furniture.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPENSATION/MITIGATION

Mechanisms whereby the loss of environmental resources can be mitigated. The exception would be that the compensatory measure should replace the lost environmental feature with a feature of at least equivalent value.

GREENFIELD SITES (FRESH LAND)

A site which has not previously accommodated urban development or other activities. Normally open countryside.

GROSS FLOORSPACE

Total area of a site including building structure.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES

Industries within the fields of electronic precision, engineering, pharmaceuticals, and biochemistry. The term can also refer to manufacturers who use high technology systems to produce ordinary goods.

HIGHWAY PROGRAMME

An annual programme issued by the Department for Transport listing the highway schemes which have received a funding commitment and the timetable for building the scheme.

LAeq,T

This is equivalent continuous sound level – the sound level of a notionally steady sound having the same energy as a fluctuating sound over a specified measurement period (T).

LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT (LRT)

A fixed-track public transport system which uses vehicles lighter than normal railways; in particular they can negotiate steeper gradients and smaller curve radii.

LISTED BUILDING

A national list of buildings of architectural or historic interest prepared by the Department of National Heritage. Subject to special planning control, buildings are graded in accordance with their importance (Grade l, Grade ll*, and Grade ll).

LOADING GAUGE

This is a term that is most commonly used in relation to freight movement and relates to the maximum dimensions of a rail vehicle that can be accommodated on a given stretch of railway.

LOCAL AGENDA 21 (AGENDA FOR THE 21ST CENTURY)

This is an international agreement established at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It identified the important role of local government in working with local communities to plan for substantial development, often known as Local Agenda 21.

LOCAL CENTRE

Small grouping usually comprising a newsagent, a general grocery store, a sub-post office and occasionally a pharmacy, a hairdresser and other small shops of a local nature.

HIGHWAY AUTHORITY

The Department for Transport is the Highway Authority responsible for the motorway and trunk road network; and Medway Council is responsible for all other roads.

NATIONAL NATURE RESERVES

Areas defined by English Nature and considered to be of such national importance as to require preservation. Designated under section 19 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 or section 35 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

ODPM

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The central government department responsible for, inter alia, the town and country planning system. Provides the statutory framework within which Local Planning Authorities work. Issues Directions, Circulars, guidance and has the power to intervene in the local planning process.

PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS (PD)

Small scale developments which do not require planning permission from the LPA.

PPGS (PLANNING POLICY GUIDANCE NOTES)

Guidance notes on various topics relating to land use planning policy matters, issued by ODPM. There are currently over 20 PPGs in existence.

PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE

Where there are significant risks of damage to the environment, precautionary action to limit the use of potentially dangerous materials or the spread of potentially dangerous pollutants is taken if the balance of likely costs and benefits justifies it.

PRIMARY ROAD NETWORK

Those inter-urban routes which provide access to within five miles of the larger urban centres. These roads include motorways, trunk roads and primary “A” roads.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT ACCESS POINTS (PTAPS)

Bus stops, public transport interchanges and railway stations etc.

QUALITY BUS PARTNERSHIP

Partnerships between the Local Authority and bus operators to deliver better bus services. In these partnerships the local authority provides traffic management which assists bus services, whilst bus operators offer better quality, improved marketing, better integration and more reliable services.

RAMSAR SITE

Sites designated under the RAMSAR Convention on the Conservation of Wetlands of International Importance Especially Waterfowl Habitat, ratified by the British Government in 1976. English Nature have the responsibility of identifying Ramsar sites.

REAL TIME TRAVEL INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Allows continuous monitoring of buses by satellite tracking systems, and the communication of up to date information to bus passengers on when their bus is due.

RPG (REGIONAL PLANNING GUIDANCE)

Guidance about the overall scale and broad location of development on a regional level over the longer term. There is RPG for all English regions. The current guidance for the south east of England (RPG9) is being reviewed.

RETAIL HIERARCHY

This ranks retail centres in order of importance.

RETAIL PARK

Groups of retail warehouses formed into “Centres” generally with shared car parking.

RETAIL WAREHOUSES

Large single-level stores specialising in the sale of household goods (such as carpets, furniture and electrical goods) and bulky DIY items, catering mainly for car-borne customers and often in out-of-town locations.

RURAL EXCEPTION SITES

Small sites within, or adjoining, existing villages which are released solely to provide affordable housing for local needs.

SCHEDULED ANCIENT MONUMENT (SAM)

Buildings or other structures scheduled under the Ancient Monuments Acts, as being of significant archaeological importance. Consent is required from the First Secretary of State for works affecting a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

SECONDARY ROAD NETWORK

The preferred routes linking urban centres with populations of 25,000 or more to the Motorway and Primary Route Networks and providing access to within five miles of smaller urban centres with a population over 10,000. These routes include “A” roads not considered primary routes.

SEMI-NATURAL AREAS

An area of native flora and/or fauna species that is apparently natural but has been significantly modified by human activities.

SITES OF NATURE CONSERVATION INTEREST (SNCI)

Identified by the Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) and considered to be of countywide importance.

SITES OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST (SSSI)

Nationally important areas for the conservation of wildlife habitats, geological features and landforms. SSSIs are areas of land that have been notified by English Nature as being of special interest under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 or the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.

SPECIAL AREAS OF CONSERVATION (SAC)

Areas designated under Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna. They contribute to the conservation of biodiversity.

SPECIAL PARKING STATUS

See Decriminalised Parking Regime.

SPECIAL PROTECTION AREA (SPA)

Areas designated under European Community Directive 79/409 on the Conservation of Wild Birds, to conserve the habitat of rare or vulnerable birds and all regularly occurring migratory birds.

SUPERSTORES

Single level, self-service stores selling mainly food or food and non-food goods, usually more than 2,500 square metres trading floorspace, with supporting car parking at surface level.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Commonly defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).

TOWN CENTRE

City, town and traditional suburban centres, which provide a range of facilities and services and which fulfil a function as a focus for both the community and for public transport. It excludes small parades of shops of purely local significance.

TOWN CRAMMING

The development of all open sites within a built-up area, a practice which is identified by Government and the Council as being unacceptable.

TRANSPORT SUPPLEMENTARY GRANT FUND (TSG)

A form of funding obtained from central Government for major road and traffic projects (costing more than two million pounds). It is a grant of 50% towards a scheme and therefore needs to be supplemented from local taxation and other sources.

USE CLASSES ORDER

Statutory instrument which defines broad categories of use of land and buildings.

A1 - Shops, for the sale, display or provision of goods and services (except hot food) to visiting members of the public. Includes shops, hairdressers, funeral directors, post offices, dress or DIY hire shops, ticket and travel agencies and pet shops. It does not include launderettes and dry cleaners, snack bars, restaurants and hot food takeaways or motor vehicle sales.

A2 - Financial or Professional Services (other than health or medical services)- includes betting shops, building society offices and banks.

A3 - Food or drink – includes restaurants and takeaways.

B1 - Business – includes offices, research and development premises and light industry (industry which can be carried out in a residential area without adverse environmental effects from noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, soot, ash dust or grit).

B2 - General Industry – Any industrial use not covered by B1.

B8 - Storage and Distribution-Wholesale warehouses (but not retail warehousing), distribution centres, repositories.

Employment sui-generis – Any works under the Alkali, etc. Works Regulation Act, 1906.

C1 - Hotels – Hotels, Boarding and guest houses.

C2 - Residential Institutions – Residential schools, colleges, hospitals and convalescent/nursing homes.

C3 - Dwelling Houses – Dwellings, small businesses at home, communal housing of the elderly and handicapped.

Residential ‘sui generis’ – Hotels

D1 - Non-Residential Institutions – this includes places of worship, church halls, clinics, health centres, cre_ches, day nurseries, consulting rooms, museums, public halls, libraries, art galleries, exhibition halls, non-residential education and training centres.

D2 - Assembly and Leisure – includes cinemas, music and concert halls, dance, sports halls, swimming baths, skating rinks, gymnasium and other indoor and outdoor sports and leisure uses, such as, bingo halls, casinos.

Leisure ‘sui generis’ – Theatres.

WINDFALL SITES

Potential sites for development which are unanticipated by the Local Plan process.

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Cultural and natural sites of outstanding world-wide value designated by the World Heritage Committee.