Community Plan for St. David’s to Six Cross RoadsPUBLIC CONSULTATION DOCUMENT

Prepared by:

www.thinkopenplan.comwww.ecoisle.com

1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................. 1Planning for Sustainability.......................................................................... 1Preparing the Community Plan.................................................................. 3Using the Community Plan......................................................................... 4

2. KEY ISSUES........................................................................................ 5Community needs and aspirations............................................................. 5Agricultural Land Supply and Demand....................................................... 5Population Change and Housing................................................................. 7Strategic Economic Development............................................................... 8Transport and Accessibility.......................................................................... 9Integrated Water Resource Management................................................... 16Resilience to Hazards, Risks and Climate Change....................................... 10Resource Efficiency and Conservation........................................................ 11

3. VISION............................................................................................... 12

4. OBJECTIVES....................................................................................... 12

5. SPATIAL STRATEGY............................................................................. 13Overview of the Community Plan’s approach to development.................. 13Spatial Planning Zones................................................................................ 15Core Spatial Development Policies..............................................................15

6. POLICIES AND GUIDANCE.................................................................. 17

7. NEXT STEPS: IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING AND REVIEW............ 41

8. ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED................................................. 41Sustainability Appraisal............................................................................... 43

DEFINITIONS & END NOTES................................................................... 45

CONTENTS

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1.1 This Community Plan provides a framework to guide development within the area between Saint David’s, Christ Church to Six Cross Roads, Saint Philip over a period of about ten (10) years. Social, cultural and economic needs and aspirations of local people, businesses and other organisations have been considered in preparing the Plan, as have national needs, objectives and opportunities.

1.2 The Community Plan’s overarching purpose is to produce well-planned places that can support prosperous, healthy and resilient communities. This will involve:

• reconciling different – and sometimes competing - demands for the use and development of land;

• balancing change and continuity;

• ensuring that development is matched by adequate infrastructure and service provision;

• providing for development to support people’s social, economic and physical well-being;

• protecting the natural environment and ecosystems;

• reducing vulnerability to natural and man-made hazards;

• responding to the effects that climate change is expected to bring about.

Planning for Sustainability1.3 In short, the Community Plan’s primary purpose is to provide a framework for sustainable development. Probably the most frequently quoted definition of sustainable development is this one from the 1987 Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future (also known as the Brundtland Report):

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present

1. INTRODUCTION

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

1.4 That global definition was elaborated upon in Barbados’s National Physical Development Plan, Amended 2003, in which it is stated that sustainable development “requires a comprehensive, coordinated approach to planning, developing and managing all aspects of human settlements and the environment. Its aim is to support the rights of all persons to have access to a secure and fulfilling life in harmony with the natural environment and available resources”.

1.5 The National Physical Development Plan sets out a number of key principles for pursuing sustainable development in Barbados, as outlined below1:

• emphasis on protecting the natural environment and cultural heritage resources;

• establishment of criteria and procedures for Environmental Impact Assessments;

• a national development strategy aiming to minimize the negative

1 Physical Development Plan, Amended 2003 - Extract from Section 1, pp. 1-3 & 1-4

Community PlansThe purposes of Community Plans are described in the National Physical Development Plan, Amended, 2003, as being to:

• identify opportunities for redevelopment, community improvement and resolution of land use conflicts or infrastructure deficiencies in existing communities;

• ensure that new suburban areas are developed in a rational and orderly fashion in conjunction with adequate infrastructure, community and park facilities, and commercial and social amenities.

[Physical Development Plan, Amended, 2003, section 2.1.2.2]

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environmental and social impacts of scattered urban development, by concentrating new growth into a defined urban corridor;

• protection of agricultural lands from incompatible urban development;

• promotion of a strong, diversified economy through land use policies, which encourage a wide range of employment opportunities in mixed-use

The Community Plan Area

The boundary of the Community Plan Area is shown in Plan 1.

The Plan Area lies to the immediate north, east and west of the “Urban Corridor”, as designated in the Physical Development Plan. The designated “Six Cross Roads Regional Centre” adjoins the north-east corner of the Community Plan Area, and Grantley Adams International Airport borders its south-east corner.

The area extends approximately 10 kilometres east/west and has an average north/south “depth” of about 4 kilometres, giving a total area of around 4,000 hectares (just less than 10,000 acres) of mostly gently undulating land, taking in some 24 plantations.

Much of the land is farmland: some in productive agriculture, some currently disused.

In addition to the sizeable rural settlement of Saint Patrick’s, the area includes a number of small to moderate size dispersed villages; some moderate to large modern planned residential developments; several institutional users; and industrial and light industrial land users, including numerous natural gas and oil wells. There are also small clusters of commercial activities within the study area.

It is estimated that 7,702 people live in the Community Plan area now (2015) and they occupy 3,178 housing units. This equates to about 2.7% of the national population and 3.2% of Barbados’s housing stock.

centres and corridors and in key employment areas in a variety of locations throughout the island;

• maintenance of Central Bridgetown as the nation’s primary location for financial institutions, offices, shopping and other commercial activities;

• promotion of the tourism industry by encouraging redevelopment and modernization of older beach front properties, and providing opportunities for other visitor experiences in the National Park

1.6 Where relevant to development within the area covered by this Community Plan, those national principles have been taken fully in to account in formulating its strategy, proposals and policies.

1.7 To ensure that this Community Plan contributes to sustainable (rather than unsustainable) development a method known as Integrated Sustainability Appraisal has been used at each stage of its preparation to test the extent to which the vision, objectives, strategy, policies and allocations meet sustainability objectives. The Integrated Sustainability Appraisal process and its relationship to the Community Plan’s approach are explained further in Section 8 (page 43)

1.8 The strategic policy goals of the Physical Development Plan, Amended 2003, have been reviewed for the purposes of preparing this Community Plan and they are considered to remain relevant and appropriate. The objectives for sustainability used in the preparation of this plan are consistent with those strategic policy goals, which are quoted on page 3.

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1.9 Strategic Policy Goals of the Physical Development Plan, Amended 2003

Growth Management & Agricultural Preservation• To guide and manage the growth of the nation in a manner which is

consistent with the principles of sustainable development and healthy communities.

• To protect and encourage the use of agricultural lands by maintaining and preserving the agricultural function of the rural areas.

Housing• To promote the improvement of housing conditions for the population of

Barbados.

• To provide adequate amounts of land to meet the demand for new housing and to provide opportunities to develop a broad range of housing types. prices and tenures to meet the needs of residents, thereby enhancing the opportunities for adequate housing as well as opportunities for home ownership.

Social & Community Facilities• To optimize the range and accessibility of all social and community facilities

for all residents of Barbados.

Cultural Heritage• To maintain and conserve the cultural heritage of Barbados, including both

the built heritage and areas of archaeological significance.

Environment • To conserve and manage natural resources for valued ecological functions

and to provide an improved quality of life for the residents and future generations of Barbados.

• To advance public awareness and appreciation of the essential linkages between the environment, quality of life and sustainable development.

• To limit the unnecessary and inefficient use of fossil fuels by promoting environmentally friendly forms of energy production, such as solar and wind energy, and promoting environmentally sustainable modes of

transportation.

Economic Development• To promote further diversification and expansion of the national economy,

while at the same time promoting the efficient use of land and the protection and conservation of significant natural and heritage features.

• To assist in the achievement of national economic development goals by ensuring that sufficient land is available to meet the needs of the various economic sectors. 

Preparing the Community Plan1.10 As illustrated in the process diagram (page 4), the Community Plan has been developed by:

• examining what is happening now and what has been happening in recent years (survey);

• considering the issues and challenges that matter most to local people and to Barbados and its future well-being (analysis); and

• looking at options for the future, and evaluating and comparing them to identify a sustainable way forward (plan-making).

1.11 As the diagram shows, participation of “stakeholders” is a central part of the whole process as it helps those who are responsible for preparing, considering and approving the Community Plan to understand a wide range of views and expectations, including those of:

• people living in the area now;

• people earning their living in the area;

• businesses based or operating in the area;

• people owning land and property in the area;

• people who may wish to build in the area or make other changes; and

• organisations responsible for providing the services and infrastructure that the area requires.

1.12 The planning process does not stop with the approval of the Plan - that is the point at which it really starts to shape change by guiding development

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decisions. It will be important to monitor the outcomes of those decisions closely to check how well the Plan is working and whether it is meeting the intended objectives, and to adjust and amend it where necessary. On-going stakeholder participation will also make important contributions to that process of monitoring and review.

Using the Community Plan1.13 The main law governing spatial planning in Barbados is the Town and Country Planning Act, 1968. That Act has subsequently been amended but the principles have not been changed. For simplicity, where the term “the Act” is used in this document, it means the Town and Country Planning Act 1968 with all the amendments that have been made since it first came in to force.

1.14 The Act provides the basis for two main components of the Town and Country Planning system: “Development Plans”; and, “Planning Control” (often referred to as ‘Development Control’) and it describes the ways in which plans are to be made and controls are to be exercised.

1.15 Section 5(2) of the Act states that a Development Plan should consist of a report of a survey carried out by the Chief Town Planner, “together with a plan showing the manner in which he proposes that the land in Barbados may be used (whether by the carrying out thereon of development2 or otherwise) and the stages by which any such development may be carried out”.

1.16 Section 7 of the Act allows for plans to be produced for particular parts of the island as well as for the whole of Barbados, and states that both these types of plan have the legal status and effect of being a Development Plan.

1.17 The relationship between the Development Plan and Planning Control (making decisions on applications for planning permission, enforcing against contraventions etc.) is described in Section 16(1). It states that, when dealing with any application for planning permission, the Chief Town Planner “shall have regard to the provisions of the development plan, so far as material to the application and to any other material considerations…”.

1.18 This means that the Development Plan has a very important part to play as the starting point for making decisions on applications for planning permission: it

2 “Development” is defined in the Act as: “the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under any land, the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land or the sub-division of land”. [Section 13(1)].

Figure 1: Community Planning Process Diagram

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will be used by The Chief Town Planner and others involved in operating the Planning system to guide decisions about development proposals and public interventions and investments.

1.19 The Community Plan for St. David’s to Six Cross Roads should be read and used in conjunction with other relevant development plans, including:

• The (National) Physical Development Plan, Amended (2003)3, which sets out spatial and land-use planning policies at a national level, many of which will be relevant to the consideration of development in the St. David’s to Six Cross Roads Community Plan area;

• Six Cross Roads Community Plan, contained within the Physical Development Plan, Amended (2003), which “seeks to implement a vision of an expanded mixed use centre providing a range of shops, institutional and community uses with greater coherence and cohesiveness to serve as the core area in the rapidly expanding south east of the island”.

1.20 Plan-making is an iterative process, so when the Physical Development Plan, Amended (2003) is reviewed and amended or replaced, the Community Plan for St. David’s to Six Cross Roads will be taken fully in to account in that process.

3 The 2003 National Physical Development Plan remained current at the time this Community Plan was prepared and has, therefore, set the wider, formal spatial planning context. It is recognised, however, that circumstances have changed significantly since 2003 and a revision and/or replacement of the National Physical Development Plan is now envisaged. In preparing the Community Plan for St David’s, Christ Church to Six Cross Roads, St. Philip it has also, therefore, been necessary to look ahead. Once finalised, the objectives and policies of this Community Plan

will be considered as ‘inputs’ to the National Physical Development Plan.

2. Key Issues

2.1 Key issues to which the Community Plan must respond are summarised in the paragraphs that follow. They have been identified by collating and analysing a wide range of data and other relevant information, and obtaining opinions from a range of stakeholders interested in the area’s future. That information forms an evidence base underpinning the Community Plan and it has been detailed in a “Mid-Term Report”4, which is available on request.

Community needs and aspirations2.2 A wide range of community needs must be addressed through this Plan, including housing, employment, enterprise, transport and connectivity, education, social and cultural support, and recreation. These do not stand in isolation from one another so, rather than address “community” as a discrete topic, this Community Plan treats community needs as the basis for the whole Plan and as a thread that is interwoven with every topic that is addressed.

Agricultural Land Supply and Demand2.3 Barbados currently meets less than fifty percent of its domestic consumption requirements for a wide range of vegetables and livestock products from local production.

2.4 In the vegetables group, major quantities of imports are recorded in beets, carrots, melon, pumpkin, lettuce, sweet pepper, eddoes, onions, broccoli, and peanuts. The local livestock industry accounts for an insignificant share of domestic consumption of fresh beef and lamb. Domestic output in poultry, eggs

4 The Mid-Term Report referred to here was prepared as a “deliverable” in the process of preparing the Community Plan.

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and milk are the success stories in livestock performance.

2.5 It is estimated that in order to attain self-sufficiency in vegetable production over the next five years an additional 1,105 acres of land are required5. The projection assumes that productivity and the area under production will not decline in the short-term.

2.6 The Physical Development Plan, Amended 2003, sought to ensure sufficient agricultural land was maintained in order to meet Barbados’s export market and current levels of domestic production. This translated into a need for 18,000 hectares (45,000 acres) in agricultural use, of which 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) would be under cultivation for sugar, and 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) for cotton6. In 2003 it was estimated that 53,275 acres of arable land was available, of which 10,000 acres were lying fallow. Major changes in the availability of arable land have taken place since 2003, but there has, as yet, been no recent survey to quantify the current situation accurately. There has been a steady decline in the area harvested under sugarcane since the early 1990’s7. The targets for cotton cultivation have, so far, fallen substantially short, but in 2014, ambitious plans for the cotton sub-sector were reported by the Director of the Centre for Food Security and Entrepreneurship at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus.

2.7 The repositioning of the agricultural sector is strategic to preparing Barbados8

to moderate the adverse impacts of climate change on the quality of life. Food import dependent countries such as Barbados are projected to face the challenges of spiraling import prices, and shortages caused by un-seasonal weather in the major food countries. Five strategic activities have been selected to constitute the basis of a National Food and Nutrition plan for Barbados.

• increased production and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables;

• increased production and consumption of root crops;

• development of a Barbados Black Sheep industry;

Sustainable (“Green”) Agricultural Options

The Green Economy Scoping Synthesis Report 2012 outlines ways in which “Green Agriculture” can be developed.

“It is envisioned that green agriculture would be characterised by increasing the use of farming practices and technologies that simultaneously enhance farm productivity, reduce negative externalities and rebuild ecological resources, such as soil, water, air and biodiversity. Conventional farming practices tend to have major negative impacts, including damage to the environment and in particular the soil structure; the creation of potential health hazards in food; the reduction in food quality; a high use of energy; and , intensive animal production systems, which are ethically unacceptable and generate exorbitant social costs. Organic farming is increasingly being viewed as a solution to several of the negative externalities that are directly caused by conventional farming methods.”

• production of cassava for human consumption and as inputs for animal feed to reduce imports of corn;

• increased production and consumption of fish.

2.8 In addition to the focus on meeting the domestic market demand for the above commodities, a fundamental restructuring of the sugar sub-sector to transform the industry into a sugarcane industry has commenced. The restructuring project is intended to reposition the industry to supply:

• specialty sugars for export to the European Union market;

• anhydrous ethanol to the US market;

• molasses to meet the demand of the local rum industry;

• energy to satisfy the sole factory requirements and sale of the excess to the national power grid;

5 National Agricultural Policy – “ A Vision for the Future of Agriculture in Barbados” Brathwaite Chelston W.D. and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture 2014.6 Physical Development Plan Amended (2003) pagest 1-11 to 1-127 Inter-American Development Bank “Strategic Assessment, Sugarcane Industry in Barbados” July 2nd 2010, p.208 Braithwaite Chelston W.D. et al p.95

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2.9 The quantity of land required for these activities has not yet been defined, but it it is considered prudent to take a precautionary approach that conserves land for agricultural use unless there is an overriding need to convert it to non-agricultural uses. The Community Plan area includes a substantial proportion of the country’s agricultural land resource and its conservation must be regarded as a priority.

Population Change and Housing

2.10 It is estimated that 7,702 people live in the Community Plan area now (2015) and they occupy 3,178 housing units. This equates to about 2.7% of the national population and 3.2% of Barbados’s housing stock.

2.11The population of Barbados is expected to continue growing relatively slowly over the period covered by this Community Plan. Between 2010 and 2015 it grew from 277,821 to 283,472 and it is expected to grow to 289,123 by 2020. The rate of population growth, which averaged just over 0.4% per year from 1970 to 2010, is low on a global scale.

2.12 The population living within the Community Plan area has been growing at a similar rate – from 7,549 in 2010 to 7,702 by 2015 and expected to reach

7,856 by 2020 if that rate of growth continues. 2.13By comparison, the number of households – and hence the number of housing units required – has been growing at a faster rate, both nationally and within the Community Plan area. This is because the average size of households has been reducing. In 1970 the average number of people living together as a household was just over 4, but by 2015 this has reduced to 2.84 and it is expected to continue reducing for some time to come. This has meant that whilst the national population has grown by 19.7% between 1970 and 2015, the number of housing units has grown by over 70%. By 2020, it is forecast that

the average household size nationally will be just 2.75 people.

2.14 In the Community Plan area, the average household size is currently 2.42 (lower than the national average) and, if recent trends continue, it may be as low as 2.1 by 2020. This means that even if the population of the area does not grow there will still be a requirement for more houses to meet local needs.

2.15 Demand for additional housing is likely to be driven less by indigenous population growth and more by other factors, including:

a. the average size of households continuing to reduce;

b. new households wishing to live close to their families and communities of origin;

c. people wishing to relocate to this area from other parts of the island;

d. people currently living abroad wishing to return in the future;

e. people living abroad wishing to acquire property as an additional home or mainly as an investment.

2.16 The need to promote agriculture and agricultural productivity will restrict the supply of land suitable for building new homes. It will not be possible to satisfy all aspects of demand for housing, and housing development land in this area

Year Population Change Growth rate Housing Change Annual rate of growth (%)

Persons per household

1970 236,891 - - 58,598 - - 4.041980 247,129 10,238 0.43218 67,138 8,540 1.4574 3.681990 260,491 13,362 0.54069 82,204 15,066 2.244 3.162000 268,792 8,301 0.31867 91,406 9,202 1.1194 2.942010 277,821 9,029 0.33591 94,173 2,767 0.3027 2.952015 283,472 5,651 0.406825 99,729 5,556 1.18 2.842020 289,123 11,302 0.406825 105,285 11,112 1.18 2.75

Table 1: National Population Change and Housing

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without unacceptable and unsustainable impacts on agricultural productivity and potential. The priority should, therefore, be to provide for locally-generated housing needs rather than for more speculative housing development, including housing aimed at an overseas buyers’ market.

Strategic Economic Development2.17Key economic issues and influences shaping the Community Plan’s approach to economic development include:

a. agriculture –

i. its current and future economic importance in the context of national development and well-being;

ii. expected and intended changes in practice, potential, production, processing and promotion;

iii. the role and significance of the Community Plan area in the national agricultural economy – particularly in the context of the Sugar Cane Industry Revitalisation Programme and agricultural diversification initiatives (including fuel crops);

Year (Occupied) Housing stock (projection growth rate from average of the three 10 year periods)

Growth rate

Population (projected using

national growth rate avg. over 5 10 year

periods)

Persons per household

1990 1,291 0.2517 - -2000 1,616 0.6163 - -2010 2,612 0.434 7,549 2.892015 3,178 5,651 7,702 2.422020 3745 11,302 7,856 2.10

Table 2: Housing and Demographic Change in Commnity Plan Area

b. the need to safeguard natural gas and oil reserves occurring within the area so that they can be extracted appropriately;

c. alternative, compatible forms of business development that could help to generate sustainable economic well-being and employment locally;

d. proximity of the Community Plan area to employment provided at the Six Cross Roads designated Regional Centre, the Grantley Adams International Airport, and within adjacent parts of the urban corridor;

e. ways in which the spatial relationship between homes and workplaces can influence levels of economic efficiency and productivity;

f. potential for home-based working9.

2.18 Conserving productive and potentially productive agricultural land within the area, as a significant component of the national agricultural resource, is an over-arching objective. Within that context, removal of substantial areas of land from agricultural production over recent years - whether for non-agricultural development or simply to leave it unused – is a matter of concern and the Community Plan seeks to complement other initiatives so as to reverse that trend.

2.19 The Community Plan also needs to provide for diversification and for the further development of appropriate non-agricultural employment opportunities to support sustainable living within the area. It is expected that many people who live in the Community Plan area will continue to travel to work in adjacent areas but, through improved transport provision and development of more employment opportunities locally, the impacts and prevalence of longer distance commuting can gradually be reduced.

9 Home-based working: the Physical Development Plan, Amended 2013, allows for home occupation ancillary to a residential use, subject to the following limitations: a) the business use must be ancillary (i.e. not the main use) and must take up no more than 25% of the gross floor area of the building; b) no more than 3 people may be employed on the premises; c) the business must be located wholly on the residential property; d) the business does not involve the sale of goods to the public or storage or use of hazardous materials; e) the business activities do not result in objectionable noise, vibration, fumes or odors and do not involve unenclosed storage.

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Transport and Accessibility2.20 Within the last 20 years there has been a noticeable increase in private vehicular ownership within the Community Plan area and, even more so, within the adjacent parts of Christ Church and St. Philip, which have 34 and 15 percent respectively of the island’s vehicle population. Much of this is attributable to the scale of housing development and population growth to the east of the Community Plan area rather than the more modest level of housing development within the area itself. Nevertheless, the impacts of increased numbers of vehicles on the roads are experienced within the Community Plan area as well as on the roads beyond, which residents of the area need to use. Because it has not been possible to increase road capacity and standards in line with the growth in vehicle use, results have included:

• increasing congestion, especially at junctions on the edge of the Community Plan area and in the urban areas beyond;

• deteriorating conditions for pedestrians and cyclists sharing the roads with motorists;

• relative decline in demand for public transport, making service provision difficult (although current demand within the Community Plan Area itself is 10% above the national average of just 20%).

Congestion

2.21 Looking at main routes, the 2010 Capacity Analysis study as completed by the Ministry of Transport and Works showed that a number of heavily-used routes and junctions – including Bright Hall Road, Vauxhall Road and St. Patrick’s Road - have insufficient capacity to handle the numbers of vehicles expected to be using them. On observation, the situation has not changed significantly within the last six years.Building large numbers of additional houses within the Community Plan area would be expected to add significantly to levels of congestion unless such development is accompanied by major investment in road construction and capacity improvement and/or a substantial modal shift from private motorcars to public transport, cycling and walking (with car-sharing also having potential to contribute to congestion reduction).

2.22 Even without further residential development, some road capacity

improvements will need to be made.

Road safety

2.23 Many roads in the Community Plan area presently have high levels of pedestrian-vehicular interaction, due to a lack of sidewalks and bus laybys. Inadequate drainage is also evident, where there is ponding on many of the sections of the roads, and this often results in pedestrians walking on the carriageway, where there is a lack of sidewalks, to avoid being splashed by passing vehicles. Conditions for cyclists are similarly problematic in many places.

2.24 There will be significant gains through addressing road safety issues throughout the area, even without any additional housing or other development taking place, including:• fewer serious accidents;

• better opportunities for people to include healthy exercise within daily routines;

• reduced stress;

• potentially, reduced congestion as people choose to make by foot or bicycle some of the journeys they would otherwise have made by motorcar.

2.25 The issue of school-related traffic congestion – and associated safety concerns – is one that should be considered particularly carefully in this context, with priority given to creating safe routes to school.

Public Transport2.26 Public transport demand within the study area is 30% - ie, 30% of people living in the area currently use public transport as a main mode of travel. This is higher than the national average demand of 20% but the Transport Authority’s study identifies an inadequate capacity of buses on some of the primary bus routes within the Community Plan area, particularly on the Six Roads, Bayfield and Wellhouse routes.

2.27 Public surveys have revealed other inadequacies, including the lack of adequate bus laybys, bus shelters, bus stops and on-time scheduled services. There

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would also be benefits from improved communication mechanisms, where the public could get bus schedule information in a timely manner.

2.28 A critical route which has been introduced within the last five years is the Airport route. This is proving to be a viable route.

Resilience to Hazard Risks and Climate Change2.29 The Caribbean region’s experience of repeated disaster events over the last decade has increased understanding of the direct effects of hazard risk on human sustainability (in terms of economic and social development) as well on environmental sustainability. At the same time, recognition of the risks associated with climate change is being translated into the integration of community resilience and disaster vulnerability reduction in the community plan process.

2.30 Hazard vulnerability reduction is far more effective when mainstreamed within larger development projects, programmes and policies. Within that context, development plans such as this have an important part to play. In simple terms, the aims are to:

• identify and understand potential sources of hazard and dramatic change;

• understand the potential effects of those hazards and changes;

• plan to mitigate impacts, or to adapt to them, so as to reduce the risk of hazards and changes leading to disasters.

This means giving careful consideration to ways in which the type, location, form, construction and maintenance of developments should be regulated in the public interest.

2.31 Within the Community Plan area, particular consideration must be given to:

• storms and hurricanes;

• flooding;

• drought;

• wildfire;

• seismic activity (earthquakes);

• sink holes and land instability;

• hazards associated with extraction of natural gas and oil.

Climate Change

2.32 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) Fourth Assessment Report has predicted that annual rainfall in Barbados is likely to reduce by between -10.3% and -27.3%, depending on the mathematical model used. The more recent CARIBSAVE Climate Change Risk Atlas for Barbados in 2012 forecast the following changes for higher emission scenarios:

• 32% decrease in mean annual rainfall by 2080;

• 2.4 to 3.2 degree increase in mean annual temperatures;

• 0.8% to 3.0% increase in Sea Surface Temperatures (SST); and,

• potential for an increase in the intensity of tropical storms.

These are significant changes that will impact both on hazard risk and many other aspects of life in Barbados, including key economic sectors such as agriculture and tourism.

Resource Efficiency and Conservation 2.33On a small island it is especially important that limited resources, such as land, natural gas and oil, and fresh water are all used as efficiently as possible. Inefficiency has serious environmental, economic and social consequences. By influencing the type, location, form, construction and maintenance of developments the Community Plan and other development plans have important roles to play.

Key issues include:

Energy Efficiency and Renewables

2.34 In recent years, the Government of Barbados has begun to introduce

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measures designed to increase the share of renewable energy supply and energy conservation measures. This is due primarily to concerns about the green house gas emissions and extremely high fuel import costs. The Community Plan can contribute towards greater energy efficiency and promotion of renewable energy-use through:

• location of development;

• connections between places;

• form of development;

• potential for development and use of renewable sources, including bio-fuel;

• solar and wind energy.

Integrated Water Resource Management

2.35 Fresh water use and conservation are significant issues for Barbados and, particularly for the Community Plan area. With climate change likely to lead to drier conditions overall (but with increased storm intensity too) the need to address water use in integrated ways is becoming urgent.

2.36 The water requirements of agriculture must be considered and provided for as a priority, and conflicts between that priority and the competing demands on water resources that result from residential and other non-agricultural development must be addressed in that context. 2.37 Key issues that require an integrated approach include:

• Water quality (the north-east part of the area includes designated Water Protection Areas);

• Water supply and consumption;

• Rates of storm-water run-off (which are increased by introducing large areas of hard surfaces such as buildings, roads, car parking areas etc.);

• Drainage;

• Waste treatment.

Green Design

2.37 The design, construction and use of individual buildings and whole places can influence significantly the ways in which finite resources are used. It is important, therefore, to design buildings and places so as to achieve resource efficiency and to minimise inefficient and harmful waste and pollution. This includes:

• energy-efficient siting, layout, design and construction of buildings;

• facilitating use of energy from renewable sources;

• using “green” / renewable material options when building;

• reducing waste and the use of toxic substances in building;

• enhancing water efficiency and sustainable site development (including minimizing the areas of impermeable surfaces).

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3. Vision

3.1 The Community Plan for St. David’s, Christ Church to Six Cross Roads, St. Philip is based on the following Vision that has been developed in conversation with local communities and other stakeholders.

The area between St. David’s and Six Cross Roads will support the life of thriving, cohesive and distinctive communities within an attractive, healthy and productive environment.

The landscape will continue to be characterised largely by open fields interspersed with small settlements. Those fields will make a significant contribution towards ensuring that agriculture underpins national development through the production of crops for food and other purposes, increasing the nation’s self-sufficiency and sustainability while maintaining high aesthetic value for residents and visitors tourists.

Sustainable development of land that is appropriately located and is not well-suited to agriculture will help to meet the social, cultural and economic needs of local communities and some of the country’s wider needs too. Ecological health and environmental quality will be safeguarded; risks from natural and man-made hazards will be managed; and the area’s distinctive physical and social character will be maintained.

Within that context, well-designed and integrated development of homes, services, employment and leisure facilities, will be matched with the capacities of the infrastructure necessary to serve them. Through their location, design and connections, services and facilities will be made as accessible as possible for all members of the local communities they are intended to serve. The sustainable development of this part of Barbados will serve as a model for the country and the region.

3.2 It is recognised that this is an ambitious vision and that it will not be turned in to reality without commitment and hard work by many organisations, individuals and communities acting together.

4. Objectives

4.1 The purpose of a plan is to achieve particular objectives. It is important to be clear about those objectives because they:

• explain the intended purpose of the plan’s proposals and policies;

• provide a basis for interpreting a policy if there is uncertainty;

• provide a basis for reviewing the plan and measuring its success.

4.2 The objectives of this Community Plan are listed below.

Agriculture

• to safeguard productive and potentially-productive agricultural land so that it can contribute towards meeting current and future requirements for food/crop production to increase food security, and improve food health, in light of the threats posed by climate change and the need to check the rate of growth in non-communicable diseases.

• to ensure that productive and potentially-productive land that is not currently required for agriculture is kept available for future productive use.

Community Needs

• to enable social and economic needs of local communities to be met through development of appropriate type, scale and location;

• to support the viability and vitality of local communities;

• to ensure that development is matched with adequate and appropriate infrastructure and community facilities;

• to contribute towards meeting the national community’s requirements for housing, provided the agricultural capacity and productivity of the area is not significantly reduced and the character of the area as a whole, and its individual communities, is safeguarded and/or enhanced;

• to safeguard assets of community value.

Local Character and Distinctiveness

• to maintain and enhance the area’s distinctive physical and social

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landscape;

• to ensure that new developments reflect or interpret local identity and character;

• to maintain and enhance the identity of individual communities within the area and to create distinctive, pleasing and well-functioning places;

• to conserve significant heritage assets.

Connectivity

• to ensure that access requirements of all members of local communities (younger and older: more and less wealthy; more and less physically mobile) are taken fully into account in the location and design of new developments and infrastructure;

• to maximize opportunities to walk, cycle and use public transport safely and conveniently, and to minimise reliance on cars for longer distance commuting;

• to ensure that assets of community value are accessible and well-connected;

Disaster Risk Reduction

• to recognise, manage and, as far as possible, minimise risks from natural and man-made hazards when considering land-use, the location and form of buildings and the provision and maintenance of infrastructure;

• to take due account of the expected impacts of climate change when considering land-use; the location and form of buildings and the provision and maintenance of infrastructure;

• to ensure that infrastructure and facilities necessary to deal with emergencies are provided and maintained;

Environmental Protection and Enhancement

• to safeguard the area’s ecological integrity, the health of its environment and the distinctive qualities of its landscape;

• to safeguard the quality and productive capacity of aquifers fed from land within and adjacent to the Community Plan area;

• to avoid as far as possible the emission of pollutants that damage the local and global environments.

5. Spatial Strategy

Overview of the Community Plan’s approach to development

5.1 Led by the objectives described in Chapter 4, the Community Plan seeks to pursue an integrated approach to the use and development of land through a Spatial Strategy that weaves together several sustainable development strands:

• reinvigorating and diversifying agriculture, and safeguarding sufficient land of suitable quality to support this;

• meeting local communities’ needs for decent homes, employment, education, healthcare, and other services;

• helping to meet national development needs for decent homes and economic development;

• improving accessibility while reducing the need to travel in ways that result in congestion, pollution and wasteful use of non-renewable resources;

• increasing resilience to natural and man-made hazards;

• creating places that work well for their communities and provide them with efficient, pleasant and locally distinctive environments in which to live, learn, work and play.

Agriculture5.2 This is largely an agricultural area and, consistent with national priorities, agriculture is intended to remain the predominant land-use throughout the period covered by this Community Plan. It is recognised that much agricultural land has been taken out of production in recent years, so in seeking to protect agricultural land from inappropriate and unsustainable development, the Community Plan both supports and is supported by concerted efforts to revive and diversify agriculture as a crucial component of the country’s economy and security.

Housing5.3 To meet local needs and, in that process, contribute towards meeting national

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needs, the Community Plan allows for some further housing and other necessary development and infrastructure within the area. The scale of development must be limited so as to avoid prejudicing the overall viability and productivity of agriculture. Places where necessary development can be carried out without significantly reducing agricultural capacity and potential and where this can be done safely, in harmony with existing communities and without harming the distinctive character of the area as a whole are, therefore, identified through criteria-based policies.

Services and Workplaces5.4The Community Plan seeks to balance housing provision with the development of places of employment, services and infrastructure. It aims to enable communities within the area to be more self-sufficient, so that people can become less reliant on travelling long distances to meet their day-to-day needs. This will also mean that people on low incomes and those who do not have access to private cars may be less disadvantaged and excluded by costs of travel.

Access and Transport Infrastructure 5.5 To reduce congestion, and facilitate ‘modal shift’, the following initiatives will be pursued:

i. The construction of a bus terminal within the catchment along with the implementation of a bus transfer system which would allow for the optimization and rationlisation of the bus routes.

ii. The widening of St. David’s Road with lanes of 3.5 meters each, the construction of sidewalks and appropriately placed bus laybys.

iii. The construction of a roundabout at the intersection of St. David’s and Bannantyne, with the realignment of the Bannantyne Road to improve the junction radii. This will lead to improvements in the performance of this intersection.

The proposals are illustrated in Map 1 opposite.

ABC Hw

Hw 6

Hw 5

Coverley

Woodbourne

Charnocks

South District

Edgecumbe Tenantry

Marchfield

Six Roads

Four Roads

Oldbury Terrace

Rock Hall

Balls Land

Fort George Heights

Lower Birneys

Proposed Location of St. Davids/Bannatyne Roundabout

Proposed Location of Bus Terminal Zone

Proposed Road Widening and Sidewalks

Proposed Road Widening and Realignment

Map Showing the St. David’s - Six Cross Roads Community Proposed Transport Plan

È

Consultants:

Client: TOWN & COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT

PLANNING OFFICELegendProposed Bus TerminalZone

St. Davids/BannatyneProposed Roundabout

Road Widening andRealignmentRoad and SidewalkWideningSt. Davids - Six CrossCommunity Plan Study Area

Road NetworkRoad Classes

HighwaysMain Road

Secondary roadRoundabout

Communities

10 0 10 20 30 405Kilometers

1:50,000Scale:

Map 1: Transport Map

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Resilience5.6 Measures to increase resilience to natural and man-made hazards are essential to sustainable development, and predicted changes due to climate change must be considered carefully in that context too. It is expected that Barbados will become drier overall, whilst also experiencing more frequent and more severe storms.

Development in the Community Plan must:

• facilitate adaptation of agricultural practices to suit changing climatic conditions;

• be consistent with a sustainable approach to water use and conservation;

• enable adequate storm drainage infrastructure to be provided and maintained;

• seek to minimise risk from wild fires and other potential fire and explosion sources;

• ensure that buildings are resilient to the effects of storms and earthquakes;

• enable adequate emergency facilities, including resilient and accessible community shelters, to be provided and maintained.

Placemaking5.7 Consultation with communities and individuals living within the Community Plan area in the course of preparing the plan has shown that people value characteristics that give these parts of the island their own particular identity. An important aim of the Community Plan is, therefore, to promote forms of development that reflect and respect local identity and borrow the best from our heritage whilst meeting contemporary needs and making good places for our future. The aim of the Development and Design Guidance incorporated within this Community Plan is to help developers to make places that meet those aims and are well-connected, compact and consistent with the objectives of sustainable development.

Spatial Planning Zones

5.8 Taking all of those considerations together, it is proposed that, for spatial planning and development management purposes, the Community Plan area should be treated as two broad “zones”, as outlined below:

Agricultural Priority Zone

Core Spatial Development Policy

Within the Agricultural Priority Zone:

i. land suitable for agricultural usea will be safeguarded from non-agricultural development unless, exceptionally, this is necessary in order to meet a significant local or national needb that can not be satisfied by making using of other land;

ii. the development needs of local communities may be met through infilling and limited extension of existing settlements, provided this does not conflict with the primary objective of safeguarding land suitable for agricultural use;

iii. “Green Belt Uses”c may be allowed as a “buffer” between agricultural land and adjacent settlements or other development, provided there is no conflict with other policies in this Community Plan.

iv. Interim uses of “set aside”d agricultural land may be allowed provided such uses do not prejudice the later return of the land to agricultural use, either by harming the quality of the soil or by reducing its productive potential in any other way.

Sustainable Rural Development Zone Core Spatial Development Policy

Within the Sustainable Rural Development Zone, development to meet community needse may be allowed on land that is less well-suited to agricultural productionf, provided that the site is:

i. an infill or redevelopment siteg within an area that has already been largely developed, or would form an integrated and sustainable extension of such an area;

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or, exceptionally,

ii. is another site that is appropriately located, taking due account of the objectives and policy requirements of this Community Plan;

and, in all cases, provided that:

a. sustainability, design quality and amenity criteria are met;

b. there is no significant conflict with other policies in this Community Plan;

c. the predominantly rural character of the area as a whole is maintained, with further development focusing primarily on the St. Patrick’s / Woodbourne area defined in the Physical Development Plan, Amended (2003) as a “Rural Settlement with Growth Potential”.

5.9

The Policy Map - Map 2 shown opposite (and separate sheet) - shows:

• the Spatial Planning Zones;

• protected areas; and,

• other relevant proposals.

5.10 The Core Spatial Development Policies, Development Management Policies and Design Guidance should all be read in conjunction with the Proposals Map, and vice versa.

ABC Hw

Hw 6

Hw 5

Proposed Secondary School

Agricultural PriorityZone

Sustainable Urban Development Zone

Newtown Slave Cemetery

Coverley

Woodbourne

Highland Village

St. Patricks

Charnocks

South District

Edgecumbe Tenantry

Marchfield

Six Roads

Four Roads

Oldbury Terrace

Rock Hall

Balls Land

Fort George Heights

Lower Birneys

GasOil & Gas Wells

Drilled and Abandoned

Map Showing the St. David’s - Six Cross Roads Community Plan Policy Map

È

Consultants:

Client: TOWN & COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT

PLANNING OFFICE

LegendProposed Bus Terminal Zone

Road NetworkRoad Classes

HighwaysMain RoadSecondary roadRoundabout

Ground Water ZonesGWZONES

Zone 1Zone 2

WellsType

Drilled and AbandonedGasOil & GasParcels

Proposed Spatial StrategyProposed Zones

Agricultural Priority ZoneSustainable Urban Development ZoneSt. Davids - Six Cross Community Plan Study AreaParcels

10 0 10 20 30 405Kilometers

1:50,000Scale:

Proposed Location of Bus Terminal Zone

Map 2: Policy Map

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6. Policies and Guidance

Development Management PoliciesThe policies set out in this section of the Community Plan will guide decisions on applications made for planning permission, including sub-division applications.

Agriculture

Objectives • to safeguard productive and potentially-productive agricultural land so that it can contribute towards meeting current and future requirements for food/crop production;

• to ensure that productive and potentially-productive land that is not currently required for agriculture is kept available for future productive use.

Policies Policy Ag1: Non-agricultural development of productive or potentially productive agricultural land will only be permitted where allowed for specifically in other Policies in this Community Plan.Policy Ag2: Interim uses may be allowed on “set aside” land (land that is potentially productive but for which there is no current viable agricultural requirement) provided such development: i. does not prejudice the subsequent use of the land for

productive agriculture; and,ii. is consistent with other policies relating to the development

of land within the Community Plan Area and in the National Physical Development Plan.

Policy Ag3: Development that is necessary for agricultural purposes will be permitted on land that is productive or potentially productive agriculturally, provided that; • it is appropriately located and designed, and of appropriate

scale; and • will not significantly harm the amenities that occupiers of

nearby properties may reasonably expect to enjoy.

Agricultural land “set-aside”

A review of national agricultural policy is underway, considering both the future of the sugar industry and wider issues such as the desirability of reducing reliance on imported food; environmental and health benefits of growing more food more locally; and potential for producing fuel crops to reduce reliance on non-renewable energy sources. Changes and interventions to stimulate new and revived markets are being explored. Some changes are already happening, others will take longer. In the meantime, it is important that productive land is not lost to non-agricultural uses without due consideration of the longer-term implications.

The Community Plan area contains a large area of agricultural land that is (either currently or potentially) of significance in terms of national strategy. Whilst, it is recognised that at present agricultural production may not be fully economically viable on some of that land, the Plan has to take a longer-term view. This means that it may be prudent for agricultural land to be “set aside” as an interim measure, rather than it being developed for other purposes and, therefore, taken out of agricultural use permanently.

Financial / economic impacts on landowners and famers are being given careful consideration and possible interventions are to be explored. Options need to be considered in the context of fiscal challenges currently confronting the Barbados economy. Potential solutions to consider might include legal and financial agreements between landowners and government to enable responsibility for management of “set-aside” land to be entrusted to a suitable intervention body.

Views on this matter are, therefore, invited at this stage as a contribution to on-going discussion.

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Local Character and Distinctiveness

Objectives • to maintain and enhance the area’s distinctive physical and social landscape;

• to ensure that new developments reflect or interpret local identity and character;

• to maintain and enhance the identity of individual communities within the area and to create distinctive, pleasing and well-functioning places;

• to conserve significant heritage assets.

Policies Policy LC1: New development must be consistent with Design Guidance for Development within the St David’s to Six Cross Roads Area.

Policy LC2: Applications for permission to carry out major developments must be accompanied by a Design Statement explaining the factors that have influenced the design of the development and the ways in which these have been taken in to account.

Design StatementsDesign Statements should explain the considerations that have been taken in to account when designing a proposed development. They should help the Chief Town Planner and other people and organisations involved in the consideration of applications for planning permission (including neighbours and local communities) to understand why the proposed development has been designed in the way it has.

Preparing the Design Statement is best treated as an integral part of the design process and as a means of ensuring that all factors that should influence the design of the proposed development have been identified and responded to in appropriate ways.

A Design Statement should:

i. explain the intended purpose of the proposed development;

ii. describe the site and its surroundings, identifying features and relationships that have been taken in to account in the design process and have influenced the proposal (eg, site topography and landscape character; neighbouring buildings and uses; any natural or man-made hazard sources that may affect the development; local building characteristics such as design, materials, ornamentation; trees and landscape features, heritage features);

iii. explain how the proposed design (including layout, where relevant) responds to any significant features and relationships that have been identified (eg, how the design and use of the development will relate to adjacent buildings; how any issues relating to privacy and potential disturbance of neighbours are to be addressed; how any significant trees or other natural features are to be protected; how hazard risks are to be managed; how the proposed design and building materials relate to characteristics of the locality);

iv. explain the proposed access arrangements and, where relevant, how safe and convenient connections with existing places and facilities are to be achieved;

v. explain the proposed drainage arrangements;

vi. explain arrangements for disposal / treatment of waste and refuse;

vii. include whatever plans, drawings and other illustrations are necessary to explain the matters considered and and design responses proposed (this may be by reference to the plans and drawings in the application if these include the relevant information).

If the Chief Town Planner considers that any significant matters have not been addressed adequately, this will be explained to the applicant and opportunity will be given to provide additional to address any concerns identified. The Design Statement (including any amendments and supplements) will be taken in to account when deciding the planning application.

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Community Needs

Objectives • to enable social and economic needs of local communities to be met through development of appropriate type, scale and location;

• to support the viability and vitality of local communities;

• to ensure that development is matched with adequate and appropriate infrastructure and community facilities;

• to contribute towards meeting the wider community’s requirements for housing, provided the agricultural capacity and productivity of the area is not significantly reduced and the character of the area as a whole, and its individual communities, is safeguarded and/or enhanced;

• to safeguard assets of community value.

Policies Policy CN1: Within the Agricultural Priority Zone, small-scale development that is necessary to support the social and economic well-being of local communities (including, for example, housing, employment and local services) will be permitted on infill sites and vacant lots within existing settlements and on brown-field sites adjacent to existing settlements, provided that:

a. the character and environmental quality of the settlement is not harmed;

b. the amenities that occupiers of nearby properties may reasonably expect to enjoy are not significantly reduced.

Exceptionally, such development may be allowed on other land adjoining an existing settlement if it can be demonstrated that:

i. there is an essential local social / community need for the development; and,

ii. there is no suitable site available within the settlement, or the development of any other site would be inconsistent with provisos ‘a’ or ‘b’ above; and,

iii. development of the site proposed would not result in a significant loss of agricultural land.

Policy CN2: To support and enhance community vitality and self-sufficiency and to minimise the need to travel longer distances:

a. permission will be granted for development that contributes towards the achievement or maintenance of a mixture of mutually supporting and mutually compatible land-uses and activities within settlements;

b. permission will not be granted for development that would (either itself or cumulatively) reduce the range of uses, facilities and services within a settlement to the extent that the vitality and self-sufficiency of its community would be harmed and/or people living in that community would need to make significantly longer journeys to meet their regular needs.

Continued overleaf

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Community Needs continued...

Policies Policy CN3: Larger-scale developments of housing will only be permitted on appropriate development sites within the Sustainable Rural Development Zone and in no other part of the Community Plan area. Such developments will be expected to provide ready, local access to a range of other uses, facilities and services sufficient to support the vitality of the future community and provide people living there with the opportunity to meet many of their regular needs locally, without needing to travel longer distances, either:

a. by including such other uses and provision within the development itself; or,

b. by integrating effectively with existing settlements where those uses and provision are already available.

Policy CN4: Uses, buildings and other developments that would be likely to cause significant harm to the amenities that neighbours may reasonably expect to enjoy will not be permitted unless adequate measures are taken to mitigate such harm.

Policy CN5: Permission will not be granted for development that would result in the loss of assets identified as being of community value.

Connectivity

Objectives • to ensure that access requirements of all members of local communities, younger and older, with full or restricted mobility, are taken fully into account in the location and design of new developments and infrastructure;

• to maximize opportunities to walk and use public transport and to minimise reliance on cars for longer distance commuting;

• to ensure that assets of community value are accessible and well-connected.

Policies Policy Co1: Large-scale new developments should be designed and constructed so as to provide safe, convenient access throughout for pedestrians and cyclists - including people with restricted mobility and/or vision. Policy Co2: Large-scale new developments should be located only in places that can readily be served by public transport and they should be designed so that people living, working or learning in the places created – or visiting them for any other purpose – have convenient access to the public transport services that are available.Policy Co3: Residential and mixed-use areas should be designed so as to encourage and provide for safe driving of motor vehicles whilst prioritising access for pedestrians and cyclists.

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Disaster Risk Reduction

Objectives • to manage and minimise risks from natural and man-made hazards

Policies Policy RR1: A Hazard Risk Assessment will be required for substantial developments (ie. a development comprising 50 or more units of housing, or any other building which people will work in, learn in or occupy regularly for any other purposes) requiring planning permission. Planning permission will not be granted for:

• development that can be expected to increase the community’s vulnerability to natural and man-made hazards (unless adequate mitigation measures are included);

• development that does not incorporate adequate and reasonable measures to protect the occupiers / users of the development itself from harm from foreseeable hazards;

• development proposed in a higher risk area that could reasonably be located in a lower risk area, taking due account of the vulnerability of the development proposed.

The Hazard Risk Assessment may be incorporated in a Design Statement, where such a statement is required, or may be submitted as a separate document.

Evnironmental Protection and Enhancement

Objectives • to safeguard the area’s ecological integrity, the health of its environment and the distinctive qualities of its landscape;

• to safeguard the quality and productive capacity of aquifers fed from land within and adjacent to the Community Plan area;

Policies Policy EP1: Potential impacts on the environment, ecosystems and biodiversity must be identified whenever development is proposed and developers will be expected to ensure that adequate measures are taken to minimise and mitigate any harmful impacts that may be identified, including impacts caused by emissions of carbon, air-borne and water-borne pollutants, noise and odours.Policy EP2: Developments should be located, designed and constructed so as to minimise all harmful emissions and to realise as fully as reasonably possible the potential to use energy and materials from renewable sources. Policy EP3: Developments must be compliant with the Physical Development Plan’s policies relating to Ground Water Protection Areas and any other areas which have been or are about to be developed for water resources, and with the provisions of the Marine Pollution Control Act.

Note: Map 3 (overleaf) indicates the broad location of Protection Areas

22Map 3 - Resources and Protection Areas

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Development & Design GuidanceThe Community Plan aims to ensure that places created or changed during the plan period are well designed. Put simply, this means places that:

• work well;

• feel right;

• are attractive;

• are resilient; and,

• provide people with security and a good quality of life.

Development & Design Guidance

IntroductionThe development and design guidance in this section of the Community Plan should be considered in conjunction with the Plan’s Vision, Objectives and Policies. Together, they describe the ways in which development and change should be managed.

The Guidance that follows sets out and describes key QUALITIES that developments in this area of Barbados will be expected to embody. It is expected that new developments will be:

• Barbadian

• Connected

• Distinctive

• Green

• Productive

• Secure and Resilient.

Information and expectations relating to each of those qualities are set out in the right-hand column. In the left-hand column are key questions that should be considered by those proposing developments and those responsible for assessing them.

The planning and design process is best approached in a spirit of creative collaboration and designers are recommended and invited to discuss emerging proposals with staff in the Town and Country Development Plan Office at an early stage.

Continued Overleaf

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Development & Design Guidance cont...

BarbadianThe AIM is:

• for Barbadian cultural identity and heritage to be reflected in the forms and styles of new buildings and groups of buildings, the spatial relationships between them and the relationships between buildings, settlements and the landscape.

Key considerations relate to:

• Landscape

• Roads and Streets

• Buildings

• Spaces

There are particularly strong relationships between this quality and two other qualities: “DISTINCTIVE” and “PRODUCTIVE”.

What is meant by “BARBADIAN”?It is always difficult to express in a few words the characteristics of a nation’s culture, because it is both multi-faceted and continuously evolving. Culture is a complex product of the place – its climate, its topography, landscape and ecology - and its people - their history, their beliefs and values, their economic, social and political structures. In planning the ways in which land should be used and buildings should be built, reference needs to be made to physical expressions of Barbadian culture, how these have evolved, the form they now take and the ways in which they relate to future requirements and aspirations.

Much has been written about Barbadian architecture and buildings. In the introduction to one of the better-known books on the subject, “Historic Houses of Barbados”10, the authors, Henry Fraser and Ronnie Hughes, explain that:“...since settlement in 1627 Barbados developed a unique range of domestic styles – sufficiently inter-related that it might be described as having its own Barbadian (or Bajan) architectural ordinance…Thus Barbadian vernacular architecture can be closely linked with its history and its national character”. The authors describe key components and influences, including: Georgian buildings, “replacing earlier medieval house forms”, imported and adapted by the British colonists; post-emancipation chattel houses; Victorian buildings, and, 20th Century “modernist” buildings. Since the 1960s and 1970s, what might be referred to as “international” styles have become more dominant and, with relatively large numbers of houses being built, there has been what some see as a dilution of Barbadian architectural and building traditions. This may be considered to have led to a degree of “placelessness” - a concern that is by no means peculiar to Barbados.

The challenge now may be to derive new architectural form and styles – and new approaches to urban design and place-making – that draw inspiration from the nation’s rich built heritage, and express this in buildings suited to modern requirements and expectations that are – again - distinctively Barbadian.

Continued Overleaf

10Historic Houses of Barbados, Henry Fraser and Ronnie Hughes, published in 1982 by Barbados National Trust, republished in 2008 by Wordsworth International. ISBN 13: 978-976-95153-3-8.

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Barbadian cont...Landscape Questions to consider

• Is the site in a prominent location – visible from significant view points?

• If so, what measures can be taken to minimise and soften the visual impact of development?

• Is the development likely to alter the landscape or have a major impact on it?

- If so, has a Landscape Impact Assessment been undertaken?

• What measures are proposed to reduce the landscape impact and enable the development to harmonise within the landscape?

Continued Overleaf

In this part of Barbados, the landscape is characterised strongly by cane fields on raised-but-flat or gently undulating land, interspersed with small settlements and occasional industrial and agricultural structures.

There is relatively little tree cover, although where this occurs it adds interest, shelter and value. There are no significant rivers, streams other water features. The openness of this landscape, the long views it affords – especially from the ridge that runs east/west across the area - and the cooling breezes that blow through, have all been identified as characteristics valued by people living here11.

It will normally be possible to assimilate smaller developments within the landscape without significant impact, provided they relate closely to existing settlements and building groups.

Larger developments may require more sophisticated and extensive building and landscape design measures to enable them to sit comfortably both within this characteristically open landscape and with existing settlements.In all cases, careful consideration should be given to the visual impact of the proposed development, taking due account of all relevant factors, including: • the siting of buildings within their lots; • their height and massing;• their visibility from significant viewpoints;• their appearance within the landscape and the impact they will have on it;

11 Placechecks and Community Meeting

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Landscape cont...

Roads and Streets Questions to considerSettlements in this mostly rural area, have generally had an “organic” form, contrasting strongly, for example, with the more obviously urban form of much of Bridgetown, where many streets are laid out in a regimented, grid-iron pattern. Here, though, “streets” have generally had an informal character – often unpaved, with no differentiation between “carriageway” and “footway”, and of varying widths, mostly without kerbed edges.

In the cores of the longer-established settlements, which have generally developed incrementally over many years, streets have been surfaced; in some places (though by no means all) footways and street-lights have been added. However, even here the overall character remains quite organic.

In some recent developments a more formal and uniform approach has been taken to street layout, design and construction, with much more regular layouts, metaled surfaces, strict kerbs and, sometimes, separately defined footways or sidewalks.

Traffic levels are relatively low, compared with Bridgetown and its immediate suburbs, so conflicts between the needs and expectations of vehicle drivers and pedestrians are less marked, but there is a need for this issue to be addressed positively, both as further development occurs and where the current situation is unsatisfactory. The needs – and safety – of all road and street users should be considered in an integrated way. This does not necessarily mean that segregation of different users (vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists) is always the best solution.

• Has the character of roads and streets in the vicinity of the site been assessed?

• Is there scope for that character to be continued or reflected in the new development?

• Is it possible to improve existing roads and streets in conjunction with the proposed new development?

• Is the proposed road and street pattern too rigid? Can a more “organic” pattern be achieved?

• How well will the proposed road and street pattern sit alongside that of the existing village or town?

• the use of trees and other planting to soften impacts and, where necessary, provide screening;

• treating landscape – and landscaping – as integral design considerations, not after-thoughts.

Normally, the aim should be to achieve harmony within the overall landscape unless, in exceptional circumstances, there is a strong case for making a development of particularly high design quality and special significance prominent.

Where a proposed new development is in a sensitive position in relation to open spaces or viewpoints valued by the local community, or is likely to be highly visible in the wider landscape, an assessment of its visual and landscape impact should be undertaken and the proposals should be adjusted, as necessary, to avoid or mitigate any harmful impacts that may be identified.

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Roads and Streets cont...In the largest recent development – The Villages at Coverley – the approach taken has been to provide paved, shared-user streets (ie, without separately defined carriageway and footways/ sidewalks), with “traffic calming” features built in. The approach used at The Villages is quite formal, with a very regular layout and standardised road dimensions, geometry and surfacing, contrasting strongly with the situation found in the area’s longer established settlements. Generally, however, to create a more recognisably Barbadian environment, a less formal approach should be applied when designing and constructing streets in larger new development areas. Where possible, it is often better for the street to be defined visually by the siting of buildings and means of enclosure (such as fences, walls) more than by the alignment of kerbs.

Buildings Questions to consider• Could the proposed building(s) be

found almost anywhere, or is it clearly Barbadian?

• Is there scope to include features that would give the building(s) a more Barbadian feel and appearance?

• How are the particular climatic and cultural influences on Barbados reflected in the design and construction of the building(s)?

Continued Overleaf

Barbados has a rich and varied heritage of architecture, building technology and settlement forms, Cultural influences on the shape and appearance of the built environment have included African, European classical and colonial, North American and International Modernist. The range of house types and styles is wide, with traditional and simple chattel houses at one end of the spectrum and grand colonial plantation houses at the other. Civic, religious, institutional and commercial buildings also display a wide range of stylistic influences. Since the mid 20th Century, a less culture-specific modernism has been a major influence on the design and construction of buildings – in Barbados and across most of the Caribbean region.

Whatever the underlying influence, the more successful buildings have adapted what might be thought of as imported forms and styles to suit local climatic, environmental and socio-cultural conditions and expectations.

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Buildings cont...There is no reason to expect new buildings simply to replicate older ones, but there is a risk that Barbadian identity may be lost from much of the country’s built environment - its towns and villages – if no consideration is given to the nation’s architectural and built heritage when designing additions and replacements. The advice given in 1982 by former Barbados National Trust President, Paul Foster, remains valid: “preserving what is good in our past for the benefit of the present will provide a guide into the future”12.

Incremental development, mostly using natural materials – timber and local stone - has been the norm for much of Barbados’s history. Achieving a recognisably Barbadian character in the architecture and form of larger developments and buildings constructed in less-traditional materials, presents a particular challenge (as is evident in many modern buildings and developments).

Spaces Questions to consider• Will the proposed development

include sufficient open space to maintain the overall character of the area?

• Is there sufficient communal and private space in appropriate locations to satisfy people’s expectations regarding recreation, gardening and amenity?

12 Quoted from Paul Foster’s Foreword to “Historic Houses of Barbados”, Henry Fraser and Ronnie Hughes, published by Wordsmith International for Barbados National Trust, 1982

Even though a substantial amount of development (mostly residential) has taken place during the past 10 years or so, this is still a predominantly rural area with a spacious feel to it. Villages are generally set within an open landscape of fields and most have a relatively spacious character internally too. Many houses have “kitchen gardens” – some small, some larger - and undeveloped land often intersperses the buildings. The Community Plan envisages conservation of that same character overall.

To make efficient use of Barbados’s finite supply of land, and to make efficient use of other resources too, it may sometimes be necessary to build at higher densities, overall, than are often found at present in this area. When this happens, it will be important to achieve and maintain an appropriate balance between built areas and open space for several reasons:• relative spaciousness is an essential component of the distinctive character of this area of Barbados;• local communities value the appearance, presence and use of a variety of local open spaces;• some spaces provide social and recreational meeting places;• some spaces are of ecological value;• some spaces are productive – providing opportunities

to use and enjoy locally grown food.

Design issues relating to “density” are considered further under the heading “GREEN”.

When larger scale developments are being planned and designed, provision should be made for a variety of open spaces to be retained or created. These should include spaces for communal recreation and children’s play; spaces for private and communal gardening and food production; spaces that allow the breeze to blow through and ventilate buildings naturally.

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Development & Design Guidance cont...

ConnectedThe AIM is:

• for places and buildings to be connected in ways that enable people of all ages and abilities to move conveniently and safely between their homes and the local facilities and places they use or visit regularly, whilst maintaining their own health and the health of their community and their shared environment.

Key considerations relate to:

• Community

• Roads and Streets

• There are particularly strong relationships between this quality and two others: “GREEN” and “PRODUCTIVE”.

Community Questions to Consider• Will the proposed development

be connected well with its “host” community ?

• Are adequate links to be provided for people to connect easily with friends and families, schools, churches, businesses and employments, shops and services, leisure and cultural facilities etc?

• Have the access needs of people with impaired mobility, vision, hearing or understanding been considered fully?

This Plan is for a community of communities.

Across the area there are many settlements of varying sizes all housing distinct communities with their own characteristics, requirements and aspirations. Connections within and between communities enable people to share facilities and services effectively and efficiently and to meet socially and for business and other purposes. It is important that connections are maintained and, where appropriate, enhanced as changes and developments take place so as to support and enhance the social, economic and physical well-being of each community.

Telecommunications and internet connectivity is increasingly important too and this also needs to be considered, both in the design and development of new areas and in the “retro-fitting” of existing settlements and buildings. The importance of this in relation to business, education and social contact and communication should not be underestimated and provision should be made accordingly.

Accessibility for AllWhen designing and constructing new developments – whether individual buildings or new sub-divisions - the aim should normally be to enable accessibility by everyone, including people with impaired mobility and vision.

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Roads and Streets Questions to Consider• Are the proposed streets “people-friendly”?

• Is the proposed development designed to encourage and support walking and cycling?

• What measures are being taken to support and facilitate the use of public transport?

• How will the layout and design promote safe, pedestrian-friendly driving?

• Is adequate provision being made for service and emergency vehicles?

• How is car parking to be dealt with?

• Will any rights of way or informal paths be affected by the proposed development? If so, how are they to be accommodated?

Continued Overleaf

The purpose of roads and streets is to connect. They connect places with places, people with places and people with people. They have important economic and social functions and they need to accommodate a wide range of users and uses. There are also significant health considerations. All those factors need to be considered in an integrated way when roads, streets and paths are being designed, constructed, used and managed. A structured approach is outlined below, following a brief explanation of issues relating to each of the main transport modes.

WalkingMost people are pedestrians most of the time. They may drive cars or use public transport or cycle but they will also spend a lot of their time walking. Encouraging and enabling people to make more of their shorter, regular, local journeys on foot will help to reduce traffic and congestion (and associated problems of pollution and resource depletion) and promote good health. It is also likely to increase social contact and community cohesion. Consideration should therefore be given to measures to make walking an attractive and safe alternative for more people, more often when making local journeys. This means looking at interaction between drivers and pedestrians (segregating or sharing surfaces? limiting vehicle speeds? increasing priority for pedestrians at crossings and junctions?); thinking about pedestrian comfort (how to shade from the heat of the sun and provide shelter from rain?); considering convenience (how to make sure paths and roads used by pedestrians connect easily with the places people want to get to?): thinking about security (how to avoid situations where pedestrians feel vulnerable to crime and anti-social behaviour?); and considering the user-friendliness of paths, sidewalks or shared surfaces pedestrians use (are the surfaces firm and even? are they well drained? are they properly maintained? where appropriate, are they lit at night?).

CyclingHistorically, cycling has been a significant means of transport in Barbados and for some people, especially children and teenagers, it still is (and not only for play and leisure). However, across Barbados

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Roads and Streets cont...– as elsewhere - the increase in motorised vehicles has been accompanied by a decline in the use of bicycles, probably because of competition for the use of the same street space and the risk and fear of accidents. Across the world, there is growing recognition of the potential contribution that promoting greater use of bicycles can make towards reducing traffic congestion, carbon-emissions and other environmental pollution and simultaneously promoting improved health – much the same as the benefits of increased walking. Topography, climate and settlement patterns make cycling a realistic option for many of the shorter journeys that many people regularly make in Barbados and consideration should be given to measures to encourage a return to the use of bicycles as a means of movement within the community. To encourage the use of bicycles and consistent with the thrust to “green” communities, consideration should be given to including bike lanes where having to share a road with motor vehicles is likely to deter people from choosing to cycle.

Public TransportFor longer journeys and for local journeys for which walking or cycling is not feasible or attractive for some people, public transport can provide an environment-friendly alternative – provided that it is reliable, regular and affordable.Public transport works best (in terms of economic viability) when it focuses on centres that large numbers of people wish to get to. It works less well (again, in terms of economic viability) where the origins and destinations of people’s journeys are more dispersed – as in a largely rural area like this. So, for example, although bus services to and from Bridgetown may be viable without intervention, operating bus services specifically to connect settlements within the area itself may be more problematic. Whilst those are mostly matters for transport and finance policies to address, developers of larger scale developments may have a role to play in subsidizing bus services in the first instance to ensure that people have the option of choosing public transport from the outset. As more people move in, the viability of the services may improve to the point where subsidy becomes unnecessary. In design terms, the main considerations should be:• ensuring good pedestrian connections to bus routes where available;• providing for bus access in the layouts of larger new developments;• providing bus stops in appropriate and convenient locations - where possible, allowing

buses to pull in for other traffic to pass;• providing shade and shelter at bus stops (whilst also ensuring good visibility);• providing level access where possible, to facilitate use of buses by parents with children and people with impaired mobility or vision. Cars and commercial vehiclesFor those who can afford them and are able to use them, private cars provide considerable flexibility and convenience when travelling between places. It is important that the reasonable requirements of people driving / using cars and commercial vehicles are taken in to account when new developments are being planned, designed and constructed. These include accessibility, safety and parking requirements. However, those considerations should be balanced against the reasonable requirements and expectations of other road users; the need to create safe, pleasant’ healthy and inclusive places; the need to make prudent use of

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Roads and Streets cont...finite resources (including carbon-based fuels) and the need to protect the environment from harmful emissions.

Whilst the benefits of car availability must be recognised, so must the wider, external costs associated with high volumes of car use and dependency. For example:• congestion on heavily trafficked routes, resulting in high time and fuel costs, high levels of

local pollution, and high levels of environment-damaging carbon emissions;• severance of communities when traffic volumes and/or speeds make it difficult or hazardous

for pedestrians and cyclists to move around freely.• disadvantage and isolation experienced by people who do not have ready access to private

cars – those who are too young to drive, too old to drive, have physical or mental health challenges, or insufficient financial means.

To address the issues and requirements outlined above in the planning and design and on-going development of the Community Plan area, access requirements should be considered in accordance with the following order of priority:• pedestrians and cyclists;• public transport operators and users;• users of cars and commercial vehicles.

Accessibility needs of people with impaired mobility, vision or hearing should always be considered.

Within that context, for the purposes of this development and design guidance, roads and streets in and adjacent to the Community Plan area are being categorized within a hierarchy consisting of:• Primary Highway (Tom Adams Highway)• Main Highways (Highway 5 and Highway 6)• Main Connecting Roads (Highway Q, Highway R);• Local Streets;• Public Rights of Way;• Informal paths.

All roads and streets should be designed, constructed and maintained with awareness that they are more than just channels for traffic: • they are features in the landscape;

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Roads and Streets cont...

DistinctiveThe AIM is: for positive physical and socio-cultural characteristics that distinguish one community from another, one place from another, to be retained and strengthened .

Key considerations relate to:• Community• Landscape• Roads and Streets• BuildingsThere are particularly strong relationships between this quality and “BARBADIAN”.

Community Questions to ConsiderDistinctiveness can play an important role in supporting or fostering community cohesion. To many people a sense of local identity – things that mark one place out from another – is important. This applies to their own homes and it also applies to the communities and places they live in.

What distinctive architectural or building characteristics are to be found in this area?

• they affect our understanding and enjoyment of the places they run through; • they are places where people stop and chat; • they are places where children play.

In short, they perform crucial roles in the lives of communities, as well as being traffic routes. Safety and convenience – for all users – are important considerations in relation to all roads, streets and paths, but the ways in which those requirements are achieved should vary according to the type of route, the functions it performs and the users it serves. In that context, the following broad principles should be applied where new development is to be carried out and whenever other opportunities arise:

• Primary Highways: prioritized towards convenience of vehicle users, with junctions kept to a minimum and safety of other users provided for mostly by segregation.

• Main Highways: generally prioritised towards vehicle users but constrained and regulated to allow safe use by cyclists and pedestrians, especially where segregation cannot satisfactorily be achieved, and with traffic “calmed” by design and regulation where the roads pass through settlements.

• Main Connecting Roads: designed constructed and maintained so as to allow safe use by vehicle users, cyclists and pedestrians with traffic “calmed” by design, especially where segregation cannot satisfactorily be achieved.

• Local Streets: shared by vehicles but designed to give priority to pedestrians and cyclists.• Public Rights of Way: for pedestrians and cyclists only.• Informal Paths: should normally be retained for use by pedestrians (and cyclists where appropriate) where they run through areas of new development.

Where this is not feasible, safe and convenient alternatives should be created in their place.

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Community cont... Questions to ConsiderPeople often worry that the features and characteristics that give their village or town its special identity will be lost as change and development occurs. They worry that places that were distinct start to coalesce and that, somehow, both their own uniqueness and that of their community may also be lost in the process.It is important, therefore, for the features that give a place a particular identity are identified (preferably in discussion with the local community) and that new developments carry that distinctiveness forwards – or strengthen it – rather than erode it.

• What measures are being taken, to reflect local character and identity in the proposed new development?

• Are significant buildings or landscape features being retained and incorporated?

Landscape

Roads and StreetsThe way a place has been developed or has evolved is often intimately connected with the form of its roads, streets and paths. The framework they provide often makes a major contribution to a place’s distinctive identity. This should be considered carefully when new developments are being planned and designed – particularly when they will form significant additions to an established village or town.

The ways in which buildings relate to the roads and streets they are served and connected by can also be distinctive. In some places buildings may be set back a regular distance from the road; in others the pattern may be irregular and informal. There may be a particular type of boundary treatment (walls, fences, vegetation) that is common to a particular place. Features such as this should be identified and responded to in ways that preserve and enhance local identity as new developments take place.

The landscape in which a settlement sits can be fundamental to its identity and distinctiveness – as can views into the landscape beyond the village or town.Such features should be identified and responded to appropriately in the design and construction of new developments. Normally, developments should be designed so as to sit comfortably within the landscape – or enhance its quality – and should not detract from it.

Views that are of significance to the local (or wider) community should be safeguarded and opportunities to benefit from views out, should be identified and taken advantage of when new developments are being planned and designed.

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BuildingsIt is important to consider existing buildings in the vicinity when planning and designing a new development, looking carefully for any notable local characteristics in:• building form and character;• architectural style and detailing;• building materials and colours; • means of enclosure and definition (fences, walls, hedges etc).

Reflecting or interpreting locally notable characteristics in new buildings can help to perpetuate and strengthen local distinctiveness where it already exists.

Where there are no obviously discernable local building characteristics – or where they exist but are not consistent with the aims and principles of this development and design guidance, consideration should be given to ways in which characteristically Barbadian approaches to the design construction and detailing of buildings may be incorporated or reflected in new buildings. This does not necessarily mean creating a replica or pastiche of a building from a different era; it will often be more appropriate to make reference to “traditional” characteristics - particularly those that responded to the climate and cultural heritage of Barbados – re-interpreting them in a contemporary context.

Relationships between building; between buildings, streets and spaces; and between buildings and the landscape they “inhabit” can all contribute to local distinctiveness and should be given careful consideration in planning and design.

Colour can play a particularly important role in expressing or creating both local and individual identity and in enhancing people’s enjoyment of their built environment. Bright colours can lift people’s mood; dull colours can sometimes feel oppressive.

GREENThe AIM is:for development and the activities of individuals and communities within the Community Plan area to be consistent with the objective of maintaining environmental well-being, including protecting ecosystems, conserving non-renewable resources, and minimizing waste.

• Key considerations relate to:• Site Planning and Development• Landscape• Roads and Streets• Spaces• Buildings• Community

There are particularly strong relationships between this quality and three others: “BARBADIAN” “CONNECTED” and “PRODUCTIVE”

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Site Planning and Development Questions to ConsiderNew buildings and subdivisions should be planned, designed, constructed, and maintained in ways that:

• minimise waste;

• minimise the consumption and depletion of finite resources;

• maximize the use of renewable resources;

• protect and enhance local ecology and bio-diversity;

• avoid pollution of water, air, soil and the ground;

• protect the visual and sensory quality of the local environment;

• minimise – preferably avoid – emissions that contribute to climate change.

For any small island state, land is a crucial, finite and potentially scarce resource. It is vital, therefore, that it is used efficiently. Consistent with the need to provide adequate levels of space, privacy and amenity, new developments should normally be designed so as to make highly efficient use of the land available.

Consideration should be given to land –efficiency solutions such as providing accommodation on more than one floor, and joining buildings in pairs or larger groups.Good design can enable acceptable levels of space, privacy and amenity to be achieved, whilst building at relatively high densities.

• Have the environmental and resource impacts of the proposed development been assessed?

• What measures are being taken to provide for renewable energy collection and use?

• How is water conservation to be facilitated?

• How is efficient use of available land to be achieved through the form and design of the proposed development?

Roads and Streets Questions to ConsiderRoads and streets should be planned designed and constructed so as to:

• prioritise and encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport wherever feasible;

• keep the distances people need to travel for to undertake frequent tasks as short as possible;

• minimise traffic congestion.

Will roads and streets be designed so as to achieve the specified expectations?

Spaces Questions to ConsiderSpaces within and around settlements play important roles in supporting the health and well-being of communities and individuals. Their presence or absence, their form and character and their accessibility can all affect people’s physical, mental and social well-being.

Spaces should be retained and incorporated in developments and subdivisions so that people may use them for a range of purposes such as recreation; socialising; and growing plants and food.

• Has an open space strategy been prepared?

• Is the balance of buildings, streets and open spaces appropriate?

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Spaces continued... Questions to ConsiderThe function of open space in allowing breezes to provide natural ventilation and cooling should be recognised and planned and designed for.

The filtering and air-cleansing functions of trees and other vegetation should be used to create and support healthy environments.

The ecological importance of natural and semi-natural spaces – and the links between them – should be recognised and planned and designed for.

• Has the need to protect and enhance ecology and bio-diversity been taken fully in to account?

• Has a landscape and landscaping strategy been prepared?

Buildings Questions to ConsiderWhen planning and designing new buildings and alterations to existing buildings careful consideration should be given to:

• orientation – to minimise heating from the sun, to provide cool shaded areas and to maximize natural ventilation;

• siting, height, shape and massing – to respect the requirements of neighbouring buildings and their occupants for light, shade and ventilation;

• incorporation of renewable energy collecting and water-saving devices and technology;

• incorporation of storage and collection facilities to facilitate recycling;

• provision of garden space for household food production.

• How are requirements for ventilation, cooling, shade and shelter being addressed in the design of the proposed building(s)?

• How is energy and resource conservation to be achieved?

PRODUCTIVEThe AIM is:

for land suitable agricultural production to be safeguarded from inappropriate development; for agricultural diversification to be supported and facilitated; for ventures and developments that will employ people living locally to be supported and facilitated.

Key considerations are:

• Landscape

• Spaces

• Roads and Streets

• There are particularly strong relationships between this quality and two others: “CONNECTED” and “GREEN”.

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Landscape Questions to ConsiderThe present-day landscape of this part of Barbados has been shaped to a great extent by agriculture. Trees and other vegetation were cleared long ago to enable the land to be farmed, predominantly as open field plantations. This is a landscape that has come to characterise Barbados. That is not to say that more trees and other vegetation should not be planted nor that the landscape must always stay as it is now but it appears to be valued in by local people in its current form.

Whatever changes may take place, it is important that this should remain a productive landscape. Barbados needs a strong agricultural sector to provide for:

• reducing the national food import bill;

• increasing food security (becoming less reliant on imports from elsewhere);

• producing food and other crops;

• supporting national economic development.

There are plans to revive sugar cane production. This would, of course, be entirely consistent with maintaining the characteristic landscape of this part of Barbados. It is expected that agriculture will also need to diversify if it is to meet all the needs required of it. In both cases, the need to maintain a productive landscape as a defining feature of this area is strong.

• Will the proposed development constrain productivity or support it?

Spaces Questions to ConsiderBoth public / communal and private spaces can be used productively. Farmed fields are an example of productive private space – but so are kitchen gardens.

In some circumstances it may be possible and desirable to provide communal space for production of crops – public allotments, perhaps – where other considerations do not allow for private gardens of adequate size.

• Have productive open spaces been incorporated in the proposed development?

Roads and Streets Questions to ConsiderGood connections support productivity: poor connections create barriers to productivity.

Consistent application of the approach outlined in the section headed “CONNECTED” should help to create a more efficient, less energy-demanding and less congested transport system, reducing wasted time and other resources and supporting productivity in all sectors.

• How good are all the connections?

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SECURE & RESILIENTThe AIM is: For places to provide secure and inclusive environments for their communities and for the risks of disasters and injuries arising from natural and man-made hazards to be minimized.

Key considerations are:

• Community

• Buildings

• Roads and Streets

• Spaces

There are particularly strong relationships between this quality and “CONNECTED”.

Community Questions to ConsiderThe design and maintenance of buildings and spaces can affect the ways people behave and the degree to which they feel safe and secure in their local environments. For example, it has been demonstrated that places that can be seen readily by people living nearby are less likely to be the scenes of criminal and anti-social behaviour than places that are concealed, where such activities can be carried on without being seen. So, the way a place is laid out, ways that buildings interact with streets and public spaces, ways in which the private and public realms are differentiated can all influence a community’s sense of safety and well-being.

As a community’s sense of identity and security can affect its cohesion, these factors can also affect its ability to withstand and recover from traumas and potential disasters such as flooding, storms, hurricanes, droughts and fires. Communities in which people prepare together and support each other when traumatic events occur are more likely to recover well from their effects than are those in which individuals have little interaction.

Provision and maintenance of buildings to provide shelter and protection for communities when natural – or man made – hazards strike is a fundamental requirement. Care should be taken to ensure that new development and other changes do not obstruct access to these or reduce their effectiveness in any other way. Care should also be taken to ensure that the capacity and accessibility of shelters remains adequate for the communities they need to serve, as growth and change occurs.

• Will streets. paths and open spaces be adequately overseen by people using adjacent buildings?

• Have potentially dangerous concealed places been avoided in the design and layout of the proposed development?

• Are public and private areas clearly defined?

• Is adequate emergency shelter and support available and readily accessible?

Buildings Questions to ConsiderIt is vitally important that buildings should be sited, designed and constructed so as to provide high levels of resilience to the effects of naturally occurring and largely unpredictable hazards such as seismic activity (earthquakes and tremors), violent wind storms and hurricanes; torrential rain and flooding, and landslides. Building codes should be complied with and regarded as minimum requirements.

• Have adequate resilience measures been incorporated in the design and construction of the building(s)?

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Buildings cont... Questions to ConsiderBuildings to be occupied by people should not normally be sited in areas where there is a greater than normal risk of destructive hazards occurring.

Buildings to be occupied by people who would be particularly vulnerable in the event of destructive hazards occurring should be located in the least hazard-prone areas and where good and rapid access to emergency shelter and support is available.

• Are areas of high hazard risk being avoided?

Roads and Streets Questions to ConsiderWhen planning, designing, constructing and maintaining roads and streets, primary considerations should includes the need to:

• provide unimpeded access to emergency shelters;

• allow access by emergency services;

• facilitate rapid evacuation in the event of occurrences that require this.

• Does the road and street layout provide for easy access for emergency vehicles?

• Is good access to emergency shelters being provided / maintained?

• What provision is being made to facilitate emergency evacuation?

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7. NEXT STEPS: IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING AND REVIEW

The Community Plan is structured to achieve a balance between often competing economic, social and environmental impacts and its policies will ensure that the environment and ecosystems services are not merely an afterthought – instead, their protection (and ultimate enhancement) forms an integral part of the Plan.

Implementation of the policies of the St. David’s to Six Cross Roads Community Plan (Draft) will be mainly through the legislative powers of the office of the Chief Town Planner to grant or refuse planning permission. The Town and Country Planning Act, CAP 240 (1968) places prime importance on the policies of development plans in the determination of whether to approve a planning application. In accordance with these legislative guidelines, certain actions must be taken prior to the approval of the Community Plan by the Minister responsible for town planning matters. These include inter alia, public notification of the proposed plan, opportunities for any written objections or representations and consultations with any authority or person as deemed appropriate. Notwithstanding the recommendations of a public enquiry or consultation with any authority or person, the Minister has the discretion to approve the Community Plan (regional/local level development plan) with or without modifications.

In implementing the policies of the new Community Plan, the Chief Town Planner will be directed to promote and enable developments or improvements which are in accordance with the overall aim and objectives of the Community Plan. Also, it is expected that the Town and Country Development Planning Office will provide additional guidance notes to supplement the policies in the Community Plan, as deemed appropriate.

In the context of the ISA methodology used in the plan preparation, significant environmental, social and economic effects of implementing a plan or programme are required to be monitored against measurable indicators. This allows any unforeseen adverse effects to be identified at an early stage, and provides opportunities to undertake appropriate remedial action.

The key indicators for each Sustainability Objective identified in Appendix 3 of the ISA under separate cover have, where possible, been drawn from existing sources so the baseline conditions can be established. It will be necessary

to generate datasets specific to the Plan area so that comparisons with

national averages can be generated.

Ideally, these indicators should be monitored and the relevant conclusions and datasets included in the form of an annual monitoring report. This report should be produced to review the impacts of the implementation of the Community Plan and to assess whether the underpinning objectives and vision are being successfully met.

8. Alternative Options Considered

To explore alternative ways in which the Vision and Objectives might be achieved, three broad Spatial Development Options were formulated and then evaluated through Integrated Sustainability Appraisal so that an optimal approach could be identified.

The alternative Spatial Development Options were derived by considering, in combination:

• the overall direction and requirements of the Vision and Objectives;

• the spatial implications of key social, economic and environmental issues that need to be addressed; and,

• review of recent spatial development trends.

Through that process, the three alternative Spatial Development Options formulated and evaluated were:

Spatial development Option 1: No Change This option essentially continues to pursue the approach set out in the current Physical Development Plan. The Plan does not propose any significant development in the Community Plan Area. The main features are as follows:

• Woodbourne/St Patrick’s is designated as a Rural Settlement with Growth Potential, where the following uses would normally be permitted: - Residential; - Community facilities; - Community centres;

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- Light industrial; - Small-scale offices; and, - Shops (daily community needs).

• In other Rural Settlements (the boundaries of which are identified on the Land Use Plan) permitted uses for infilling or minor extensions are stated as: - Residential (single family); - Small community orientated commercial uses and shops; and, - Community facilities, centres and parks.

• Water Protections Area in the north-east corner.

• Remainder of the Plan areas is predominantly classified as agriculture.

Spatial development Option 2: Market-led (Market-following) In essence, “Market-led” would involve allowing most - or all - of the developments that have been proposed in planning applications on the basis that these are reflections of market conditions: planning decisions would largely follow the market.

Quite how this would then be reflected in actual development on the ground is open to some conjecture as market conditions fluctuate, there is more than one “market” to consider, and the relationships between markets may be complex.

At its simplest, there have been two main market forces influencing planning applications in the area over recent years: one is the market for new homes (itself a composite of local, national and overseas markets); the other is the agricultural market (a combination of markets relating to agricultural products and agricultural land). Where planning permission has been applied for and granted and new homes have been built, it is reasonable to assume that this has been a successful response to housing market demand. Where planning permission has been applied for and granted, but development has not followed, it may be that this represents an unsuccessful response to perceived housing market demand, or it may be a response to current agricultural market conditions prompting a land owner to seek an alternative use – or simply an enhanced land value.

Main features of a Market-led option are likely to include:

• Continuing expansion of development around larger centres – St.Patrick’s / Woodbourne, the areas adjacent to Six Cross Roads, St David’s, and the “urban fringe” area adjacent to the western boundary of the Community Plan area;

• Some large-scale housing developments in places readily accessible from the main highway network – not necessarily related to existing settlements;

• Smaller / individual housing – developments spread sporadically across the area;

• Commercial developments also occurring sporadically, particularly on sites adjacent to main highways;

• Significant areas of agricultural land taken out of production for non-agricultural development (housing, commerce etc.).

Spatial development Option 3: Intervention (Market-aware)This option recognises market forces and seeks to steer them to achieve a particular patter of development. It envisages two broad zones divided by a line roughly following Highway 6 in which land-use and development will be managed as follows.

North and west: • Land suitable for agricultural use to be safeguarded from non- agricultural

development unless, exceptionally, such development is necessary in order to meet a significant local need that can not be satisfied by making use of other land;

• Development needs of local communities to be met through infilling and limited extension of existing settlements, provided their fundamental character is not lost;

• “Green Belt” uses to be allowed where interim use of “set aside” agricultural land is required or where “buffer” required between agricultural and “developed” land.

South and east: • Development (including larger scale development) to meet local and wider

community needs to be allowed, on appropriate sites that are less well-suited to agricultural production, provided sustainability, design quality and amenity criteria are met;

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• New development to be closely connected with existing settlements and facilities;

• Residual agricultural land to be protected from non-agricultural development.

Sustainability AppraisalEach of the Development Options has been appraised against the Sustainability Objectives to explore its strengths and weaknesses in a structured way, considering in each case the extent to which the particular approach could be expected to deliver sustainable development overall. Inevitably, all the options would produce a mixture of positive and negative impacts, so the aim has been to identify the option that would deliver the most sustainable balance overall. Through that process a preferred option has been identified and it is that option that has been developed as the basis of the Community Plan.

A detailed Compatibility Matrix has been prepared for each of the broad spatial development options and these are included as Appendix 6 of the Integrated Sustainability Appraisal under separate cover. A summary table is set out in Table 3.

On balance, Option 3 – Intervention (Market-aware) – emerged as the option most likely to produce sustainable development, taking account of both local and national needs, and it is that option that has been developed as the basis for the draft Community Plan.

The summary table and detailed appraisal tables for each of the spatial development options indicate that the “Intervention” option achieves greatest compliance with the Sustainability Objectives. This spatial option has therefore been taken forward and integrated into the Community Plan.

All policies were assessed using the methodology described in section 2.2 of the Integrated Sustainability Appraisal (under separate cover) and a summary of the results presented in Table 3. Detailed assessment considerations are presented in Appendix 5 of the Integrated Sustainability Appraisal (under separate cover).

Option 1: No Change

Option 2:Market Led

Option 3:Intervention

Community identity + - ++Poverty & exclusion ++ + ++Crime + 0 +Health + 0 +Leisure & culture + 0 +Traffic 0 - +Accessibility 0 0 +Housing + + ++Education & Skills + 0 +Employment + + ++Economy + 0 ++Food production + - +Biodiversity 0 - 0Water 0 - -Flooding ? ? ?Air quality 0 - +DRR 0 0 0Waste 0 - 0Energy resources 0 0 +Score 11 -4 18

Table3 Compatibility of Sustainability Objectives and Spatial Development Options

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Ag1

Ag2

Ag3

LC1

LC2

CN1

CN2

CN3

CN4

CN5

Co1

Co2

Co3

RR1

EP1

EP2

EP3

Community identity 0 0 ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ + + 0 0Poverty & exclusion + + 0 0 0 + + + 0 + + ++ ++ + 0 ++ 0Crime 0 0 0 + + 0 0 0 0 0 + 0 0 0 0 0 0Health 0 0 0 0 0 ? 0 ? ++ + ++ + + + ++ ++ ++Leisure & culture 0 0 0 0 0 + + + 0 ++ 0 0 + 0 + 0 0Traffic 0 0 0 + + + ++ ? 0 0 ++ + ++ 0 0 + 0Accessibility 0 0 0 0 0 + ++ + 0 ++ ++ ++ + 0 0 0 0Housing 0 0 0 + ++ + + ++ ++ 0 0 0 0 + 0 0 0Education & Skills 0 0 0 0 0 0 + 0 0 0 0 + 0 0 0 0 0Employment + + + 0 0 + + 0 0 0 0 + 0 0 0 0 0Economy + + + + + + + ? 0 0 0 + 0 ++ 0 + 0Food production ++ ++ + 0 0 + 0 + 0 0 0 0 0 0 + 0 0Biodiversity + + 0 0 0 + 0 ? 0 + 0 0 0 0 ++ + 0Water 0 0 0 0 0 + 0 ? 0 0 0 0 0 0 ++ 0 ++Flooding 0 0 0 0 0 + 0 0 + 0 0 0 0 ++ + 0 0Air quality 0 0 0 0 0 0 + 0 0 ++ 0 + + 0DRR + + + ++ + + 0 + 0 0 0 0 0 ++ 0 0 0Waste 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ? 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Energy resources + + 0 ++ + + + + 0 0 + + ? 0 0 ++ 0

Table 4 Compatibility of Sustainability Objectives and Spatial Development Option 3

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46

Definitions & End Notes

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DEFINITIONS OF PHRASES USED IN THE OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES - please refer also to the End Note Definitions, overleafPhrase DefinitionAgriculture As defined in the Physical Development Plan, Amended, 2003, “agriculture” includes “horticulture, fruit growing, seed

growing, dairy farming, the breeding and keeping of livestock (including any animal kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land), the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, market gardens, and nursery grounds and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes”

Agricultural land Land that is capable of being used for the purposes of agriculture, as designated on Map 4, the Land Use Plan, of the Physical Development Plan, Amended, 2003, or any subsequent amendment or replacement of that Plan.

Land less well-suited to agricultural production Agricultural land outside classes 1,2 and 3, and land that has lawfully been divided in such a way that agriculture is no longer viable.

Amenities that occupiers of nearby properties may reasonably expect to enjoy

These amenities include levels of privacy, peace and quiet, and cleanliness that an average person would expect to enjoy when using their home.

Appropriate development sites Sites identified as being suitable for development, either by specific designation or in accordance with specified criteria in the Plan.

Brown-field sites Sites that have previously and lawfully been developed for non-agricultural purposes and are available for redevelopment.

Buffer An area for an intervening use separating one main use from another.

Design Guidance for Development within the St David’s to Six Cross Roads Area

Design Guidance included in the Community Plan.

Design Statement A statement to be submitted with a planning application, explaining the rationale behind the design and form of development proposed and the ways in which this has responded to relevant policies, constraints, contexts etc.

“Green Belt” uses Uses of open land that are compatible with adjacent agricultural or residential use and that maintain the essential openness and landscape qualities of the land.

Hazard Risk Assessment A statement in which potential hazard risks are identified, probabilities are gauged, vulnerability is assessed and appropriate precautionary measures are set out.

Heritage assets Buildings of historic and architectural significance and important natural features.

Infill sites Small, undeveloped parcels of land within settlements and otherwise built-up road and street frontages.

Larger-scale developments of housing Developments of more than five housing units or more.

Major developments Any development comprising 50 or more units of housing, or any non-residential building with a gross floorspace of 500 square metres or more.

Productive or potentially productive agricultural land Undeveloped land used or previously used for agriculture and falling within Agricultural Land Classes I, II and III.

“Set aside” land Productive or potentially productive land that is not currently used or required for agriculture but is to be safeguarded for agricultural use at a later date. Conservation uses that do not prevent such land from being returned to agricultural use at a later stage may be acceptable as interim uses.

Vacant lot Land that has planning permission for development but that has not been developed.

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a “Land suitable for agricultural use” includes: land currently in agricultural use; and, land that is currently unused, vacant or in another open-land use but is potentially suitable and viable for agricultural use.

b “significant local need” means a need that relates directly to the community adjacent to the particular site, or, in some cases, the needs of the communities within (or immediately adjoining) the Community Plan area as a whole.

c “Green Belt Uses” are uses of open land that are compatible with adjacent agricultural or residential use, and that maintain the essential openness and landscape qualities of the area in which the land is situated. Examples include: playing fields and open sports facilities; publicly accessible parks and recreation grounds; community / allotment gardens; woodlands and forestry. Small ancillary buildings necessary for carrying out or maintaining any of those uses will be permitted provided they are appropriately sited, designed and constructed, and do not detract from the essential openness and landscape qualities of the area.

d “set aside” refers to productive or potentially productive farmland that is taken out of agricultural use for a temporary period, for environmental, social or economic reasons, but is maintained in a condition that allows it to be returned readily to agricultural use in future. Examples of interim uses that may be considered suitable for “set-aside” land include: conservation uses; passive recreation uses; habitat creation; allotment gardens. It is important that any interim uses that are allowed are managed in such ways that the agricultural capability of the land is not permanently reduced.

e “Community needs” include housing, employment, commercial and social services, leisure and recreational needs and infrastructure.

f “land less well-suited to agricultural production” means agricultural land outside classes 1,2 and 3, land that has lawfully been divided or isolated in such a way that agriculture is no longer viable, and land that is not in agricultural use and would not be suitable for future agricultural use.

g “Infill or redevelopment site” means a gap between buildings on an otherwise built-up frontage within a settlement (infill) or a site that has already been built on (redevelopment).

End Notes Definitions