Green Wedge Policy in Norfolk Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Green Wedge Policy in Norfolk - Assignment Example It is realised that the strategic gap and green wedge policies are important for the cities, being more flexible than the Green Belt policy. Local landscape planning authorities have seen the need of preserving an uncluttered landscape for conservation, as maintaining environmental balance is highly important for the city dwellers. When Green Wedge policy came into being, Norfolk was one of the selected cities for implementation of the plan. Green wedges are mainly the undeveloped land that is marked by city planners as the protected area, a kind of community land that should not be developed commercially. It comes under the plan of sustainable development in rural areas and will come up again and again as regions that have to be protected. Preliminary survey and assessment of the plans was done in the southern part of England, Norfolk included. Metro political District and Unitary Development Plan policies were excluded mainly because they were already included in the Green belt policies and again including them in the Green wedge policy was found unnecessary. It was already decided that they do not overlap. The preliminary survey did an assessment of all structural plans and policies. Again, most of the Green Wedges were planned in the Southern part of England. Some of the cities have already come under the Green Belt policy and they do not need Green Wedges. People manoeuvring the policy are trying to find suitable patterns for the whole country. They are also regulating to discover suitable features to be included owing to the special requirement of the particular town or city, within the countrywide pattern. Norfolk comes in the second category and number and mode of strategic gaps and green wedges and their requirements had to be planned for the purpose. Some comments and suggestions were welcomed for some time. But, District councils had to make their own plans and policies for implementing this ambitious plan. "In each case the account discusses the number and extent of strategic gaps and green wedges, their purposes, and any key Examination in Public (EIP) rulings which have affected the status of such policies" http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.aspid=1143456 Norfolk Country Council had always been preoccupied with the environmental balance of the county. It has to think about the river valleys, beautiful landscape, woodland and the wellknown Southern Bypass, most of which come under the southern part of the city. After the policy got approved in 1993, it became part of the major Structure Plan that got approved in 1999. there was a proposal in 1989 from the County Council suggesting that a Green Belt should be made around Norwich, and ultimately after much discussion, this proposal was rejected. But a preservation of environmental assets policy was introduced in its place. This policy was not only for preservation of the natural resources, but also for restraining and controlling of encroaching city expansions. This also intends to protect the historical heritage of the area and control the immediate countryside by creating green wedges and strategic gaps to restrict the unbriddled growth and 'ribbon development' of the city. Green Belt Policy for this area was held to be unsuitable because city growth was considered to be within limits and this makes the existing