Development Planning & Control Process Chart
Sub-division Plan Application (word format - 52 Kb)
Development plans are generally prepared for the entire country or parts of it and the purpose is to set out for public guidance and use, Government's intentions for the use and development of land for the areas covered by the plan. Development plans set out policies, strategies and guidelines for settlement planning, and form one of the most important elements in determining planning applications.
Planning Authorities often require developers to provide environmental impact assessments for developments (especially those on hillsides or those in or near the sea or water course), which in the opinion of the Planning Authorities would have significant impacts on the social, economic and physical environment of the area.
SUBDIVISIONS
(Extract from OECS Planning & Infra-structure Standards)
2.1 SUBDIVISION OF LAND
a) Subdivision of land is a form of development recognised in existing planning legislation. The location, design, and functioning of subdivisions influence the efficiency and effectiveness of settlement and land use activities, and the eventual form of urban and rural areas. During the subdivision process, land is divided into convenient individual blocks for particular purposes, properly laid out and serviced.
b) Subdivisions may either be new settlements or extensions to existing communities.
c) Residential use is one of the single largest land use in most communities. The appropriate design of subdivisions for residential use is necessary to allow the communities to function efficiently. The subdivision must be affordable to the target population and to be aesthetically pleasing.
d) In the design of residential subdivisions the main elements are:
- lot size and configuration,
- the layout of roads and general circulation,
- provision of services (mainly water, electricity, waste water disposal),
- provision of open landscaped space for parks and playgrounds,
- community support facilities where necessary.
The Planning Authorities will ensure that the subdivision design contains the elements listed above.
2.1.1 Layout of Subdivisions
The design of the subdivision layout should be simple, clear and the roads easy to follow. The road patterns (Plate 2-1) generally used are detailed in Section 3 of this manual. In general they are:
- The Grid System, which produces parallel streets with junctions at right angles to each other. This
system is suitable for flat or gently rolling land.
- The Radial System in which traffic is concentrated on centres with the consequent high
concentration of traffic and activity.
- The Curvilinear System in which the roads follow closely the contours of the land.
- Road patterns which follow the land contours and in which cul de sacs are introduced. This creates
discrete clusters of houses and mixtures of housing types. This development type is especially suitable for large sites in hilly land.
The introduction of loops and courts may be necessary due to the contours of the land. These configurations provide opportunities for privacy in the development with less through traffic.
Section 3 provides information on the design of the roads in a development as well as the design of roads which provide access to the development.
2.1.2 Lot Layout (Plates 2-3 and 2-4)
a) Plot arrangements must be sensitive to topography, environmental conditions, road patterns and the size of the lots proposed. Plots must be capable of being used for the purpose for which they are designed.
b) Plots should be laid out to take advantage of the topography and should minimise the need for changes to the natural topography by excavation and filling works. The design must therefore take into account the existing drainage patterns and seek to preserve the existing patterns of storm water flows.
c) Plots must have a frontage on the access roads. The frontage must be wide enough to allow the access of vehicles.
d) The creation of double frontages must be avoided. Where this is unavoidable, the plots must be large enough to allow the stipulated building set backs.
e) Plot lines should preferably be perpendicular to the streets. This avoids the creation of irregular shaped lots as such lots would have to be relatively large to allow the required set backs and to provide enough land for the building.
f) Corner lots should In general be larger than other standard lots in the development. No fence or other structure should be constructed which would impede the sight of motorists at the comers. The building lines on corner lots are shown on Plate 2?5.
g) The plan of the development should show the proposed phases of construction of the development and the lots to be developed in each phase.
2.1.3 Lot Sizes and Dimensions
a) The minimum lot sizes for different classes of development are given in Table 1-1 and the building setbacks are defined in 1.3.3 and in Table 1-2.
b) In general the size of the lot varies with:
o the use to which the lot is to be put,
o the desired intensity of the development,
o the physical characteristics of the land and of the surrounding area, and
o the capacity of the existing Infrastructure.
c) The width of a lot should not be less than 40 feet (wherever possible).
d) In general, the length of a lot should not be more than 2.5 times the width.
2.2 COMMUNITY AND OTHER FACILITIES
Section 1 provides standards relating to community facilities that should be constructed for a residential development depending on the size of the development. Such facilities include schools, churches, medical facilities, playgrounds, shops and offices. There should be adequate Infrastructure arrangements, and the developer has a responsibility to ensure that all infrastructure (See Sections 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7) is installed to meet the demands of the subdivision.
The Planning Authorities will examine plans for the allocation of land for community facilities and for the installation of infrastructure before giving approval to the development.
