The inspector wrote (6-page / 91KB PDF) to the Council last week to set out his 'preliminary main concerns' on the AAP following the Council's submission of the plan for examination in December.
The inspector said that he could not see how the AAP, which sets out land use policies and proposals to create a 'new centre' for the area in northern Plymouth, could be modified to secure soundness. He said it lacked "key pieces of information" relating to, in particular, deliverability, justification and the future of the nearby Plymouth City Airport.
The inspector said that the AAP's approach towards the delivery of jobs and services was "neither robust nor supported by a sufficiently adequate and up to date evidence base". He said that the evidence did not show how National Planning Policy Framework requirements relating to needs, barriers to investment and deliverability would be satisfied.
"The aim to deliver in the region of 8,000 new jobs and substantial amounts of new employment floorspace appears aspirational rather than realistically deliverable and the evidence does not support the overall effectiveness of the AAP in such regards," he said.
The inspector also said that the AAP did not "substantively address the proximity and potential future" of the Plymouth City Airport site, which is located adjacent to the area covered by the plan. The airport was closed in 2011.
He said that the AAP lacked "any informed reference to the use of this significant land holding" and that it therefore did not have a "sufficiently informed understanding of the broader contextual picture of northern Plymouth and its foreseeable future".
"The Council may care to consider withdrawal of the AAP and the use of much of its relevant evidence base to inform the production of the Plymouth Plan," the inspector said.
The Council subsequently replied to the inspector and said that it does not wish to withdraw the plan. It said that it acknowledged that the inspector would now "inevitably" find the plan unsound and recommend non-adoption. However, it said it wanted to establish "clarity about the policy framework for the Derriford area" and asked the inspector for clarification on six questions.
"We are hopeful that your full report and final findings will provide some assistance to both those considering investment and funding decisions between now and the adoption of the Plymouth Plan," the letter said.
