Aston, Newtown and Lozells Area Action Plan
Glossary of terms
Advantage West Midlands (AWM)
The Regional Development Agency for the West
Midlands.
Affordable Housing
Low cost market housing and subsidised
housing irrespective of tenure, ownership or
financial arrangements, available to people who
cannot afford to rent or buy houses generally
available of the open market.
Allocation
The use assigned to a piece of land in a local
Development Plan.
Area Action Plan (AAP)
A statutory land use plan which sets out the
planning policies and land use allocations
for a particular area and provides a planning
framework for areas of significant change or
regeneration.
Biodiversity
The whole variety of life encompassing all
genetic, species and ecosystem variations.
Black and Minority Ethnic Communities (BME)
Black and Minority Ethnic Communities.
Centro
The executive arm of the West Midlands
Passenger Transport Authority.
Commitments
Land that is the subject of an existing planning
permission and other projects or proposals
where it is accepted will take place due to
financial or other reasons.
Community Strategy
Strategies for enhancing the quality of life
of the local community which each local
authority has a duty to prepare under the Local
Government Act 2000. They will be developed
and implemented by a local strategic partnership
and should include: a long term vision; an action
plan; shared commitments to, and proposals
for, implementation; and arrangements for
monitoring and review.
Conservation Area
Areas designated by the local planning authority
which are considered of special architectural or
historic interest, the character or appearance of
which it wishes to preserve or enhance.
Convenience Retail
The provision of everyday essential goods,
including food and other grocery items.
Comparison Retail
The provision of items not obtained on a
frequent basis, including clothing, footwear,
household and recreational goods.
Corridor
Area linking two or more centres, normally
focused around transport infrastructure.
Density
Measure of the number of dwellings per hectare
(ha).
Employment Land
Land allocated in a Development Plan for
business (B1), industrial (B2) and storage/
distribution (B8) uses.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Procedure and management technique
that ensures that the likely effects of new
development on the environment are fully
appraised and taken into account before the
development is allowed to go ahead.
Flood Plain
Land adjacent to a watercourse over which
water flows, or would flow but for defences in
place, in times of flood.
Gateway
A gateway is an entrance into an area, normally
at key junctions and crossroads. Opportunities
may exist to improve the quality of these sites
by ensuring that high quality development
is secured, or where no new development
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is proposed, gateways should be enhanced
through high quality public realm improvements.
 Aston, Newtown and Lozells Area Action Plan
Government Office for the West Midlands
(GOWM)
Combined offices of key Government
Departments at the West Midlands level.
Greenfield Land
Undeveloped land.
Gross Retail Floor Space
The area ascertained by the total internal
measurement of the floor space, including all
areas allocated for storage.
Housing Market Renewal Area (HMRA)
See Urban Living.
Housing Redevelopment
Existing Birmingham City Council housing
stock that has been declared for demolition and
clearance.
Housing Regeneration
Houses, housing estates or residential tower
blocks that for reasons of low demand, their
poor layout, poor condition and surrounding
environment do not provide adequate living
standards for their owners or tenants. The
following actions will be considered: improving
the surrounding environment, improving the
layout of housing, remodelling, refurbishment
or improving the internal layout of housing,
selective demolition and redevelopment with
new housing.
Hi-tech (or High Tech) Industry
Advanced manufacturing, computing or other
state of the art industry (e.g. biotechnology).
High Technology Corridors (HTCs)
Specific corridors identified, within which cluster
development closely related to the region’s
critical research and development capabilities
and advanced technologies, will be promoted.
Industrial Regeneration
Land within these areas will be safeguarded for
predominantly industrial uses. There is scope
for environmental improvement to encourage
inward investment through measures such
as new surfacing, tree planting, softening
of boundaries or building enhancement or
redevelopment.
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Local Centre
A local or district centre includes shops,
businesses and community facilities. They may
also include some residential properties that lie
within the centre.
Local Transport Plan (LTP)
Plan prepared by the Strategic Planning
Authorities dealing with transport priorities and
actions to be taken.
Listed Building
Building or structure of historic or architectural
merit which has protection under the planning
legislation.
Major Urban Areas (MUAs)
The focus of Urban Renaissance which will
underpin the Regional Spatial Strategy. There
are 4 MUAs in the West Midlands: Birmingham;
The Black Country; Coventry; and the North
Staffordshire Conurbation.
Mixed-use Development
A new development that makes provision for
a variety of uses - e.g. residential, retail and
business. An example of this might be the
Mailbox in Birmingham.
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM)
The Government Department with responsibility
for planning issues.
Opportunity Sites
Areas of land, or derelict buildings, vacant or
underused land which have the potential to be
used and redeveloped for alternative uses.
Park and Ride
Long stay parking areas at the edge of a built up
area linked by frequent public transport links to
the city centre.
Planning Policy Guidance Note (PPG)
Document prepared and issued by Central
Government setting out policy on different
aspects of planning. Local authorities must take
their content into account in the production of
development plans.
Planning Policy Statements (PPS)
Documents prepared by the government
after public consultation to explain statutory
provisions and provide guidance to local
authorities and others on planning policy and
the operation of the planning system. PPS have
replaced PPGs.

Public Open Space (POS)
Publicly accessible open land of recreational or
public value, including parks, playing fields and
landscaped areas.
Regional Investment Site (RIS)
High quality, regionally identified sites of
25-50ha attractive to external investment
designed to support the diversification and
modernisation of the regional economy
especially in relation to the Region’s cluster
priorities.
Radburn Housing
A type of housing from the 1960/70s with
remote parking areas, networks of pedestrian
access to houses, open plan gardens and front
gardens often facing back gardens.
Retail Uses
Shops (A1), Professional and Financial Services
(A2), Restaurants and Cafes (A3), Drinking
Establishments (A4) and Hot Food Takeaways
(A5).
Section 106 Agreement (= planning
obligation) (S106)
Planning obligations are private agreements,
negotiated in the context of planning
applications, between local planning authorities
and persons with an interest in a piece of land
and intended to make acceptable development
which would otherwise be unacceptable in
planning terms.
Sequential Approach
A search sequence derived from PPGs 3 and 11
designed to guide the allocation and release of
land for housing purposes to encourage the use
of PDL and sustainable locations.
Single Regeneration Budget (SRB)
A Government- funded regeneration programme
for the area that finished in 2007 providing
assistance for a wide range of business and
environmental projects.
Site of Local Importance for Nature
Conservation
A Site of Local Importance for Nature
Conservation is one, which is or may be,
of particular value to nearby residents or
schools. Some of these sites may already be
used by schools for nature study. Local sites
are particularly important in areas otherwise
deficient in wildlife sites.
Aston, Newtown and Lozells Area Action Plan
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
Nationally important sites for wildlife or earth
science where proposed development must be
given special scrutiny.
Strategic Road Network
The highest level of the road network, made
up of trunk roads, Priority (Red) Routes and
designated roads.
Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS)
A sequence of management practices and
control structures designed to drain surface
water in a more sustainable fashion than some
conventional techniques.
Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)
A strategy to provide a clear sense of direction
for the longer term spatial development of
the Region, influencing the future investment
decisions of all sectors, both public and private.
Sustainability Appraisal (SA)
Appraisals of plans, strategies and proposals
to test them against the four broad objectives
set out in the Government’s sustainable
development strategy.
Sustainable Development
Development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs
(Brundtland 1987).
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
European Directive 2001/42/EC, known as the
‘strategic environmental assessment’ or ‘SEA’
Directive, requires a formal environmental
assessment of certain plans and programmes
which are likely to have significant effects on
the environment. Authorities which prepare
and/or adopt a plan or programme that is
subject to the Directive must prepare a report
on its likely significant environmental effects,
consult environmental authorities and the
public, and take the report and the results of the
consultation into account during the preparation
process and before the plan or programme is
adopted.
Unitary Development Plan
Plan prepared by Metropolitan District and some 95
Unitary Local Authorities containing policies
equivalent to those in both a Structure Plan and
Local Plan.
 Aston, Newtown and Lozells Area Action Plan

Urban Boulevard
The concept of Urban Boulevards along the
A34 and A5127 consists of creating a higher
quality public realm, tree planting, new high
quality landmark developments and attractive
open spaces along these corridors. It seeks
to establish a pedestrian friendly environment
linking areas of open space and enabling higher
density/mixed-use development at key locations
whilst ensuring that the existing highway
capacity is maintained.

Urban Living (UL)

One of nine nationally designated Housing
Market Renewal Area Pathfinders. Urban Living
covers part of north west Birmingham and
Sandwell.

Use Classes Order (UCO)

Existing classification of land use by economic
activity.

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