What is a Neighbourhood Plan?
A Neighbourhood Plan is a document that sets out planning policies for a parish and aims to protect local green spaces, encourage better designed housing and bring forward required development that genuinely meets local needs. It is part of a Government sponsored initiative and every community in the country is encouraged to produce their own plan.
Such a plan is written by the local community and helps to get the right types of improvements in the right places in accordance with local aspirations, and in keeping with the local characteristics and culture.
It may contain a vision, aims, planning policies, design guides and perhaps proposals for improving the area or for providing new facilities.
The plan relates to the use and development of land and associated social, economic and environmental topics. It may deal with a wide range of issues – like housing, employment, heritage, transport and environment – or it may focus on one or two issues that are of particular importance in a local area. It does not deal with roads, transport, communications, etc. that are the responsibility of other bodies, although of course it can make recommendations and reflect local concerns.
This statutory status gives neighbourhood plans far more weight than some other local planning documents such as parish plans, community plans and village design statements. Thus, it is important because it allows us, the residents and businesses, a significant influence in the shaping and future development of our parish.
The parish of East Dean and Friston, including Birling Gap, Crowlink and Gayles Farm, is well advanced in the process of developing a Neighbourhood Plan under these national guidelines. This is a Parish Council initiative with the full support and involvement of the Resident’s Association. The South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), as our statutory planning authority, is also heavily involved and will provide input and guidance to our Plan. Financial support for the process has been obtained for our initiative through government agencies. A local Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group has been established and is meeting regularly.
The Vision for Our Parish
Each community producing a Neighbourhood Plan aims to reflect the characteristics, history and geography of their parish. Within that plan, a set of policies is defined that meets the beliefs and desires of the residents. Our parish has its own specific characteristics and aspirations that have been clearly articulated during the early consultation events. The steering group has tried to encapsulate these thoughts and has developed them into the following vision.
Building upon the open and friendly village atmosphere and sensitively preserving the rural and built character of the Parish, our vision for East Dean, Friston, Crowlink, Birling Gap and Gayles Farm sees this parish continuing to be a thriving and sustainable place to live, work and visit, where everyone can play a full part in their community.
The mitigation of and need to adapt to climate change is a central strand of the vision. We aim to support householders in protecting and enhancing our natural environment, whilst promoting healthy living and connectivity for the benefit of all.
Any additional development within the Parish should reflect the priority to provide homes on smaller plots, suitable for downsizing for existing residents as well as for attracting and retaining younger people, and contributing to net zero environmental targets wherever possible.
Next Steps - Parish Consultation
It is very important that our Neighbourhood Plan is an accurate representation of the general view of parish residents. Thus, a formal consultation with parish residents and local businesses will begin on the 2nd of September 2024 and last until the 27thOctober. Certain statutory bodies (Environment Agency, Historic England etc..) will be also sent a copy of the plan. The consultation is formal in that it is a statutory requirement of the Government’s process and the output of this and all the other publicity activities we have completed are ultimately provided to the Independent Examiner who, at a later stage, determines the readiness of the plan for referendum.
Two consultation events are scheduled in the Small Hall of the Village Hall. They are drop-in sessions on:
Tuesday, September 10th from 2pm until 5pm
Thursday, September 26th from 6pm to 9pm
Please come along to one of these events to:
- See what the plan contains
- Review the policies, maps and parish assets
- Provide feedback and suggestions
We would love to see you there.
During the full consultation period the draft Neighbourhood Plan and related documents will be available on the Parish Council and Resident’s Association websites. Links to these documents are posted at the end of this section.
Consultation Feedback
As stated earlier, it is very important that our Neighbourhood Plan is an accurate representation of the general consensus of parish residents. A paper questionnaire/feedback form will be available to complete at each of the consultation sessions. An online questionnaire/feedback form is also available (https://www.surveymonkey..com/r/EDFReg14 ) on the Parish Council and Resident’s Association websites and can be accessed from the ‘Links to Key Documents’ section below.
All feedback will be very gratefully received. It will be collated and assessed for inclusion into the final Neighbourhood Plan.
Post Consultation Activity
After this first formal consultation is finished, the feedback and suggestions made during the consultation period will be assessed for inclusion into a penultimate version of the plan which will then be sent to the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) for review. In turn, the SDNPA will send the draft plan to an Independent Examiner who will check for legality, completeness and to confirm that an appropriate level of consultation with parish residents and businesses has taken place. Some changes may be requested if the examiner believes it necessary.
Once through this examination, our plan will then be submitted to one final public consultation before becoming the subject of a parish-wide referendum, probably in mid to late summer 2025. Once approved the Plan will then be adopted by the SDNPA and the Parish Council for use in planning decisions.
As you can see, it is very important that our Neighbourhood Plan is an accurate representation of the views of all parish residents so if you wish to have your opinions taken into consideration and have not, as yet, had your say please contact the Parish Clerk at clerk@edfparishcouncil.org.uk
Meetings: For agendas and minutes of all Steering Group meetings please click here
Steering Group Team
The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group has been set up by the Parish Council to manage production of the plan. Membership of the group is:
Councillor Michael Bustard (Steering Group Chair)
Lesley D’Urso (Chair Residents Association)
Alison Eardley (Neighbourhood Plan Consultant)
Councillor David White
Councillor Grant Fowler
Jonathan Timberlake
Tim Pontin
For further information please contact the Parish Clerk at clerk@edfparishcouncil.org.uk
Links to Key Documents
Feedback and Suggestions https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EDFReg14
Neighbourhood Plan - Full Draft
Neighbourhood Plan - Summary
Housing Needs Analysis Report
Design Guide Report
Steering Group meeting agendas and minutes
Conservation Area Character Appraisal
Biodiversity Appraisal
SDNPA have been asked to ‘screen’ the draft plan to ascertain whether it is likely to have significant (negative) environmental impacts. They have produced their opinion on this, which has been consulted on for 5 weeks with Natural England, Historic England and the Environment Agency, who have provided their views. These views have been collated by SDNPA and a Screening Determination Statement has been issued. Below are the responses from the three statutory bodies and the Screening Determination Statement. It states that no significant impacts are anticipated, which means that there is no need to prepare additional environmental reports.
SEA_HRA Screening Letter
Environment Agency Response
Historic England Response
Natural England Response
Contacts for Further Information
If you have any questions please contact the Steering Group at clerk@edfparishcouncil.org.uk
Latest News – August 2024
I am pleased to reveal that the South Downs National Park Authority completed the screening of our draft Neighbourhood Plan last month and they have confirmed that there is no significant negative environmental impact resulting from our plan policies. It is an important milestone in the process and allows us to move forward with publicising the work that has been done so far.
You will soon be able to read the full draft plan including the policies that are proposed for the parish. The plan will be published on the Parish Council and Resident’s Association websites at the beginning of the 6 week ‘Regulation 14’ consultation period that starts on September 2nd. The primary purpose of this consultation is to encourage feedback to ensure that we correctly reflect the views and opinions of the residents. Please allocate some time to review the plan – the full document is about 90 pages in total, although a much shorter summary will also be produced. Printed versions will be available - we will have a number of copies that can be booked for a limited period via the email below.
Two separate interactive sessions are planned to take place during consultation at the village hall for those who would like to come and see key parts of the plan illustrated by posters and maps, and to ask questions in person. The two sessions will take place on the 10thSeptember in the afternoon (2-5pm) and on the 26th of September in the evening (6-9pm).
We really look forward to seeing you at one of our consultation events but if you would like to know more or have a point you would like to make before then please contact the steering group via clerk@edfparishcouncil.org.uk
Michael Bustard
Chair NP Steering Group
Latest News – July 2024
You will probably notice that we have a new logo. This is part of a wider effort to give the Neighbourhood Plan (NP) project a common theme and identity, so that NP related activity is clearly recognisable. This theme, that will be used for all publicity and documentation from now on, has been beautifully produced by graphic designer and parish resident, Tony Miller. We think it looks very attractive and professional – we hope you do too.
After consideration by the Parish Council, the draft plan was submitted to the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) for screening. This is not a final scrutiny for approval but will ensure that the plan is on track and that the legal requirements are being met. It will be completed by the 16th July. After this we will move onto a more formal consultation process with parish residents, probably at the beginning of September. Throughout the consultation process there will be public access to the plan, both in digital and printed form. Initially, materials will be published on the Parish Council (edfparishcouncil.org.uk) and Residents Association (edfra.org.uk) websites. Printed materials will be made available in convenient locations or provided on request. For those not wanting to read the full 80+ page plan a summary will be produced. Interactive sessions at the Village Hall will also be held so please get involved and make your opinions known.
We would urge those who have not had the opportunity to provide their views so far, to read this documentation and/or take part in the consultation sessions before the Plan is formally submitted.
Monthly updates will continue in the parish magazine but if you have any questions for the Steering Group please contact us at clerk@edfparishcouncil.org.uk
19th April 2024
We need your input. Would you like to have a say in what the Parish will look like in the future? Then please read below:
Neighbourhood Plan – background: Neighbourhood Plans provide communities the opportunity to play a stronger role in shaping the areas in which they live and work and in supporting new development proposals. Neighbourhood Plans are different to the Parish and Village Design Statements. They sit alongside the Local Plan prepared by the local planning authority, in our case the South Downs National Park Authority, and as another statutory plan have real force.
One of the most vital aspects of a Neighbourhood Plan is that it takes into account the views of ALL in the community. In the past nine months we have been consulting the community about the parish's priorities and gathering the data we need to put a Neighbourhood Plan together. Neighbourhood Plans are about much more than future housing provision, they also encompass protection and enhancement of our natural environment, green spaces, heritage assets, community facilities, business and local economy. Thank you to everyone who responded.
The focus has now changed from building up the evidence base to drafting proposals based on the evidence. We gave an update at the Annual Village Meeting on 12th April 2024, and you will find the answers to some key questions that have come up about about neighbourhood planning - particularly in this parish - in the Annual Village Report 2024 which you can access from this website.
We will shortly publish a first draft of our Plan, and there will be an Open Afternoon in the main hall of the village hall on Tuesday 7th May 2024, starting at 2.30 pm, when you can find out more about that. The draft will also be published on this website, on the Residents' Association website, and on the village website. It will then be sent to the South Downs National Park Authority for 'screening', which means that it is scrutinised by higher authorities such as Natural England, Historic England, and the Environment Agency, so see if it would have any 'significant impacts' on their work. We think it is unlikely that there will be any, as our proposals are more protective than anything else. The screening process will take 6 to 8 weeks. During that time, you will still be welcome to let us know what you think. Are we getting it right?
Once the draft has been screened, and any necessary amendments have been made, the South Downs National Park Authority will take charge of a formal period of public consultation, supported by the parish council and the Residents' Association as usual. Again, amendments may be made. Once the SDNP and the community are content, the draft is sent to the Planning Inspectorate for a formal Examination and, we hope, approval, though the Inspector may require some final amendments. Lastly, a referendum is held to determine whether the community support the adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan as a Supplementary Planning Document, which must be taken into account in the assessment of all future planning applications in the parish.
If you have any questions or suggestions about the Neighbourhood Plan, you can email us at admin@edfparishcouncil.org.uk, call us on 01323 811870 or drop us a line using the Village Hall post box.
Click here to view the agendas and minutes of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group