NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN STEERING GROUP
1st March 2024 - Update
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 – so what is it?
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 six 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. We held a Consultation Evening on Monday 29th January 2024 at which displays were mounted showing the likely direction of the Plan and seeking your views on what is proposed across all these topics, with interactive map displays where you could, for example, mark views that ought to be protected, or places where a public right of way would really improve connectivity. Thank you to everyone who responded. During the next few months the focus will change as we will be putting out more detailed proposals and offering the community time to reflect on them and absorb them - and let us know what you think. Are we getting it right?
A key question that has been put to the Group a number of times is: will the Neighbourhood Plan make provision for a new housing development? Housing need is being professionally assessed with technical support, but the answer is likely to be 'no'. Another key question is: will the Neighbourhood Plan prevent new housing development? Again, the answer is 'no': if a higher authority such as the SDNPA assesses a need in the future, and/or a local landowner were to bring forward proposals on a rural exception site, it could happen. But if that did happen one day, the Neighbourhood Plan would at least be able to guide the development and make it as appropriate as possible for this locality. It will 'catch' any development that requires planning permission.
The Group is now publishing a parish Biodiversity profile backed up by full species lists (as at February 2024). This document will provide the basis on which the Steering Group will select biodiversity proposals for inclusion in the NP as guidelines if not as regulatory policies. If you came to the Consultation Evening on 29th January you will have had a preview of all this, and now you can see the details and are very welcome to comment on them. Have your say!
The next chance to check on progress at a public meeting will be the Annual Village Meeting on Friday 12th April 2024 (see below). In the meantime you can still have your say: the Group is currently working on a communications strategy which will coordinate publicity across all available media at each key stage for the remainder of the project, and you can always contact us.
Your feedback is vital because it will be used to help formulate a vision for our parish and a series of objectives for the Neighbourhood Plan. Please do take the time to tell us what you think.
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