Aldingbourne Neighbourhood Development Plan 2014- 2034
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! Plan status: Made by Arun DC on 9 November 2016 Plan made by SDNPA on 8 December 2016 Aldingbourne Neighbourhood Development Plan 2014- 2034 (with post Examination modifications) Reg 15 Post Examination Plan Sept 2016 Page !1 07/09/2016 ! CONTENTS Foreword 4 1.0 Introduction 6 1.1 How the Plan fits into the Planning System 1.2 The Plan Preparation Process 1.3 How the Plan is organised 1.4 Community Involvement 1.5 Sustainability Appraisal 1.6 Map of the Parish area 2.0 Context 9 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Planning Policy Context 3.0 About Aldingbourne 11 3.1 General Overview 3.2 Site Context Map 3.3 History 3.4 Environment 3.5 Heritage 3.6 Housing 3.7 Getting Around 3.8 Employment and Enterprise 3.9 Leisure and Community 4.0 Vision and Core Objectives 24 4.1 Vision Statement 4.2 Core Objectives 5.0 Neighbourhood Plan Policies 26 5.1 Introduction to Polices 5.2 The Presumption in Favour of Development 5.3 Housing 5.4 Environment and Heritage 5.5 Getting Around 5.6 Employment and Enterprise 5.7 Leisure and Community 5.8 Supporting Evidence/Background Documents Reg 15 Post Examination Plan Sept 2016 Page !2 07/09/2016 ! Map A - Biodiversity Corridors Map B - Agricultural Land Classification Map C - Leisure Proposal Map D - Footpath and Cycle Path network Map E - Built Up Area Boundary Map Schedule A - Assets of Community Value Schedule B - Local Green Space Schedule C - Local Open Space Schedule D - Buildings and Structures of Character (Existing) Schedule E - Buildings and Structures of Character (Proposed) Schedule F - Flint Walls Reg 15 Post Examination Plan Sept 2016 Page !3 07/09/2016 ! Foreword The Parish of Aldingbourne covers 1,252 hectares of mainly high quality arable farmland on the coastal plain, adjoining the South Downs National Park to the north. The village of Westergate forms the principal settlement and the smaller settlements of Aldingbourne, Norton, Nyton, Woodgate, and Lidsey and small clusters of dwellings are scattered across the rural area. The parish is therefore rural in character. In 2012 the Localism Act gave powers to town and parish councils to give their communities a far greater say in planning matters through the preparation of Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs). From the start Aldingbourne Parish Council (APC) was keen to take up this right and a Working Group of volunteers was formed to draw up a draft plan. The Working Group has met almost monthly for three years, held three consultation events and conducted a number of surveys in compiling the evidence base for this Plan. The work involved would not have been possible without the funding provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government and Arun District Council towards the appointment of a consultant, Process Matters, for which the Parish Council is most grateful. The Aldingbourne Neighbourhood Development Plan (ANDP) has allowed the residents of the parish to have a say in all aspects of the future of the areas that make up the Parish. It has enabled local people to shape the changes that should occur, rather than leaving such decisions to the Local Planning Authority, Arun District Council (ADC), and to provide developers with clarity as to the requirements to be met for development within the parish. The supporting text to policies is designed to provide explanation and thereby enhance its clarity. By also setting out community aspirations that come from local consultation and go beyond development policies it is hoped that developers will engage with and have regard to them and assist the Parish Council to deliver these aspirations where possible. The Neighbourhood Plan Working Group, supported by the response to community consultation, has embraced the concept of Sustainable Development, as set out by the United Nations General Assembly: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. The National Planning Policy Framework aspires to foster development that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable have been fundamental to the preparation of this Plan. Each Neighbourhood Plan will reflect the nature of the local area and community. Aldingbourne’s low lying Geography and chalk streams which have given rise to a history of flooding have formed the basis for proposals to protect the parish’s biodiversity that have generated wider interest e.g. among other Neighbourhood Plan groups. The Parish Council would like to thank the members of this Working Group for their hard work and commitment in bringing this Plan to fruition in the face of difficult emerging circumstances. These circumstances included two planning applications for eleven times more housing than required in the parish by the draft Arun Local Plan, which were won on Appeal at a very late stage in the NP process, and uncertainty over the status of the emerging Arun Local Plan, which contains a strategic housing proposal for over 2000 new homes and a new road which will join up the parish to neighbouring Barnham and Eastergate. The Appeals regrettably undermined the community’s chosen strategy and led to rejection of the first draft Neighbourhood Plan at examination. Many of the Examiner’s helpful suggestions have been taken on board in the presentation of this draft. The Plan sets out a vision for the period up to 2034 that reflects the views of local people with a real interest in their community. The Plan sets objectives on key identified themes such as getting around, business, tourism, community, Reg 15 Post Examination Plan Sept 2016 Page !4 07/09/2016 ! leisure, well-being, the natural environment and the design quality of physical structures. The intention is that, through consultation, future planning can be by consensus and thus avoid further conflict. However, investment in the Parish, and change in future years, will only be worthwhile if they provide a real benefit to the lives of local people and the future of their community. The question of the expansion of the biodiversity - green corridor beyond that established in the revised Aldingbourne Neighbourhood Plan will be reviewed through the local plan sustainability appraisal as proposed by the examiner. Martin Beaton, Chairman. Reg 15 Post Examination Plan Sept 2016 Page !5 07/09/2016 ! 1.0 Introduction 1.1 How the Neighbourhood Plan fits into the Planning System 1.1.1 The Aldingbourne Neighbourhood Development Plan (also known as the Plan) is a new type of planning document. It is part of the Government’s new approach to planning, which gives communities the power to shape the neighbourhoods in which they live. This is set out in the Localism Act that came into effect in April 2012. 1.1.2 Although the Act’s intention is for local people to decide what goes on in their villages/ towns, it sets out some important guidance. The Aldingbourne Neighbourhood Plan (the Plan) must be in line with the following: • National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) • Arun District Council (ADC) Local Plan 2003 • European Regulations on key environmental aspects 1.2 The Plan Preparation Process 1.2.1 The Plan has been based on proper and well advertised consultation with parishioners and others with an interest in Aldingbourne (the Parish). Details of the consultations can be viewed on the Parish Council web site aldingbourne.arun.gov.uk 1.2.2 A Consultation Statement and Basic Conditions Statement have been provided which demonstrate that the Plan fully accords with the requirements of the Localism Act. 1.3 How the Plan is organised The Plan is organised into the following sections; Section 1.0 - Introduction; provides an introduction to the Neighbourhood Plan process and how the Plan was formulated. Section 2.0 - Context; provides the evidence base and baseline conditions which support the Plan proposals. Section 3.0 - The Parish Today - includes selected statistics Section 4.0 - Vision and Core Objectives Section 5.0 - Neighbourhood Plan Policies; this provides the criteria and framework upon which future development is judged and how the community should grow. 1.4 Community Involvement 1.4.1 The Plan identifies the issues that are important to residents of the Parish and gives those residents a voice in shaping the future of their community. In doing so, the Neighbourhood Plan encourages the local community to:- • be more aware of their surroundings and meet local needs; • identify what features of the community they want to protect and enhance; Reg 15 Post Examination Plan Sept 2016 Page !6 07/09/2016 ! • give the Parish Council greater support and a mandate for taking actions on their behalf; and • identify initiatives and funding that can be delivered by the community itself. 1.4.2 The Neighbourhood Plan will also support the Parish Council’s work in influencing service providers such as the South Downs National Park Authority, Arun District Council, West Sussex County Council and other authorities whose decisions affect the Parish. 1.4.3 To achieve these goals the Parish Council has undertaken a programme of consultation events which are detailed in the Consultation Statement. 1.4.4 To ensure that the Neighbourhood Plan is robust in its evidence base and compliant with emerging policy guidance consultation has been carried out with residents, businesses and stakeholders. A full description of all the surveys and events can be found in the Evidence Base. 1.5 Sustainability Appraisal 1.5.1 It is necessary that a neighbourhood plan does not breach and is otherwise compatible with European Union and Human Rights obligations. A sustainability appraisal is not required for a neighbourhood plan. However, it must be screened at an early stage to determine whether it may require or cause the need for an environmental assessment.