Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Local Plan Proposed Submission (Regulation 22) Statement of Consultation
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Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Local Plan Proposed Submission (Regulation 22) Statement of Consultation 1 Contents Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 4 Consultation carried out under Regulation 18 ...................................................................... 5 Pre Issues and Options consultation ................................................................................ 5 Core Strategy Issues and Options Consultation - 4 March to 11 May 2009 ..................... 6 Community Representatives Workshops 2010 ................................................................. 6 How Many New Homes Consultation – 6 June to 18 July 2011 ....................................... 7 Emerging Core Strategy - 12 November 2012 to 31 January 2013 .................................. 8 Local Plan Consultation document - 23 January to 20 March 2015 .................................. 8 Other engagement events ................................................................................................ 9 Petitions .......................................................................................................................... 10 Publication of the Local Plan – Regulation 19 .................................................................... 11 Representations pursuant to the Draft Local Plan – Regulation 20 .................................... 12 Consultation on the Draft Local Plan Proposed Submission 2016.................................. 13 What we did .................................................................................................................... 14 Who we consulted .......................................................................................................... 14 How we consulted .......................................................................................................... 14 The number of representations received ........................................................................ 16 Summaries of the main issues raised pursuant to Reg. 20 ................................................ 16 Legal Compliance – Main Issues Legal Compliance Summary ...................................... 16 The content of the Sustainability Appraisal and the Habitats Regulations Assessment . 16 Draft Local Plan Proposed Submission (DLPPS) ........................................................... 16 Proposed Submission Policies Maps (PSPM) ................................................................ 17 The decision of the Council ............................................................................................ 17 Appendix A – List of those notified and invited to make representations to the Draft Local Plan Proposed Submission 2016 and associated documents ............................................ 18 Specific bodies notified of the 2016 consultation ............................................................ 18 Duty to Cooperate bodies notified of the 2016 consultation ........................................... 20 General Bodies notified of the 2016 consultation ........................................................... 21 Other Key Stakeholders notified of the 2016 consultation .............................................. 23 Wider Community notified of the 2016 consultation ........................................................ 30 Appendix B1 – Notification Email with Statement of Representations Procedure .............. 90 Appendix B2 – Notification Letter with Statement of Representations Procedure .............. 95 Appendix C – Newspaper Advertisements in local press ................................................. 100 Welwyn Hatfield Times, Hertfordshire Mercury and Herts Advertiser ....................... 100 Appendix D – Life Magazine ............................................................................................ 103 2 Appendix E – Flyers ......................................................................................................... 104 Appendix F – Social Media .............................................................................................. 105 Appendix G – Press Articles ............................................................................................ 107 Appendix H – Summaries of the Main Issues raised in representations pursuant to Regulation 20, changes sought and the Council’s response ............................................ 125 Appendix H1 – Main Issues Legal Compliance Summary and the content of the 127 Sustainability Appraisal and the Habitats Regulations Assessment of the Draft Local Plan Proposed Submission 2016 Appendix H2 – Draft Local Plan Proposed Submission - Overarching Strategy 186 Soundness Appendix H3 Draft Local Plan Proposed Plan Proposed Submission – Topic 249 Specific Policies – Soundness Appendix H4 - Draft Local Plan Proposed Plan Proposed Submission – 377 Settlement Policies and Site Allocations – Soundness Appendix H5 – Proposed Submission Policies Maps – Soundness 569 Appendix I – List of Respondents to the Draft Local Plan Proposed 587 Submission, Policies Map, Sustainability Appraisal, Habitats Regulations Assessment 2016 consultation 3 Introduction When submitting a Local Plan for independent examination, Section 20 (3) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act requires local planning authorities to send (in addition to the development plan document) to the Secretary of State, such other documents and information as prescribed. The documents prescribed in Regulation 22 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 are: (a) The Sustainability Appraisal Report; (b) A submission policies map if the adoption of the local plan would result in changes to the adopted polices map; (c) A statement setting out: (i) Which bodies and persons the local planning authority invited to make representations under regulation 18; (ii) How those bodies and persons were invited to make representations under regulation 18; (iii) A summary of the main issues raised by the representations made pursuant to regulation 18; (iv) How any representations made pursuant to regulation 18 have been taken into account; (v) If representations were made pursuant to regulations 20, the number of representations made and a summary of the main issues raised in those representations; and (vi) If no representations were made in regulation 20, that no such representations were made. This Statement of Consultation addresses those matters set out in Regulation 22 (c). 4 Consultation carried out under Regulation 18 Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 relates to the preparation of a local plan. When preparing a local plan, a local planning authority must notify certain specific and general bodies or persons as specified in the regulations of the subject of the local plan, invite representations and take into account representations received. The Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan has taken shape over a number of years. The initial intention was to prepare a Core Strategy followed by other development plan documents dealing with site allocations and development management policies. However, the Council subsequently decided to move to the production of a single Local Plan, combining strategic, site allocation and development management policies into a single document. The following stages of consultation have all informed various stages of Local Plan preparation. Pre Issues and Options consultation In advance of preparing the Welwyn Hatfield Core Strategy Issues and Options Paper (2009), the council carried out pre-production consultation in line with the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement (2007). This included a consultation on the scoping of the Sustainability Appraisal. The Pre-production Issues and Options Consultation Statement (2007-2008) can be read here:http://www.welhat.gov.uk/article/4142/Pre-Issues-and-Options The Council’s Cabinet Housing and Planning Panel (13 January 2009) were advised that early consultation had been undertaken to ensure that interested parties have had the opportunity to identify key issues and put forward realistic and relevant options for consideration. We engaged with a wide cross section of interests including residents, infrastructure providers, businesses, developers, parish council’s, amenity groups, and the LSP. Methods for engagement have been varied, including the use of letters, emails, one to one meetings, workshops, and an activity stand at a local festival, a drop-in event, focus groups, meetings and a web-based forum for part of the evidence gathering. We also took account of relevant consultation undertaken elsewhere in the authority, for example, consultation on the Corporate Plan or at the Landlord’s Forum. The consultation statement sets out which specific, general and other bodies or persons were consulted and how they were consulted. The responses received to this consultation informed the identification of the key issues and options for the borough, which were then set out in the Welwyn Hatfield Core Strategy Issues and Options Paper 2009. 5 Core Strategy Issues and Options Consultation - 4 March to 11 May 2009 The Core Strategy Issues and Options Paper was a comprehensive document setting out a wide range of challenges facing the borough1. This integrated a description of the sustainability advantages and disadvantages of the options presented. The Core Strategy Issues and