Hythe and Dibden Consultation Statement
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Hythe and Dibden Neighbourhood Development Plan Consultation Statement for Regulation 15 Consultation March 2019 1 | P a g e Contents Section Page 1 Consultation Statement – the Regulation 3 2 Overview of the work leading to the development of a 4 Neighbourhood Plan 3 Hythe and Dibden Neighbourhood Planning Group 5 3.8 Resourcing of the group and its work 6 4 Collating the issues raised by the Community 7 4.1 RevitalHythe 7 4.2 The Action Plan 2005 8 4.3 Representations to Council 11 4.4 Consultation Activities and Representations 13 5 Initial consultations Autumn 2016 16 5.1 Roadshows 16 5.2 Google Survey 17 6 Ongoing engagement and transparency 46 6.1 Roadshows 46 6.2 Google Survey 48 7 Development and Testing of Policies 71 8 Pre-submission Consultation 72 8.1 Roadshows 72 8.2 Google Survey 75 8.3 Statutory consultees 78 8.4 Formal submissions by Businesses not statutory consultees 108 8.5 Callers to Hythe and Dibden Parish Council 112 9 Consideration of Regulation 14 Consultation Results 113 10 Conclusion 135 Appendices A Terms of Reference Neighbourhood Planning Sub Committee 2 | P a g e 1. Consultation Statement – the Regulation 1.1 Hythe and Dibden Parish Council is submitting its Neighbourhood Development Plan to New Forest District Council and the National Park Authority for independent examination at the end of September 2018. 1.2 When completed this Consultation Statement will comply with the requirements of Regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Plan Regulations and will include the response to Regulation 14 of the Neighbourhood Plan Regulations (pre-submission statutory consultation). It has been prepared by Hythe and Dibden Neighbourhood Planning Group with support from Neil Williamson Associates Ltd that enables the Group to fulfil the legal obligations of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012. 1.3 This preliminary draft has been prepared in advance of the Regulation 14 consultation, so at this stage section 8.1 (Regulation 14 consultation) and section 9.0 (Conclusions) remain blank. They will be completed and the draft statement updated as necessary post February 2019 when the outcomes of Regulation 14 consultation are known. 1.4 To summarise Section 15(2) of Part 5 of the Regulations requires that a Consultation Statement should: 1.4.1 Contain details of the persons and bodies who were consulted about the proposed Neighbourhood Development Plan; 1.4.2 Explain how they were consulted; 1.4.3 Summarise the main issues and concerns raised by the persons consulted; 1.4.4 Describe how these issues and concerns have been considered and, where relevant, addressed in the proposed Neighbourhood Development Plan. 1.5 This Consultation Statement summarises all consultation and engagement undertaken with the community and other relevant statutory bodies and stakeholders in developing Hythe and Dibden’s Neighbourhood Plan. 1.6 The statement includes specific detail on how issues that were raised during the pre submission consultation have been addressed and evidence of the feedback received during the consultation events is included are incorporated into this statement. 1.7 For further information regarding the consultations and this statement please contact: Stephanie Bennett Clerk to the Council Hythe and Dibden Parish Council [email protected] Telephone 02380 841411 option 2 1.8 All information can be viewed at https://www.hytheanddibden.gov.uk/neighbourhood- plan/ 3 | P a g e 2. Overview of the work leading to the development of a Neighbourhood Plan 2.1 In the summer of 2015 Hythe and Dibden Parish Council considered a report on issues that had previously been identified in relation to Hythe and Dibden as well as the opportunities afforded from the implementation of a Neighbourhood Plan. The Council resolved to support the development of a Neighbourhood Plan through a subcommittee framework supported by the officers of the Council. 2.2 Previous activity by the Council under the umbrella of the Market Towns Initiative provided an action plan and delivery framework for regenerative and development work identified by the community and partners. It was recognised that this work, although successful, could not deliver certain needs that had been identified through community engagement and consultation i.e. the provision of starter homes and it was felt that the potential to provide a community led Neighbourhood Plan would assist to deliver a number of gaps. 2.3 The designated area for Hythe and Dibden’s Neighbourhood Plan covers the whole Parish which is situated in both the New Forest District Council area as well as the New Forest National Parks area. The use of the Parish boundary was objected to by Associated British Ports and Southampton City Council (citing that it was incorrect to include the deep water channel and the strategic land reserve for the port) however the local community had concerns over both erosion and port expansion and the Parish Council worked with both planning authorities to make the case for the inclusion of the whole parish. The boundary was finally agreed by both authorities in December 2015. 2.4 A community based subcommittee framework was the preferred model for developing the Plan and following a report to Council in February 2016 the group was formed under a defined terms of reference and an initial overview of issues previously raised by the community was collated. 4 | P a g e 3. Hythe and Dibden Neighbourhood Planning Group 3.1 The Group operates as a sub-committee under terms of reference developed by the Parish Council (see Appendix A). The Group consists of 12 members: Chairman of the Parish Planning Committee 5 parish councillors 1 representative of the spiritual sector 1 representative of the business sector 1 representative of the voluntary sector 1 representative of the transport sector 1 representative of the young people/young family sector 1 representative for the environment sector 3.2 The terms of reference states: “The sub committee’s purpose is to design, implement and oversee two action plans: The Neighbourhood Plan development process Communication, engagement and training to facilitate the Neighbourhood Plan process 3.3 The Tasks and Activities required of the sub-committee clearly sets out its role of engagement. 3.4 The working group was focussed on ensuring that with regard to engagement the development of the Neighbourhood Plan was undertaken by: Involving as many of the community as possible throughout all consultation stages of the Plan’s development. This provided information to enable the emerging Neighbourhood Plan to be informed by the views of local people and stakeholders throughout the process; Undertaking consultation and engagement at important points in the process; Engaging with as wide a range of people as possible, using a variety of communication channels; Feeding back to the community and having up to date information available throughout the process 3.5 In addition to the community engagement the Hythe and Dibden Neighbourhood Planning Group has worked to engage and consult with the multiple partners (including principal councils and statutory agencies) as well as Associated British Ports in relation to the potential National Strategic Infrastructure Project of port expansion. 3.6 It is to be noted that throughout the process the District Council and National Park have been considering reviews of their Local Plans and close contact has been kept with both authorities to ensure that the plans are compatible. 3.7 The level of consultation undertaken is provided in the evidence sections. 5 | P a g e Resourcing of Neighbourhood Planning Group 3.8 The development of the Hythe and Dibden Neighbourhood Plan has depended on the commitment and goodwill of the group members. Their continued voluntary help has seen this plan grow from conversations in the community to the words being set on paper for the Regulation 14 consultation. 3.9 The group has accessed funding from Locality and has used that funding to cover the costs of employing the services of a planning consultant to prepare the policies and technical documents. Technical support assistance has also been provided by Locality for the production of the required Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitat Regulation Assessment. 3.10 The group has also secured funding from the Parish Council to assist it with the subsidiary costs in running the consultation events and media messages however it has worked hard to keep these costs to a minimum and as a result has utilised free services such as Google Survey. 3.11 The resources of the Parish Council have been made available to the Neighbourhood Planning Group and this included administrative and project assistance from the Clerk and Parish Development Officer. All maps contained within the Neighbourhood Plan have been prepared by the Chairman of the Neighbourhood Planning Group Cllr Graham Parkes. 3.12 The group has also been provided free space at the Community Centre for its many meetings, and free market stall space and a free space on Hythe Marina at which consultations were undertaken. 6 | P a g e 4. Collating the issues raised by the Community 4.1 RevitalHythe 4.1.1 In 2005 Hythe & Dibden Parish Council agreed to carry out a market Town Health Check for Hythe and Dibden. The first step of this was to complete a Snapshot to give an overview of what facilities and amenities were already present within the Parish, and which were missing. While this process was being completed a ‘Love It, Hate It, I Wish’ survey [1] was carried out, a simple survey asking people to note three things’ they Loved, ‘Hated’ and Wished they had. The survey was kept simple so as not to ‘guide’ the answers and thus get a truer reflection of the community’s needs.