Consultation Statement November 2018
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Swaffham Neighbourhood Plan Consultation Statement November 2018 To accompany Version 2: Neighbourhood Plan submission draft for examination Contents Page 1. Introduction 4 2. Community engagement stages 5 3. Communication approach 8 4. Conclusion 9 Appendices APPENDIX 1: Designation of the Neighbourhood Plan Area 10 APPENDIX 1a: Application for designation as a Neighbourhood Area. APPENDIX 1b: Draft vision that accompanied the application for designation as a Neighbourhood Area. APPENDIX 1c: Map to accompany application for designation as a Neighbourhood Area. APPENDIX 1d: Response from Breckland District Council designating the Neighbourhood Area. APPENDIX 2: Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group members. 15 APPENDIX 3: Terms of Reference for Swaffham Neighbourhood Plan 16 Steering Group. APPENDIX 4: Evidence gathering 1, Preliminary consultation (produced 17 by Core Connections). APPENDIX 5: Evidence gathering 2, topic groups. 22 APPENDIX 6: Evidence gathering 3, Informal workshops and online 22 survey. APPENDIX 6a: Report on five workshops and comments made at them (produced by Core Connections). APPENDIX 6b: Report on findings, Part A (produced by Core Connections). APPENDIX 6c: Report on findings, Part B (produced by Core Connections). APPENDIX 7: Evidence gathering 4, Stakeholder input. 59 APPENDIX 7a: Stakeholder input summary APPENDIX 7b: Nicolas Hamond Academy Sixth Form Students (written by students) APPENDIX 7c: The Nicholas Hamond Academy Students, Years 7, 8 and 9 APPENDIX 7d: Sacred Heart Convent School (Years 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9) 2 APPENDIX 8: Evidence gathering 5, Policy ideas workshop. 67 APPENDIX 8a: Policy ideas workshop summary APPENDIX 8b: Policy ideas workshop poster APPENDIX 8c: Policy ideas workshop photographs APPENDIX 8d: Policy ideas workshop results APPENDIX 9: Evidence gathering 6, Pre-submission consultation on the 142 draft Neighbourhood Plan. APPENDIX 9a: Pre-submission consultation summary APPENDIX 9b: poster/flyer put up around the parish and printed in Swaffham Newsletter APPENDIX 9c: consultation response form used at the consultation event, in community locations and online. An online version was on Survey Monkey. APPENDIX 9d: log of comments and responses to Pre-submission consultation APPENDIX 9e: changes to policies in the Neighbourhood Plan as a result of pre-submission consultation APPENDIX 9f: Log of changes to Sustainability Appraisal between pre-submission consultation and submission, October 2018 3 1. Introduction Background and consultation requirements 1.1 Swaffham Neighbourhood Plan is a community-led document for guiding the future development of the parish. It is the first of its kind for Swaffham and a part of the Government’s current approach to planning. It has been undertaken with extensive community engagement, consultation and communication. 1.2 The Consultation Statement is designed to meet the requirements set out in the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 for Consultation Statements. This document sets out the consultation process employed in the production of the Swaffham Neighbourhood Plan. It also demonstrates how the requirements of Regulation 14 and 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 have been satisfied. 1.3 The Steering Group have endeavoured to ensure that the Neighbourhood Plan reflects the desires of the local community and key stakeholders, which have been engaged with from the outset of developing the Plan. 1.4 Part 5, Section 15(2) of the Regulations sets out that a Consultation Statement should: a. Contain details of the persons and bodies who were consulted about the proposed neighbourhood development plan; b. Explain how they were consulted; c. Summarise the main issues and concerns raised by the persons consulted; and d. Describe how these issues and concerns have been considered and, where relevant, addressed in the proposed Neighbourhood Plan. Designation as a Neighbourhood Area 1.5 Swaffham Parish Council made an application for the designation as a Neighbourhood Area on 23rd February 2016 (see Appendix 1a, 1b and 1c). Breckland District Council approved the area on 4th April 2016. The Neighbourhood Plan area is the parish of Swaffham. 4 2. Community engagement stages The recruitment of a Steering Group 2.1 On 26th April 2016 Swaffham Town Council agreed to undertake a Neighbourhood Plan. On 28th March 2017 reports came in to the Planning Committee of the Town Council from a range of topic groups. The topic groups came together to form a Steering Group of interested residents to guide and produce a Neighbourhood Plan in November 2017. 2.2 See Appendix 2 for Steering Group members. The Steering Group developed a Terms of Reference (Appendix 3). All Steering Group members completed a Declaration of Interest form. Prior to November 2017, Core Connections were advising the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group. From December 2018 onwards independent consultants, Rachel Leggett, Andrea Long and Emma Harrison guided the group. 2.3 The Swaffham Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group appointed project management support and agreed a Communication and Community Engagement Plan. It was agreed engagement needed to be effective through the process and would result in a well-informed plan and a sense of local ownership. The aim of the Communication and Community Engagement Plan was to inform and involve the Swaffham community throughout the process. Communication is dealt with in section 3 of this report. 2.4 There are five stages in which residents of Swaffham and key stakeholders were engaged: Evidence gathering 1: Preliminary consultation. Evidence gathering 2: Topic groups. Evidence gathering 3: Informal workshops and online survey. Evidence gathering 4: Stakeholder input. Evidence gathering 5: Policy ideas workshop. Evidence gathering 6: Pre-submission consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Plan. 2.5 This section gives an outline of each stage. Full details of the purpose, date and locations, consultees, publicity, preparation, event details, follow up and results can be found in the appendices. The names of individual respondents have been removed. 2.5.1 Evidence gathering 1: Preliminary consultation (Appendix 4). 2pm-7pm on Wednesday, 25th May 2016. Purpose: Preliminary consultation event to establish key themes for the Neighbourhood Plan. 58 attendees. Key themes established: transport; housing; wellbeing; local economy; and social/community. 5 2.5.2 Evidence gathering 2: Topic groups (Appendix 5). February 2017 onwards. Monthly topic group meetings tasked with investigating: business and employment; transport and access; open spaces, leisure and sport; education and young people; health and community services; town centre, heritage and tourism. The topic groups gathered information and identified issues. Meetings were held with stakeholders for education provision, and sports and leisure groups. 2.5.3 Evidence gathering 3: Informal workshops and online survey (Appendix 6). Workshops held from Wednesday 19th to Friday 21st July 2017. Online survey from July to September 2017. Workshops were held on: tourism; the town centre; north of the town; travel, traffic, safety and air pollution; Green Britain Centre and business. There were 301 respondents. The survey covered a range of topics including: use of town shops and services; health and community services; sports and leisure activity; entertainment, culture and visitors; education and training services; civic services and voluntary activity; environment and open spaces; travel and car parking; employment and business. 2.5.4 Evidence gathering 4: Stakeholder input (Appendix 7). January to May 2018. Meetings and correspondence with interested groups and stakeholders to establish detail for policy. The Steering Group met with or corresponded with: Sacred Heart School students; The Nicholas Hamond Academy students; Swaffham Junior Academy students; a range of local businesses; visitors to the Tourist Information Centre and the Swaffham Museum; Swaffham History Group; Swaffham Rugby Club; Rotary Club for Swaffham; Probus; Swaffham Women’s Institute; Manor Farm Medical Centre; Age Concern. Notes of all meetings were fed into Steering Group meetings to draft policy ideas. 2.5.5 Evidence gathering 5: Policy ideas workshop (Appendix 8). 10am-3pm on Saturday, 14th April 2018 and 5pm- 7pm on Tuesday, 17th April 2018. Also online survey with content of the workshops. Purpose: to check emerging policy ideas. 283 respondents (192 at the two events, 91 online). Most ideas were agreed, with additional comments that helped shape the drafting of policy for the Neighbourhood Plan. 2.5.6 Evidence gathering 6: Pre-submission consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Plan (Appendix 9) 10am-1pm on Wednesday, 18th July 2018 Purpose: to present the draft pre-submission Neighbourhood Plan to get comments from residents, including an exhibition of the policies with Consultation Response forms. The draft Plan was available in community 6 locations and online (with an online Consultation Response form) from 18th July to 1st September 2018. The pre- submission six-week consultation, ran from 18th July to 1st September. The Neighbourhood Plan and Sustainability Appraisal (SA) was emailed to statutory agencies, other stakeholders and residents with a Consultation Response Forms. The Plan and the Sustainability Appraisal were also available in community locations (Town Council, Library, Community Centre, Swaffham Museum) and online (with an online Consultation Response form).