Bletsoe Neighbourhood Plan
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BLETSOE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN Your Parish – Your Plan – Your Future ISSUES AND OPTIONS CONSULTATION: SUMMARY DOCUMENT PLEASE USE THE REPRESENTATION FORMS ENCLOSED WITH THIS SUMMARY DOCUMENT AND RETURN COMPLETED FORMS TO: Alison Southern, Parish Clerk, OR Bletsoe Neighbourhood Plan, 77 Curlew Crescent, 17 Memorial Lane, Brickhill, Bedford Bletsoe, , MK41 7HY MK44 1QJ The full Issues and Options Consultation Report and a more detailed Assessment Report of the sites submitted for potential development which will form part of the Neighbourhood Plan Evidence Base is available at www.bletsoe.net. THANK YOU FOR RESPONDING TO THE CONSULTATION September 2016 1 | Page 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Neighbourhood Planning - Introduction 1.1 The Government has introduced substantial changes to the planning system in Britain and as part of these changes the Localism Act 2011 introduced statutory Neighbourhood Planning in England. It enables communities to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan for their area and it is intended to give communities more say in the development of their local area (within certain limits and parameters). Neighbourhood Plans will, therefore, help in shaping the future of the places where people live and work. 1.2 Neighbourhood Plans set out planning policies to help determine planning applications for new development and as statutory planning documents these will form part of the Bedford Borough Council “Development Plan”. Policies and site allocations identified in Neighbourhood Plans have to be in general conformity with the local authority’s Local Plan and take account of the National Planning Policy Framework. Neighbourhood planning, therefore, allows an area to get the right type of development for their community, but the plans must still meet the needs of the wider area. This means that Neighbourhood Plans must take into account the local Council's assessment of housing and other development in the area. Neighbourhood Planning - Strategic Context 1.3 Neighbourhood Plans do not take effect unless there is a majority of support in a referendum of the neighbourhood. They also have to meet a number of conditions before they can be put to a community referendum and legally come into force. These conditions are to ensure plans are legally compliant and take account of wider policy considerations (e.g. national policy). The conditions are: 1. They must have regard to national planning policy; 2. They must be in general conformity with strategic policies in the development plan for the local area (i.e. such as in a core strategy); 3. They must be compatible with EU obligations and human rights requirements. 1.4 An independent qualified person will check that the Neighbourhood Plan appropriately meets the conditions before it can be voted on in a local referendum. This is to ensure that referendums only take place when proposals are workable and of a decent quality. Proposed Neighbourhood Plans need to gain the approval of a majority of voters of the neighbourhood to come into force. If proposals pass the referendum, the local planning authority has a legal duty to bring them into force. Neighbourhood Planning - Local Context 1.5 In February 2013, Bletsoe Parish Council applied for the designation of the whole of the Bletsoe Parish as a Neighbourhood area and following a period of consultation Bedford Borough Council endorsed the proposal in a decision statement dated 1 July 2013. A Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group was set up comprising Parish Councillors and interested local residents to take forward the development of the Plan and the Steering Group has been committed to effective community engagement at all stages of the process. 2 | Page 1.6 Consultation events have been organised to promote local awareness about the Neighbourhood Plan and to find out what the community thinks about the local area, what is good, what should be changed, what could be improved etc. This community engagement sought to ensure that a Neighbourhood Plan is developed in tune with local needs and aspirations and the feedback has helped shape the content of the Issues and Options consultation document. Feedback from the consultation undertaken in summarised on the web-site at www.bletsoe.net. 1.7 The full Issues and Options Consultation Report is available at www.bletsoe.net.This sets out the key issues identified so far by the Steering Group and possible policy options for addressing them. Before bringing forward detailed polices, proposals and land allocations the Steering Group is now holding a major consultation exercise on the Issues and Options that are set out in the detailed report and which are summarised in the Representation Forms circulated to each household. 1.8 Essentially, this Issues and Options Report is a synthesis of current thinking from the feedback and evidence gathered on what sort of development should take place in Bletsoe over the plan period and what type of development might go where. The Issues and Options stage is not the same as producing a draft Neighbourhood Plan but, rather, it is about sharing current thinking and testing ideas with the wider public and also key partners who may be either statutory consultees, local service providers or landowners/developers with an interest in the future of Bletsoe. 1.9 This is a consultation document, and comments and opinions are invited in the extended period to Friday 14 October 2016 to hopefully maximise response levels. PLEASE USE THE REPRESENTATION FORMS ENCLOSED WITH THIS SUMMARY DOCUMENT AND RETURN COMPLETED FORMS TO: Alison Southern, Parish Clerk, OR Bletsoe Neighbourhood Plan, 77 Curlew Crescent, 17 Memorial Lane, Brickhill, Bedford, Bletsoe, MK41 7HY MK44 1QJ 1.10 Copies of the Representation Forms are also available from the website www.bletsoe.net and by request from the Parish Clerk on (01234) 406099 or via e- mail to [email protected]. If preferred, comments can be made in writing or via e-mail to [email protected]. 3 | Page 2. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT - ISSUES IDENTIFIED 2.1 Neighbourhood Plans are intended to be developed by local communities, for local communities and it is, therefore, essential to find out what the community thinks about the local area as a pre-requisite to the production of a successful Neighbourhood Plan. In developing the Neighbourhood Plan, Bletsoe Parish Council has sought to engage with the local community to ensure that a Neighbourhood Plan is in tune with local needs and aspirations and the feedback has helped shape emerging policies and proposals. 2.2 It has been recognised that, without the benefit of local knowledge, key issues may be missed, or even worse, proposals could be developed that are at odds with local needs or priorities, leading to conflict and delay in getting the Plan adopted. Bletsoe Parish Council has, therefore, used front-loaded consultation to find out what the local community thinks and identifies as important local issues and opportunities. 2.3 A "Launch Event" to promote local awareness about the Neighbourhood Plan was held on 25 September 2014 at Bletsoe Village Hall and was well attended. This represented the beginning of the neighbourhood planning process and the consultation event was organised with the aim of achieving an event that was open and accessible to all members of the local community. The launch consultation event provided details of what a Neighbourhood Plan is and the stages and timeline to take the initiative forward. Key questions were posed, such as: ñ What do we need to retain a viable community in Bletsoe? ñ What do we need to make Bletsoe an even better place to live? ñ What do we value and what do we want to preserve? ñ What is Bletsoe missing? ñ What do you think should be changed or improved? There were 70 consultation responses received at the event and the process helped gather a large amount of useful information. The exhibition material and a full summary of the comments received has continued to be available to the community on an established web-site, www.bletsoe.net. 2.4 The key issues arising from the Launch event were as follows: Housing: ñ There was general concern at the sites submitted to the Borough Council as part of the "call for sites" process, although some recognition that these would be robustly assessed and would not be compliant with Borough Council Local Plan policies and as a consequence resisted. ñ The setting of the Church and the Castle site should be maintained and any proposed development that could blight the setting should be resisted. ñ There is a need to respect the Conservation Area and any new development within it should be sympathetic; ñ There was support for some limited housing development but an overriding consideration was the need to ensure that the village retained its character, rural atmosphere and in particular its compact and historic nature. ñ There was a view that any housing development should be based on need. ñ There was some support for inexpensive housing, low cost affordable homes for families and retirement flats/homes; land behind Captains Close was identified as a possible location for development. 4 | Page ñ There was a view expressed that the village already had a large percentage of social housing, indicating that the stock available should be broadened. ñ There was concern at the appearance when entering the village and support, therefore, to improve the gateway to the village. ñ The need for a strong Local Plan was emphasised so that inappropriate development could be resisted. Infrastructure: ñ Parking was a problem and there was a need to review and provide off road parking or residents parking to assist this problem. Memorial Lane and The Avenue were identified as areas of parking concern. ñ Speeding was identified as a further concern with traffic calming and average speed cameras identified as possible solutions.