Role of This Document
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1 Role of this document This Statement of Participation details the engagement and consultation process that has been undertaken during the preparation of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ Core Strategy. It has been prepared in accordance with Regulation 24 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2008. The Statement sets out: 1) The approach the Council took to engagement and consultation throughout the preparation of the plan 2) The process undertaken for the two formal rounds of consultation on the emerging options and alternatives for the Core Strategy. Specifically, this paper details for the two consultation periods: The people, groups and organisations invited for consultations; How they were invited to be involved; A summary of the main issues raised by the consultees; and How the issues raised have been addressed in the Core Strategy. Background PPS12 – Local Spatial Planning requires that the production of core strategies should follow the Government’s principles for community engagement in planning. Involvement should be: appropriate to the level of planning; from the outset – leading to a sense of ownership of local policy decisions; continuous – part of ongoing programme, not a one-off event, with clearly articulated opportunities for continuing involvement; transparent and accessible – using methods appropriate to the communities concerned; and planned – as an integral part of the process for making plans. It also requires that ‘(T)he council must produce a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) which should follow these principles. The involvement of the public in preparing the core strategy must follow the approach set out in the SCI.’ Council’s Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) was adopted in February 2008. The Council’s SCI is based on a series of promises from the Council including: consultation and involvement will be well planned and co-ordinated clear information will be provided; appropriate consultation will be undertaken; consultation and involvement will be flexible; the purpose of each consultation and involvement process will be set out; a variety of methods will be used; accurate records of responses will be kept and summaries of the findings will be made public; where appropriate, local voluntary groups will be encouraged to participate; all exercises will be reviewed and monitored; and training and guidance will be provided. The SCI also includes a promise to be reviewed regularly to ensure it remains up-to- date and robust. 2 Following the introduction of the new PPS12 and the amendment of the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England) Regulations, some amendments were required to the SCI. These amendments did not affect the Council’s promises but rather, the more flexible approach to plan making set out in the new Regulation 25. In addition there were also minor changes to the consultation process for planning applications which were required. Whilst the review of the SCI was underway, officers preparing the Core Strategy planned its programme of engagement and consultation based on the government’s principles for community engagement in planning as well as the promises within the Council’s SCI. A notification was also included on the Council’s website (SCI page) to inform people of this approach. Engagement in the development of the Core Strategy Engagement as part of the development of the Core Strategy has been key from the outset. Engagement with local people, community groups, businesses and key stakeholders from the private, public and community sectors has been an integral component during the development of the Core Strategy. It has been undertaken through a range of methods over the entire preparation period. This process has enabled commentary to effectively shape and inform the Core Strategy. Ongoing engagement and participation Throughout the preparation of the Core Strategy there were was actions which were followed throughout this process to ensure effective and efficient engagement and consultation. Effective use of other consultation findings: Analysed consultation messages from other Council consultation events and process (including the previous consultation on the 2005-2006 LDF preparation, all master plans’ and the Community Plan consultation) to identify key issues affecting the borough. Working with the Local Strategic Partnership in the preparation and implementation of the Community Plan: The Strategic Planning Team was involved in the preparation and consultation of the refresh of the Tower Hamlets Partnership (LSP) Community Plan. Strategic Planning officers assisted in consultation events and as well as undertaking a series of ‘visioning’ exercises with senior Council officer, the LSP executive and members to understand some of the spatial implication of the refreshed Community Plan. The Strategic Planning manager’s involvement in the Community Plan Delivery Groups has ensured on-going engagement with the LSP through the Core Strategy preparation process. Established an External Stakeholders Working Group. This group has overseen the preparation of the Core Strategy. It comprises representatives from Government Office for London, Greater London Authority, Environment Agency, English Heritage, Olympic Development Authority, London Development Agency, London Thames Gateway Development Corporation and Transport for London. This group meet roughly every 6 weeks, starting in January 2008, through to the submission of Core Strategy. Joint evidence base and joint working. Officers undertook with other Council departments and the LSP partners the development of key evidence base documents. Specifically joint evidence was commissioned for waste evidence, the Population Change and Growth Model and the Town Centre Spatial 3 Strategy. Furthermore officers worked closely with other partners on developing evidence such as the Places Plan (in the Options and Alternatives for Places consultation documents). Strategic Planning also worked with NHS Tower Hamlets and the Health Urban Development Unit to complete HUDU’s Health Checklist for Core Strategies. Combining with other consultation events Officers used the opportunities of other consultation events to engage with local residents. For example, officers attended the Tower Hamlets Youth Partnership events which looked at ensuring young people feed into Council and Tower Hamlets Partnership policy and activities. Consultation throughout the preparation of supporting evidence base. In addition to direct consultation on the Core Strategy, evidence base document also had separate consultation events, including targeted workshops, formal consultation events and bilateral discussions with key stakeholders. Further bilateral discussions with stakeholders Outside of the consultation process, officers meet with a range of consultees throughout the preparation process to discuss emerging issues about the Core Strategy, as they issues arose. Formal Consultation on options and alternatives for the Core Strategy As part of the continuous engagement process, two periods of public consultation were undertaken for the two consultation documents. These were: Options and Alternatives (summer 2008) – set out high-level options for strategic development in the borough (6-weeks); and Options and Alternatives for Place (winter 2009) – set out preferred options in a place shaping context (6-weeks). The commentary from both these documents were used to inform the Proposed Submission Version of the Core Strategy. Who did we invite to take part in consultations? To ensure the views of local people, community groups and stakeholders were acknowledged, those detailed as Specific Consultees and General Consultees were directly invited to take part in two formal rounds of public consultation on the Core Strategy and associated documents. In addition to direct invitations, the council also asked the general public to comment. Appendix 1 & 2 lists the Specific Consultees and General Consultees that were invited to take part in the consultation for the two formal rounds of consultation. 4 How were they invited? A number of methods were used to invite consultees to provide commentary of the Core Strategy and associated comments. These methods were all in accordance with the Council Statement of Committee Involvement requirements. The tables below set out the methods of invitation and engagement: Method Consultation document. Stage O&A and O&A Places Consultation documents were produced for both rounds of consultation. Whilst the first document set out the options and alternatives available to the borough, the second document set out the preferred options and how these would impact and shape the places of the borough. Both documents contained pre-prepared questions for consultees to consider, and were encouraged to add any additional comments. Both consultation documents were sent to the Specific Consultees, with the General Consultees notified of the opportunity to comment on each document. Both documents were made available online on the Council’s website, at the borough’s libraries, Idea Stores and the Town Hall. Method Letter and emails Stage O&A and O&A Places Letters and emails were sent to Specific and General Consultees informing them of the upcoming formal consultation dates, location and availability of the consultation documents and inviting them to make representations on the consultation documents. Method Newspaper adverts Stage O&A and O&A Places