Prepared by the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group on Behalf of the Parish Council with Assistance From
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1 Prepared by the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group on behalf of the Parish Council with assistance from 2 Table of Contents Section Page Public Consultation 4 1.0 Introduction and Background 5 2.0 Draft Vision and Objectives 10 3.0 Options for NDP Planning Policies 12 3.1 Housing 12 3.2 Environment 18 3.3 Economy 25 3.4 Flooding 31 3.5 Protecting Local Community Facilities 34 3.6 Traffic and Transport 37 4.0 Timescales and Next Steps 39 Appendices 40 3 Public Consultation How to Comment on this Document This consultation will run from 1st – 30th November 2016. This document and accompanying response form are available online at www.madley.org.uk. Hard copies are available on request from the parish clerk. Copies will also be available at the open drop-in event on Saturday 12th November, 2-5pm at Madley Parish Hall. Please email your completed response form to the parish clerk at [email protected] or post them to Madley Parish Clerk, 12 Grenfell Road, Hereford HR1 2QR, or drop them off at the village shop. Thank you very much for your time and interest. Your responses will help us with the next stage of our Plan – a Draft Neighbourhood Plan for Madley. 4 1.0 Introduction and Background Madley Cross 1.1 Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs) are a new type of planning policy document which are prepared by Parish Councils (and other relevant bodies) to guide new development within a defined area such as a parish, alongside local authority (here, Herefordshire Council) and national planning policy documents. Madley Parish Council has decided to prepare a NDP for this area, and this document has been prepared for public consultation as a first step in the process. 1.2 The neighbourhood area for the proposed NDP was designated by Herefordshire Council on 14th April 2015 and is shown on Map 1 below. The designated neighbourhood area is the same as the Parish Boundary. A Steering Group of interested local residents and Parish Councillors was set up to oversee the preparation of the NDP on behalf of the Parish Council in March 2016. A Neighbourhood Plan open meeting was held in March 2016 facilitated by Herefordshire Association of Local Councils. A Steering Group was formed from those who expressed an interest. Since then open Steering Group meetings have been held in April, May, June, July and September 2016. 1.3 The Parish of Madley lies 6 miles to the east of the City of Hereford and approximately 10 miles from the Welsh border. The Parish is bounded to the north by the River Wye and extends south to north western edge of the village of Kingstone. A Roman Road forms part of the eastern boundary and Preston on Wye and Tyberton lie to the west. The Parish extends over 2,162 ha and had a population of 1200 in 2011 (see Census 2011 Neighbourhood Statistics1). 1.4 The main settlement is the village of Madley, which lies slightly to the east in the middle of the Parish. There are several small scattered settlements including Lulham and Canon Bridge to the north near the River Wye, Shenmore and Cublington to the east and Parkway and 1 http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination 5 Brampton to the south. The area is very rural in character with a mix of pasture, woodland and traditional and modern, commercial orchards. Numerous public footpaths crisscross the Parish providing plenty of opportunities for walking and enjoying the countryside. Parts of the area around the River Wye are at risk of flooding. Map 1 Madley Neighbourhood Area . @Crown copyright and database rights [2015] Ordnance Survey 100055940 Madley Parish Council (Licensee) License number 0100057918 1.5 There are several sites of wildlife interest and a number of built heritage assets including the River Wye which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area for Conservation (SAC), and several areas of ancient woodlands and traditional orchards. Within the Communications Centre is the Madley Environmental Study Centre (MESC) providing environmental education to all ages and abilities. The main site covers seven acres on land subject to a 99 year lease from BT. A further 13 acres has been leased and this area will be developed to increase the biodiversity of the site. 1.6 There are 35 Listed Buildings and Scheduled Monuments in the Parish. The village Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is Listed Grade I and is one of the best known local examples of Norman architecture, and there was said to have been a medieval tunnel system linking the church to Cublington Castle near Shenmore. The church is one of the 6 largest and finest in southern Herefordshire, mainly built in the 13th and 14th centuries and essentially unaltered since. The prosperity of the church is explained by the fact that Madley is by tradition the birthplace of St Dyfrig (Dubricius), later Bishop of Llandaff, and was a destination for pilgrims from the 6th century. Planning Policy 1.7 The key policy documents which are relevant to the area are: National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), and Herefordshire Adopted Local Plan Core Strategy 2011-2031. The NPPF sets out the national planning policy framework within which NDPs have to sit. Paragraph 6 sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development. Paragraph 7 advises that there are three dimensions to sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. 1.8 Paragraphs 183 – 185 provide more detailed advice about Neighbourhood Plans. 183. Neighbourhood planning gives communities direct power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and deliver the sustainable development they need. Parishes and neighbourhood forums can use neighbourhood planning to: ● set planning policies through neighbourhood plans to determine decisions on planning applications; and ● grant planning permission through Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders for specific development which complies with the order. 184. Neighbourhood planning provides a powerful set of tools for local people to ensure that they get the right types of development for their community. The ambition of the neighbourhood should be aligned with the strategic needs and priorities of the wider local area. Neighbourhood plans must be in general conformity with the strategic policies of the Local Plan. To facilitate this, local planning authorities should set out clearly their strategic policies for the area and ensure that an up-to-date Local Plan is in place as quickly as possible. Neighbourhood plans should reflect these policies and neighbourhoods should plan positively to support them. Neighbourhood plans and orders should not promote less development than set out in the Local Plan or undermine its strategic policies. 185. Outside these strategic elements, neighbourhood plans will be able to shape and direct sustainable development in their area. Once a neighbourhood plan has demonstrated its general conformity with the strategic policies of the Local Plan and is brought into force, the policies it contains take precedence over existing non-strategic policies in the Local Plan for that neighbourhood, where they are in conflict. Local planning authorities should avoid duplicating planning processes for non-strategic policies where a neighbourhood plan is in preparation. 1.9 In the Herefordshire Core Strategy Local Plan, Madley neighbourhood area falls within the Hereford Rural Housing Market Area which is required to grow by 18% over the Plan period up to 2031. Herefordshire Council’s Neighbourhood Planning Team have confirmed that the proportional growth required for Madley is a minimum of 89 new dwellings up to 2031. As 7 of April 2016 there were 24 units with planning permission, 27 units with a resolution to grant planning permission, and 6 net housing completions 6 giving a total number of commitments of 572. This leaves a net housing requirement of at least 32 new houses over the Plan period. 1.10 Madley is identified in the Core Strategy as a settlement which will be the main focus of proportionate housing development (Fig 4.14). There are no other settlements in the neighbourhood area identified as suitable for growth, and therefore everywhere outside the main village will be considered to be the wider rural area and Policies RA3 Herefordshire’s Countryside, RA4 Agricultural, forestry and rural enterprise dwellings, RA5 Re-use of rural buildings, and RA6 Rural Economy will apply. 1.11 The Core Strategy sets out the strategic planning framework for the Herefordshire with a range of planning policies which support limited housing and economic growth, protect and enhance wildlife and special landscapes, and protect community facilities. Overall the Core Strategy aims to promote sustainable development across the county. 1.12 The NDP for Madley has a role in providing the local detail for these higher level policies; providing more information about the Parish context to inform planning policies such as the location of development, house types, sizes and design, and identifying those special features in settlements and the local landscape which should be protected and enhanced. 1.13 The preparation of a NDP is a complex and lengthy process, and takes around 2 years. Madley is at the very beginning of this process (Preparing the Plan), and the main steps are set out in Figure 1. 2 See Herefordshire Council Five year housing land supply (2016 -2021) July 2016 Position Statement at 4th April 2016 https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/media/8060801/5-year-supply-july-16.pdf 8 Figure 1 Neighbourhood Plan Process 1.14 This “Issues and Options” document explains more about the key planning issues identified by the Steering Group.