Alnwick & Denwick Neighbourhood
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2014-31 Your Town - Your Plan - Your Future Referendum Version May 2017 ALNWICK AND DENWICK NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN | REFERENDUM VERSION | MAY 2017 1 Foreword by the Mayor of Alnwick and Chairman of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group The Neighbourhood Plan is a new type of plan for the local area which has been drawn up by a Steering Group of volunteers from the town and parish and in response to your input over the last three years. It is very much Your Plan for Your Town helping to shape Your Future. It’s a plan that looks forward optimistically and lays out policies and proposals for the future growth and development of Alnwick and Denwick whilst ensuring that our great heritage and fabulous environment continues to be protected. The Steering Group has put in a huge amount of work to get to this point and on behalf of the Town Council I would like to thank all those who have worked on it. Alan Symmonds Mayor of Alnwick 2 ALNWICK AND DENWICK NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN | REFERENDUM VERSION | MAY 2017 Table of Contents CHAPTER PAGE Foreword 2 Table of Contents 3 1 Introduction to the Neighbourhood Plan 4 2 The Future for Alnwick and Denwick 7 3 Sustainable Development for Alnwick and Denwick 9 4 Housing 11 5 Economy and Employment 20 6 Town Centre & Retail 28 7 Community Facilities 35 8 Transport 42 9 Environment 50 10 Heritage, Design and Culture 64 11 Delivering the Plan 80 Appendix 1 - Community Action Plan 84 Appendix 2 - Glossary 106 The Alnwick and Denwick Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared by a Steering Group of volunteers managed by Alnwick Town Council as the ‘Qualifying Body’ in consultation with Denwick Parish Council in accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 as updated. If you would like this document in a different format or larger print size please contact : Bill Batey, Chief Officer and Town Clerk, Alnwick Town Council, The Centre, 27 Fenkle Street, Alnwick NE66 1HW. Tel: 07971 810267. Email: [email protected]. Or visit the website: www.alnwick-and-denwick-plan.org.uk ALNWICK AND DENWICK NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN | REFERENDUM VERSION | MAY 2017 3 SECTION INTRODUCTION TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN 1 1.1 1.2 q not have a significant effect on a What is a How the Neighbourhood European Site (as defined in the Conservation of Habitats and Species Neighbourhood Plan? Plan fits into the Planning Regulations 2012) either alone or System in combination with other plans or The Alnwick and Denwick Neighbourhood projects. Plan (ADNP) is a new type of planning Although the Government’s intention is document. It is part of the Government’s for local people to decide what goes on in The Localism Act allows the ADNP to new approach to planning, which aims their town, the Localism Act sets out some provide more than the number of houses to give local people more say about important laws. One of these is that all and amount of employment land set out what goes on in their area. This is set neighbourhood plans must meet the ’basic in the Local Plan but it does not allow the out in the ‘Localism Act 2011’, which for conditions’. That is, Neighbourhood Plans Neighbourhood Plan to provide for less. Neighbourhood Planning came into force must: The Plan gives local people the power to in April 2012. q have regard to national policies and decide for example where new housing and The ADNP provides a set of clear aims advice contained in guidance issued by employment should go, and how the town for the future of the town, and sets out the Secretary of State in particular the centre should change. Without the ADNP, planning policies and proposals to realise National Planning Policy Framework Northumberland County Council would these aims. (otherwise known as the NPPF); make these decisions on behalf of the people of Alnwick and Denwick. The ADNP has been developed through q contribute to the achievement of extensive consultation with the people sustainable development; of Alnwick and Denwick and others with q be in general conformity with the 1.3 an interest in the town. Details of the strategic policies of the development What is in the consultation have been recorded in the plan for the area, in our case the Alnwick Neighbourhood Plan? consultation document that is available to District Core Strategy 2007 (ADCS). download from the plan website (The Northumberland Local Plan Core www.alnwick-and-denwick-plan.org.uk Strategy (NLPCS) for the County which Although deciding where new development will replace the ADCS is still developing should go is an important part of the ADNP, but the evidence base of the emerging it is about much more than this. The Plan is plan has been considered in preparing to guide the future of Alnwick and Denwick the ADNP policies and proposals; as a whole. It looks at a wide range of issues, including: q not breach, and must be otherwise compatible with, European Union (EU) q What level of growth in Alnwick would and European Convention on Human be sustainable Rights (ECHR) obligations; q How we ensure we can develop the economy and services of the town 4 ALNWICK AND DENWICK NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN | REFERENDUM VERSION | MAY 2017 q How we provide housing that is be possible. In other words some actions q Section 4-10: Neighbourhood Plan affordable and helps young people to could not be directly tackled through the Policies and Community Action stay in the town statutory neighbourhood plan. The Alnwick Proposals, which set out by topic: q How we future proof our housing, and Denwick Community Partnership q a brief description of the topic amenities, services, and public Plan Steering Group however felt it was summarising the key findings transport, to meet the needs of older important that all issues identified by the from evidence and from the issues people and disabled people community were responded to. The ADNP consultation; therefore has been structured in a way that q What we need to do to retain the q the national and county level sets out a number of ‘Community Action community facilities we have planning policy in relation to the Proposals’ (CAP) in each topic area alongside topic; q What we need to do to ensure the way the statutory Neighbourhood Plan to make we move around is more sustainable the area a more attractive place to live, q the objectives for the ADNP in each q How we do all this and still protect the work and visit. These will provide clear topic area; fabulous heritage and environment we indicators for other agencies as to what q policies and proposals to support all enjoy. the community wish to achieve in Alnwick the overall aims in each topic area; and The ADNP responds to these issues by and Denwick. The Community Action putting forward a set of policies that will be Plan setting out the Community Action q a set of community action applied through the planning application Proposals is set out at Appendix 1. proposals in each topic area. process as well as proposals about what q Section 11: Delivering the Plan, which land will be allocated for various uses or 1.4 sets out: protected for the future. How the Neighbourhood q the ways in which the ADNP and Neighbourhood plans will be used in Plan is organised the community action proposals making planning decisions. When a will be brought into life. development or change is proposed in the q To help you understand the ADNP there Plan Area Northumberland County Council After this Introduction the Plan is divided is a glossary at the back explaining the (as the Local Planning Authority) will be into the following sections: more technical terms the Plan refers to. required to refer to the ADNP and check q Section 2: The Future for Alnwick and There is a large amount of background whether proposals are in keeping with Denwick, which sets out: information that has helped in producing policies the community has developed. In q a brief description of the town and the ADNP. What is known as ‘the planning terms the policies set out in the village today; evidence base’ includes a large number ADNP are therefore the most important why Alnwick and Denwick need a of documents that the topic leaders part of the plan. The policies in the plan will q neighbourhood plan; used to prepare the Issues and Options apply for the next 15 years up until 2031. q the vision for Alnwick and Denwick Papers and also the sections of the draft In approaching the issues which the and its communities; and plan. Key documentation is held on the community identified, it was evident Neighbourhood Plan website at: q the overall plan aims. early on that finding complete answers www.alnwick-and-denwick-plan.org.uk to some of them through the policies q Section 3: Sustainable Development and proposals of the ADNP would not Strategy ALNWICK AND DENWICK NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN | REFERENDUM VERSION | MAY 2017 5 and Denwick Parish Council by the Alnwick The Town Council applied to be a 1.5 and Denwick Neighbourhood Plan Steering Neighbourhood Planning Front Runner How the Neighbourhood Group, a group of local people brought to gain funding from the government in Plan has been prepared together to work on the plan. summer 2011 and being successful with that decided in September 2011 to begin The Steering Group has been assisted the preparation of the ADNP and embarked throughout by Northumberland County The ADNP has been prepared for Alnwick on an initial round of consultation with Council officers.