LITTLE BOLLINGTON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN CONSULTATION STATEMENT NOVEMBER 2020 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This consultation statement has been prepared to fulfil the legal obligations of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012 in respect of the Little Bollington Neighbourhood Plan. The legal basis of the Statement is provided by Section 15 (2) of Part 5 of the 2012 Neighbourhood Planning Regulations, which requires that a consultation statement should: • Contain details of the persons and bodies who were consulted about the proposed Little Bollington Neighbourhood Plan; • Explain how they were consulted; • Summarise the main issues and concerns raised by the persons consulted; • Describe how those issues and concerns have been considered and, where relevant, addressed in the proposed Little Bollington Neighbourhood Plan. 1.2 Little Bollington is a small village in north Cheshire, just outside the southern edge of the Manchester conurbation. The village is located within the Green Belt, and is at the northern tip of the area governed by Cheshire East Council. In place of a parish council, administration takes place via a parish meeting. The parish comprises of one small settlement, the small village of Little Bollington, but is predominantly characterised by a rural landscape of arable and pastoral agriculture. The village is in a very attractive rural setting. It lies within the National Trust Estate, which is a large area of farmland centred around Dunham Massey Hall and Park, a nationally significant heritage asset which is a major visitor attraction and one of the National Trust’s most visited properties. Although Dunham Massey lies outside of the parish, Little Bollington has strong visual and historic ties with the estate. 1.3 At the time of the 2011 census, there were 170 residents living in Little Bollington, in 75 households. The small number of residents has meant that consultation with members of the community has been possible at a manageable scale, which has helped to allow the community to become aware of the Neighbourhood Plan, and to contribute to its development through various flyers, meetings and a questionnaire. 1.4 Additionally, the Parish Meeting has published information on the village website https://www.littlebollington.org/ which has pages dedicated to the Neighbourhood Plan, where Neighbourhood Plan documents and background evidence have been published and available to view. 2 BACKGROUND 2.1 The Little Bollington Neighbourhood Plan is a community plan and must derive its vision, objectives and policies from the community. From the outset the Parish Meeting was determined that the residents should be kept informed and given opportunities to contribute to the Neighbourhood Plan. Communication and consultation, in various forms, have played a large role in formulating the Neighbourhood Plan. 2.2 Throughout the process, the neighbourhood planning steering group has consulted with stakeholders and the community, using a variety of methods in order to gain as many views as possible. 2.3 It was considered essential to: • Promote a high degree of awareness of the project; • Encourage contributions to the development of the Neighbourhood Plan; • Promote consultation events and provide regular meetings and updates on the status of the Neighbourhood Plan and its development. 2.4 Key to this programme was publicity to gain residents’ engagement. This was gained via meetings, newsletters, postal information, emails, notices on the community notice boards, hand delivered flyers, and electronic media via the Little Bollington website. Consultation versions of the Neighbourhood Plan were available to view on the Parish website, along with other documents and reports. https://www.littlebollington.org/ 2.5 Every effort has been made to ensure that the vision, objectives and policies of the Little Bollington Neighbourhood Plan reflect the views of the majority of the local residents, whilst having regard to local and national policies. 2.6 The Neighbourhood Plan has been developed through regular consultation with the residents of Little Bollington. Important stakeholders such as the National Trust, and Cheshire East Council Planning department has also been consulted throughout the process providing invaluable information and advice. 3 THE EARLY STAGES 3.1 Who was consulted and how were they consulted? In order to provide information regarding Neighbourhood Planning, and to gauge interest in developing a Neighbourhood Plan, a presentation was given entitled ‘A Neighbourhood Plan for Little Bollington?’ at the Annual Parish Meeting in May 2018. The presentation explained the purpose and the need for a Neighbourhood Plan, provided information about Neighbourhood Planning, explained how people could get involved, and clarified the next steps in the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan. 3.2 What issues and concerns were raised? The response from residents highlighted that there was support for preparing a Neighbourhood Plan, and that people would be interested in being kept informed of its development. 3.3 How have the issues and concerns been considered? It was considered that there was support to fully begin preparing a Neighbourhood Plan for Little Bollington, and at the November 2018 Parish Meeting, it was decided to go ahead with developing the Neighbourhood Plan. A steering group was formed, and it was agreed that an application should be prepared and submitted to Cheshire East Council to designate the Neighbourhood Plan area, and so begin the Neighbourhood Plan process. The proposed Neighbourhood Plan area was therefore submitted to Cheshire East Council, and it was formally designated on 26th November 2018. 4. RESIDENTS’ QUESTIONNAIRE 4.1 Who was consulted and how were they consulted? A questionnaire was delivered to every household in the parish in February 2019. An accompanying note to residents explained that at the November Parish Meeting it had been agreed to prepare a Neighbourhood Plan, in order to give the local community more influence and control over the development of the area. The note explained that completed questionnaires could be dropped off at The No.3 Pub, The Swan with Two Nicks Pub, or emailed to [email protected] 4.2 The questionnaire asked what residents valued about Little Bollington, with suggestions including access to the open countryside; local green spaces; wildlife, watercourses; proximity to Dunham Massey; history and heritage; open views and vistas; public rights of way; civic facilities, and gave the option of adding further suggestions. 4.3 The questionnaire then asked five yes or no questions, concerning inappropriate developments; the natural environment; built character and design; access to the countryside, and local character. 4.4 What issues and concerns were raised? There was a very good response rate of 36%. The results highlighted that 100% of respondents valued access to the open countryside. 96% of respondents valued local green spaces, watercourses and the proximity of Little Bollington to Dunham Massey House and Estate. 93% of respondents valued Little Bollington’s wildlife, history and heritage, and open views and vistas. 89% of respondents valued the network of public footpaths, with 81% valuing the civic facilities. 100% of respondents wanted to protect access to the open countryside, and protect Little Bollington’s residential and agricultural character. 96% of respondents thought that Little Bollington was under threat from inappropriate development, with 96% also wanting to protect Little Bollington’s built character and design, and 96% wanting to protect the natural environment. 4.5 When asked what else they valued about Little Bollington, there were a number of responses. The community, and community spirit were mentioned, as was the peace and quiet, tranquillity, and escape from the hustle and bustle. Working farms were mentioned, as was the appreciation of the two village pubs. One respondent mentioned that they would like to see some development to help bring people into the village. Another mentioned that Little Bollington had a very mixed built character and design. 4.6 How have the issues and concerns been considered? The results highlighted what was important for local people to see included in the Neighbourhood Plan, formed the basis of the Neighbourhood Plan’s vision, objectives and policies, and helped to determine what evidence needed to be gathered to inform the policies. 4.7 Policies were specifically drawn up to cover landscape character and the importance of the Parish in relation to the setting of Dunham Massey; access to the countryside; the Bridgewater Canal, and wildlife. 4.8 Additionally, the recommendations led to the decision by the steering group to commission further reports to help provide background evidence and justification for the Neighbourhood Plan policies, on topics which had been seen as important by the community. As such, a wildlife report was commissioned from Cheshire Wildlife Trust, along with a heritage report and a design guide from Urban Imprint. The reports can be viewed at https://www.littlebollington.org/neighbourhood-plan/ 4.9 Additionally, the National Trust were approached and very kindly allowed the steering group to use a report that they had commissioned from LUC entitled Managing the Visual Setting of Dunham Massey as background evidence for the Neighbourhood Plan. This can also be viewed on the Little Bollington website. 5. FURTHER CONSULTATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS: MARCH – JULY 2019 5.1 Following