Wellington Heath Neighbourhood � Development Plan 2011 -2031 �

5 Post examination edition for � referendum �

Volume 1 10

WHNDP v14.04 page 1 of 97 2 August 2018 13:21 Introduction for Parishioners Unless you are very familiar with development planning, you should read this introduction first. 15 You are reading the Wellington Heath Neighbourhood Development Plan (or NDP). It's a weighty title for a weighty document. This introduction is to give you some idea of what's in the NDP before you dig deeper into it. It's written the way it is because it's a formal planning document; it has to be able to withstand examination by planners and lawyers. 20 To start at the beginning: Parliament passed the Localism Act 2011. Its aim is to give local people a greater say in planning matters which affect them locally. In broad terms, there is a set of national policies which are written in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). At the next level down, there is a set of policies which are written in the Herefordshire Core Strategy. At the third level is a collection of NDPs which say what local planning policies each parish wants. 25 Herefordshire Council see it as important that its parishes each has an NDP. This NDP is for Wellington Heath. Note: the NDP is solely about development and land-use planning. An NDP doesn't just happen; it is written by volunteers in the parish. However, they can't simply write a set of policies that they would like, they have to consult the parish to discover what the 30 people of Wellington Heath would like. This has been done using questionnaires, public meetings, newsletters, and information on a web site over two years. This has been followed by a draft NDP and formal consultation. That is to say, it is read by Herefordshire Council planners, various 35 other organisations, and by you. Their and your comments have been taken into account and a new draft published. In the final stage the NDP is checked by Herefordshire Council and by an independent 40 examiner whom they appoint. Any comment the examiner makes is again taken into account and a final version published. This will be voted on by the parish, and if a majority vote in favour, it will be adopted by Herefordshire Council. That means it will become a planning policy document and will be taken into account when planning 45 applications are determined by Herefordshire Council. So, what does the NDP say? Early in writing the NDP, there was a consultation about the sort of village and parish that people want Wellington Heath to be. This was written down as a Vision (a high level statement) and a set of Objectives (13 in all) that the local planning policies should aim to achieve. 50 The agreed Vision is "To safeguard our rural environment and to enhance our community through managed development that addresses the needs of people of all ages who wish to live, work, socialise, and relax within the parish". This and the Objectives are in Section 5 [on page 15].

WHNDP v14.04 page 2 of 97 2 August 2018 13:21 The policies are described in detail later in the NDP. But first, there are some other things to understand. 55 The Settlement Boundary is a line drawn round Wellington Heath village. In general, new housing development will be allowed only within the Settlement Boundary. One of the Objectives is to maintain a clear separation between the village and . So, a Settlement Green Gap has been defined on the border of the parish next to Ledbury where development is very much to be avoided. 60 The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) allows the parish to identify some green spaces in the village as being Local Green Space on which development will not generally be allowed. As part of the Herefordshire Council planning process, 65 the settlement (ie: the village) of Wellington Heath has been identified for the building of at least 28 dwellings in the parish between 2011 and 2031. Quite a lot of that 28 w