North Norfolk District Council Planning Policy Team Telephone: 01263 516318 E-Mail: [email protected] Write to: Planning Policy Manager, North Norfolk District Council, Holt Road, Cromer, NR27 9EN www.northnorfolk.org/ldf All of the LDF Documents can be made available in Braille, audio, large print or in other languages. Please contact 01263 516318 to discuss your requirements. Site Specific Proposals Draft Plan: Final Consultation Statement Contents 1 Introduction 2 General consultation throughout Site Specific Proposals preparation 4 Evidence gathering and pre-LDF consultation 6 2 Stakeholder Consultation (Reg. 25) 10 Who was consulted 10 How they were consulted 10 Summary of the main issues raised and how they were addressed 12 3 Public Consultation (Preferred Options Old Reg. 26) 16 How the public were consulted 16 Number of representations made 19 Summary of the main issues raised and how they were addressed 20 Further Consultation 97 4 Public Consultation (Publication Stage Reg. 27) 100 How the public were consulted 100 5 Public Consultation on Key Changes (Following Reg. 27) 104 Appendices 1 Statement of Community Involvement Compliance Statement Summary 108 2 Reg. 25 Consultees 113 3 Methods of Engagement 133 4 Reg. 25 Correspondence 135 5 Reg. 25 Coastal Service Villages Correspondence 137 6 Reg. 26 Correspondence 143 7 Reg. 26 Coastal Service Villages Correspondence 145 8 Reg. 26 Consultation Notification 147 9 Coastal Service Villages Consultation Notification 149 10 Reg. 26 Other Correspondence 153 11 Letter for Further Consultation to Specific Consultees 155 12 Example of Stakeholder Opinion Survey 157 North Norfolk District Council Site Specific Proposals Draft Plan: Final Consultation Statement 13 Reg. 27 Correspondence 159 14 Reg. 27 Statement of the Representations Procedure 171 15 Reg. 27 Consultation Notification 173 16 Reg. 27 Outlook Article 175 17 Key Changes Consultation Notification 177 North Norfolk District Council Site Specific Proposals Draft Plan: Final Consultation Statement 1 Introduction Introduction North Norfolk District Council 1 Site Specific Proposals Draft Plan: Final Consultation Statement 1 Introduction 1.1 This consultation statement shows how the community and other stakeholders were involved in the preparation of the Site Specific Proposals Development Plan Document (DPD), discusses the main issues raised during the regulation 25 & 26 consultation and explains how they were addressed. 1.2 As part of the early preparation of the Local Development Framework (LDF) a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI)(1 ) was prepared which outlines how the community will be involved in the preparation of LDF documents. This goes beyond the Government Regulations concerning preparation of LDF documents, and all LDF documents must be prepared in accordance with the methods set out in the SCI. This document forms the 'Compliance Statement' which is summarised in Appendix 1 and confirms how the Site Specific Proposals Draft Plan complied with these requirements. Further information on the consultation required by Government Regulations (2 ) is contained in the Statement of Community Involvement. 1.3 During preparation of the Site Specific Proposals document the Planning Regulations were amended. The Council had already undertaken the pre-submission consultation (old Regulation 25) and the pre-submission public participation (old Reg 26) before the regulations changed. Guidance(3 ) on how to proceed in this situation states that as long as the previous consultation satisfies the new regulations then plan preparation can continue to the next stage of publication, submission and examination. Previous consultation undertaken complies with the new regulations and therefore the Council moved to Regulation 27 (publication of the development plan document). Three main stages of consultation were therefore carried out before the document was submitted to Government for Examination, as follows: Regulation 25 (2004 regs): A process of informal discussion with stakeholders to identify the key issues facing the area, and prepare options for addressing them in terms of site allocations. Regulation 26 (2004 regs): A formal six week public consultation on the preferred options documents to give the wider public the opportunity to comment on the preferred options for site allocations. Regulation 27 (2008 regs): A formal six week public consultation on the proposed allocations and accompanying documents to give the public the opportunity to comment prior to submission of the document to Government for Examination. 1.4 Following the Regulation 27 consultation, whilst the Council considered the Draft Plan to be sound, it recognised that some changes could be made to address issues raised during consultation. Most of the changes were limited to factual corrections or additional clarifications which did not dramatically alter the Plan, and these are contained in the 'Schedule of Minor Modifications'. There were however, a limited number of changes covering specific parts of the Plan, which the Council felt were more significant and would benefit from consultation prior to examination. These changes were included in a 'Schedule of Key Changes' and were made available for consultation as directed by the Communities and Local Government Plan Making Manual. 1 Statement of Community Involvement, NNDC, April 2006. Available on the Council website www.northnorfolk.org/ldf 2 PPS12: Local Development Frameworks and The Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England) Regulations 2004 and 2008 Amendments 3 The plan-making manual, DCLG, 2008 2 North Norfolk District Council Site Specific Proposals Draft Plan: Final Consultation Statement 1.5 This document meets the requirements of Regulation 30 of the 2008 Regulations and is structured to outline each area of consultation and: i) who was consulted; ii) how they were invited to make representations; and iii) for the Regulation 25 and 26 stage, a summary of the main issues raised and how they were taken into account. The content is as follows: Chapter one outlines general / on-going consultation, publicity and commissioned studies which took place during the preparation of the Core Strategy and Site Specific Proposals documents. Chapter two outlines the consultation that took place as part of the Regulation 25 stage. Chapter three outlines the consultation that took place at Regulation 26, what issues were raised and how they were addressed. Chapter four outlines the consultation that took place during Regulation 27 stage. Chapter five outlines the key changes consultation. 1.6 The main issues from the Regulation 27 and Key Changes consultations are included in a separate document 'Summary of Main Issues' as required by Regulation 30 (e) Town and Country Planning Regulations 2008. 1.7 Further details of the consultation exercises, including minutes and feedback reports can be provided on request. 1.8 It is important to note that until mid 2006 the Council was preparing the Core Strategy and the Site Specific Proposals DPDs in tandem, and that many bodies were consulted on Issues & Options for both documents at the same time. The Preferred Options reports were published for 6 weeks of public consultation at the same time for both documents, from 26 Sept 2006 - 6 November 2006. This provided far more detail than would normally be available at this stage and the joint preparation ensured that the Core Strategy was realistic and achievable, based on detailed investigation for the Site Specific Proposals. 1.9 Following the Preferred Options consultation, the Government Office and The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) advised that the Site Specific Proposals would not be examined until the Core Strategy had been examined and the Inspectors report published, therefore giving certainty in relation to the broad distribution of development. Further work on the Site Specific Proposals was therefore delayed until after the Core Strategy was adopted. 1.10 The consultation on Preferred Options in Coastal Service Villages was completed separately from the main consultation, as originally the Council was intending to produce a separate Coastal Area Action Plan to plan for a longer timescale than that allowed through the Core Strategy / SSP and look at the social, economic and environmental implications of coastal change in greater detail. During 2007, the decision was made to instead bring the coastal settlements into the main Site Specific Proposals document and therefore a separate process of early consultation and workshops was held in Coastal Service Villages, followed by the formal 6 weeks public consultation on Preferred Options from 9 June to 21 July 2008. This process is described in more detail in Section 2 'How they were consulted' and Section 3, paragraphs 3.1, 3.15 and 3.30. 1.11 The Core Strategy was adopted in September 2008 and provides the framework for the Site Specific Proposals DPD. The Core Strategy sets the number and broad locations of the allocations to be made, and individual Town Strategies outline the character, roles, needs and the capacity of the different places to accommodate future development. The Site Specific Proposals DPD must be in conformity with the Core Strategy, which limits the options available for consultation. North Norfolk District Council 3 Site Specific Proposals Draft Plan: Final Consultation Statement General consultation throughout Site Specific Proposals preparation 1.12 Various methods of consultation have been used at different