Huntington Parish Neighbourhood Plan Consultation 2017- 2032/33 Statement July 2019 1 1.0 Introduction This document provides a summary of the engagement that took place in developing the Huntington Parish Neighbourhood Plan (‘The Plan’). It has been prepared in part to fulfil the legal obligations of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012 Section 15(2) of Part 5 of the Regulations (as amended) that sets out what a Consultation Statement should contain. According to the Regulations, a Consultation Statement should: a) contains details of the persons and bodies who were consulted about the proposed neighbourhood development plan; b) explains how they were consulted; c) summarises the main issues and concerns raised by the persons consulted; d) describes how these issues and concerns have been considered and, where relevant, addressed in the proposed Neighbourhood Plan. The Huntington Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group was established under the auspices of Huntington Parish Council to oversee the development of the Plan. The group identified that strong and effective consultation was key to the successful development and implementation of the Neighbourhood Plan. In particular, the consultation aimed: • To inform as many local people and other relevant bodies and stakeholders as possible of the existence of the Neighbourhood Plan and its development and; • To seek their views on the proposals being developed by the Steering Group. 1.1 Designation of the Neighbourhood Plan Area Huntington Parish Council applied to the City of York Council to designate the Parish as a Neighbourhood Plan Area. Following the requisite statutory consultation period, the area was designated under delegated powers by the City of York Council as Huntington Parish Neighbourhood Plan Area on 28 September 2015. Formal confirmation of the City of York’s decision to designate the Parish as a Neighbourhood Plan Area can be found at https://www.york.gov.uk/info/20051/planning_policy/1745/huntington_neighbourhood _plan. 1.2 The Huntington Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Huntington Parish Council publicised its intention to establish a Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group to lead and champion the development of the Plan under the auspices Huntington Parish Neighbourhood Plan – Consultation Statement (July 2019) 2 of the Parish Council. At the same time, it sought volunteers from the community to join parish councillors on it. The Group held its first meeting in 2015 and has continued to meet and guide the development of the Plan. An open and inclusive approach was taken by the Steering Group. The meetings were open to anyone to attend. This included representatives from the local business community and developers active in the Parish, both of which were represented at meetings. 1.3 Timeline of Key Events Date Event or action Purpose/Outcome October Huntington Parish Council Decision made to set up a joint 2015 Meeting Council/community working group to oversee the development of the Neighbourhood Plan. 2015 Inaugural Steering Group Identification of steering group meeting committee and constitution. June- July Community Questionnaire To help understand the community’s key 2016 concerns and potential opportunities for inclusion in the Plan. July 2016 Drop-in event/Exhibition To present to the community the emerging policies and receive feedback. Jan 2018 – Pre-Submission Statutory minimum six-week March 18 Consultation consultation to receive feedback on the draft Plan. 1.4 Publicity The Steering Group undertook a proactive publicity campaign throughout the development of the Neighbourhood Plan. The community and stakeholders were kept informed on the progress of the Plan and encouraged to get involved through the following: a. Huntington Parish Website A web page, dedicated to Huntington Parish Neighbourhood Plan was incorporated on to the Parish Council website. The webpage provided background information on the Plan, how to get involved and progress on the Plan. This can be found at http://www.huntingtonparishcouncil.co.uk/Core/Huntington- Pc/Pages/Neighbourhood_Plan_1.aspx b. Parish Notice Boards Huntington Parish Neighbourhood Plan – Consultation Statement (July 2019) 3 Regular notices were placed on the parish notice boards preceding key consultation events and outlining progress on the Plan. c. Huntington Parish Newsletter Progress on the Plan was a regular feature in the Huntington Parish Newsletter. This is a quarterly publication and is distributed to all households in Huntington. Good examples of how the newsletter was used to promote understanding and engagement with the Neighbourhood Plan can be found at Appendix A and at http://www.huntingtonparishcouncil.co.uk/Core/Huntington- Pc/UserFiles/Files/parish%20newsletter%20winter%202017.pdf d. Meetings and Discussions There were regular meetings and correspondence. These included with planning and other relevant officers at the City of York Council. Meetings (including attendance at Steering Group meetings) also took place with other relevant bodies and agencies such as Home Group (a major housing provider in the City of York); the managing agency of Monks Cross/Vangarde Shopping Centre and housing developers. A good example is a meeting that took place with Redrow, which is promoting the largest potential housing site in the Parish on the 28 November 2017. The Plan was included as an agenda item at the Parish Council meetings - minutes of which are available on the Parish Council website (see http://www.huntingtonparishcouncil.co.uk/Core/Huntington- Pc/Pages/Meeting_Dates_Agendas__and__Minutes__1.aspx). 2.0 Preparing the draft plan a. Community Questionnaire A community questionnaire was undertaken in February 2015. The questionnaire (and newsletter) was delivered to 4,400 households and businesses in the Parish. People also had the opportunity to complete it electronically. A total of 131 completed questionnaires were returned. The key findings were: • Residents placed the greatest importance on low crime levels and health services in making Huntington a good place to live. • Street maintenance, transport links, policing and medical/health facilities (ranked) were the facilities considered to be most in need of improvement. Shopping was considered to be the facility least in need of improvement. • When asked about the mix and type of dwellings which should be constructed – older people’s housing ranked highest. This was closely followed by a mixture of housing. • Drainage measures were considered (by a wide margin) to be the most important factor when developing new housing. A full analysis of the findings is attached as Appendix B. Huntington Parish Neighbourhood Plan – Consultation Statement (July 2019) 4 b. Staffed exhibition/drop-in session Two staffed exhibition/drop-in session was held on 24 February 2017 and 4 March 2017 at which over 50 people attended. The aims of the events were to help inform the community on the background to the Neighbourhood Plan, its progress and to gain views on the emerging priorities and supporting policies contained in the emerging Plan. Several display boards were made available to view outlining what is a Neighbourhood Plan and key issues relating to housing, design, heritage, environment, community facilities, employment and transport. The community was asked to comment on the topic areas and was given the opportunity to identify important local green space. The event was publicised extensively, including posters around the Parish, through the media. through the Parish Council website and notice board, word of mouth and through the local Huntington Parish Newsletter. The comments reflected a wide range of opinions, but common themes included: • Housing development and meeting housing need – There was general acceptance (but not necessarily support) that more homes would be built in the Parish. Any housing development that takes place should be controlled especially to minimise its impact on the environment (including any risk of flooding) and transport infrastructure as well as that it should help meet local housing needs. • Community Facilities – There was a general view that there should be more community facilities and services, especially in response to any future major housing development that may take place. Several potential ideas were made about the type of facilities that could be provided, including enhanced medical facilities and primary school provision • Shops and Shopping – The general view was that the provision of shops is adequate. One respondent supported the actions aimed at controlling the spread of hot food takeaways in the Parish. • Natural Environment – The main theme was the need to protect open spaces in the Parish, including the River Foss. Actions to minimise the risk of flooding were supported. • Transport – This covered issues concerning better traffic management and the need for adequate parking. Enhanced pedestrian and cycling provision was a major theme here. A summary of the consultation findings is attached as Appendix C. c. Pre-Submission Consultation Huntington Parish Neighbourhood Plan – Consultation Statement (July 2019) 5 The draft Plan was considered by the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group and Huntington Parish Council where it was agreed to proceed with the formal pre- submission consultation with the draft plan in accordance with Regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations. The consultation period commenced on 29 January 2018 and ended on the 23 March 2018. This ensured there were at least 6 weeks