Ivinghoe Parish Neighbourhood Plan 2014–2033 Consultation Statement March 2018 1 1. Introduction This consultation statement has been prepared to meet the legal obligations of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012 in respect of the Ivinghoe Neighbourhood Plan. The legal basis of the statement is provided by section 15(2) of part 5 of the 2012 Neighbourhood Planning Regulations, which require that a consultation statement should: 1. contain details of the persons and bodies that were consulted about the proposed neighbourhood development plan; 2. explain how they were consulted; 3. summarise the main issues and concerns raised by the persons consulted; and 4. describe how those issues and concerns have been considered and, where relevant, addressed in the proposed neighbourhood development plan. 2. Background In late 2014 Ivinghoe Parish Council appointed a steering group made up of volunteer parishioners including two parish councillors to develop a neighbourhood plan, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, which would represent the interests of the community in the future development of the neighbourhood. A list of steering group members can be found on page 4 of the Ivinghoe Parish Neighbourhood Plan. In order to provide a structure for future consultation events, a vision was developed and, by June 2015, several topic areas were identified and described to form a picture of the neighbourhood at present. The Vision Statement is: “To grow our community sympathetically, conserving the special character, landscape and historical qualities of the parish.” The topic areas were identified as: • Countryside and Landscape (later encompassing Geographical Context) • Design • Education and Learning (later revised to Learning in the Parish) • Employment (later revised to Infrastructure, Employment and Business) • Geographical context (later combined with Countryside and Landscape) • History and Heritage • Housing and Population (later revised to Housing) • Infrastructure and Transport (Infrastructure later moved to Employment) • Sport and Recreation. 2 During July 2015 a database of stakeholders was gathered which reflected businesses and social groups that operated within the neighbourhood (Appendix 1). 3. Initial Consultation The initial consultation was launched with a series of public events which were publicised by notices in the community magazine, by A4 posters in the “Rose and Crown” public house in Ivinghoe, “The Village Swan” public house in Ivinghoe Aston, the Community Hub in Ivinghoe, the Community Library in Ivinghoe, the Post Office in Ivinghoe and the Village Hall in Ivinghoe Aston. Banners were displayed in Ivinghoe and Ivinghoe Aston. A letter (Appendix 2) was sent to all the stakeholders (Appendix 1). These events were held as follows: Friday 11th September 2015, Brookmead School, Ivinghoe 6pm – 10pm Saturday 12th September 2015, Brookmead School, Ivinghoe 11am – 3pm Tuesday 15th September 2015, Ivinghoe Aston Community Hall 3pm – 9pm The events consisted of eight display boards each headed with a topic and containing relevant photographs and prompt questions. Great care was taken to ensure the questions were not biased. Comment cards and “post-it” notes were available for attendees to register their views. Members of the steering group were on hand to answer any queries; again great care was taken to not lead the attendees in any particular direction. Prompt questions were as follows: Countryside and Landscape “Which aspects of our countryside and landscape do you value?” “How can we improve our countryside and landscape?” “What opportunities exist in the area?” “What do we need to do to make the Parish a better place in which to live?” Design (meaning the style in which any buildings are formed; the pattern which the buildings themselves form on land; street furniture e.g. bins, road signs, etc.) “What features of design do you value in the Parish?” “What do you think of the design and frequency of the street furniture in the Parish?” “What features of design in the Parish would you like to change?” “How would you like to see the Parish develop in the next 15 years?” 3 Learning in the Parish “What do we need to do to make the Parish a better place in which to grow?” “What concerns do you have about the existing learning provision within the Parish?” “What other opportunities for learning exist in the area?” “How you would like to see learning in the Parish in 2031?” Infrastructure, Employment and Business “What level of employment or business opportunities should be available in the Parish?” “What could be done to improve access to employment hubs or business centres?” “What infrastructure improvements could be made to better support local businesses?” “What do we need to do to ensure the Parish continues to thrive?” History and Heritage “What aspects of the Parish’s history and heritage do you want to conserve?” “What attention should we give to archaeological evidence of our prehistory, to our listed buildings and to our industrial and agricultural heritage in considering new development?” “How can we better protect the Parish’s historic buildings?” “How can we improve the conservation of our heritage?” “How can we best ensure that new development respects and enhances what our forebears have passed down to us in the Parish?” Housing “How can we make the Parish a better place in which to live?” “Is there a type of housing that is lacking in the Parish for which there is a need?” “What, if any, additional housing do you think is needed in the Parish?” “If additional housing is needed, where should this be?” Transport “What are the major traffic issues in your locality?” “How could the parking provisions be improved?” 4 “What transport links would you like to see?” “How could the network of footpaths and bridle paths be improved?” “What improvements would you like to see applied to our roads?” Sport and Recreation “Various facilities and locations within the Parish are used for sport and recreation activities, such as the town and village halls, the scout hut, the school and open spaces such as the lawn. What additional or improved facilities are required?” “What additional activities do you think are required?” “How could we develop the network of footpaths, bridleways and other recreational spaces in the Parish?” In addition, a single display board containing the same topic questions was moved between various locations around the neighbourhood. It was accompanied by comment cards and a ballot-style box. It was placed as follows: 10th to 11th October 2015 – St Mary’s Church, Ivinghoe 12th to 15th October 2015 – The Community Hub, Ivinghoe 16th to 17th October 2015 – The Rose and Crown, Ivinghoe 18th October 2015 – St Mary’s Church, Ivinghoe 19th to 21st October 2015 – The Community Hub, Ivinghoe 22nd to 24th October 2015 – The Village Swan, Ivinghoe Aston 25th to 26th October 2015 – The Community Hub, Ivinghoe 27th to 29th October 2015 – The Town Hall, Ivinghoe 30th Oct. to 2nd Nov. 2015 – The Village Swan Ivinghoe Aston 3rd to 4th November 2015 – The Community Hub, Ivinghoe 4th November evening – The Youth Café, Brookmead School, Ivinghoe 5th to 9th November 2015 – St Mary’s Church, Ivinghoe 122 people attended the main events and filled in 327 comment cards. The smaller display generated a further 23 comment cards. Some cards had multiple comments across different topics. The total number of comments was 557. A detailed summary and analysis of the initial consultation responses can be found in Appendix 3. From this analysis a clear set of objectives was defined by the steering group which formed the basis of a questionnaire. These objectives can be found in Appendix 3 of the pre-submission version of the plan (App3.18). 5 Comment cards and “post-its” 4. Questionnaire During the first quarter of 2016 an 18 page questionnaire was developed from the analysis of the consultation responses. This was achieved with professional help from Mike King of People and Places. A copy of the questionnaire can be found in Appendix 4. 400 copies of the questionnaire were printed and distributed by hand to each household and business on 8th April 2016 and collected on 26th April 2016. This timing covered three weekends. A Survey Monkey site was also created by People and Places where people could respond electronically. The website address was included in the printed questionnaire. Ballot boxes, for the return of the questionnaire, were placed in the Post Office, Ivinghoe and The Village Swan, Ivinghoe Aston for the duration of the period. A copy of the questionnaire was also made available in the Community Library, Ivinghoe which has internet facilities. A telephone number and e-mail address were included in the printed questionnaire where people could request extra copies. 187 completed questionnaires were returned: 90 were either collected by hand or returned through the ballot boxes and 97 were completed electronically. An analysis of the completed questionnaires and a written executive report were completed independently by People and Places (Appendix 5). 6 5. The Draft Plan From the analysis of the completed questionnaires a draft plan containing a list of development policies was produced. The list can be found on page 2 of the draft plan. The responses to the questionnaire had led the steering group to develop a policy-led plan, however, in consultation with Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC), the steering group was strongly encouraged to identify development sites to satisfy the requirements of the emerging Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan (VALP). Although sites were identified that were consistent with the responses to the questionnaire, they were not consistent with the requirements of AVDC. Therefore the steering group returned to a policy-led plan. This process lasted until August 2017. At this point a letter was delivered to all households and stakeholders inviting them to one of two consultation events: Tuesday 12th September 2017, Ivinghoe Aston Village Hall 3pm – 9pm Wednesday 13th September 2017, Ivinghoe Community Hub 3pm – 9pm The letter advised that the plan was also available on the Parish Council website where comments could be left.