CONSULTATION STATEMENT STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT The Statement of Community Involvement has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) Town and Country Planning (Local Planning)(England) Regulations 2012 1. Purpose and Background 1.1 The purpose of this document is to provide details about the consultation which has taken place prior to the publication of the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) 2014. The requirements for the Council to prepare an SCI is set out in the 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. The SCI is no longer subject to an Examination. Therefore the approach taken by the Council to produce this document has been to follow the same regulations in place for Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD) in regard to public participation. 1.2 This Consultation Statement has been prepared in line with Regulation 12 (a) of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, which states that, before a council adopts a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), it must produce a statement setting out: i. the persons the local planning authority consulted when preparing the supplementary planning document; ii. a summary of the main issues raised by those persons; and iii. how those issues have been addressed in the supplementary planning document. 1.3 The Council has an existing Statement of Community Involvement (2011) which sets out how it will involve the community in its plan and policy-making process. This can be viewed on the Council’s website at: www.woking.gov.uk/planning/policy/ldf/sci/sciadopted. The Statement of Community Involvement 2014 has been prepared to reflect changes in National Policy since 2011. The SCI 2014 is therefore an updated version of the SCI 2011. 1 2. Consultation undertaken during preparation of the review of the SCI 2.1 There has been extensive consultation on the revised SCI in accordance with the adopted SCI. The individuals and organisations consulted are listed in Appendix2. 2.2 The Development Management Team and Members of the Council were consulted, and their comments have informed the review of the SCI. 3. Formal Consultation on the draft SPD 3.1 Formal public consultation on the SCI 2014 was undertaken for a period of eight weeks from Tuesday 1 July to Tuesday 26 August 2014. A number of methods were used to seek responses as follows: · Mail out: notification was sent to hundreds of individuals and organisations on the Woking Local Development Framework database, including specific consultation bodies and general consultation bodies, councillors and internal officers. This was undertaken via letter or email. A list of the individuals and organisations invited to make representations, together with a copy of the letter and email text, are included in Appendix 1. · Website: the SCI was published on the Council’s website at http://www.woking2027.info/ (Appendix 3) with links to the main council website at www.woking.gov.uk. · Hard copies: the SCI was available in hard copy at the ground floor reception of the Council’s Civic Offices and provided to all public libraries in the Borough, including Byfleet, Knaphill, West Byfleet and Woking. 4 Responses 4.1 The Council received representations from a total of nine individuals and groups, including statutory bodies and local groups. Representations covered a range of issues. The summary of the comments received are set out in Appendix 4. These include Officer’s responses and recommendations on any modifications to the SCI. This was scrutinised by the LDF Working Group and the Executive Committee 15 January 2015 before being approved by the Council 12 February 2015. 2 5. Conclusion 5.1 The review of the SCI has involved sufficient and ongoing consultation. The process has complied with the relevant Government Regulations. 5.2 If there are any questions on this Consultation Statement please contact the Planning Policy team on 01483 743871 or email [email protected]. 3 Appendix 1: Letter sent at formal consultation stage Civic Offices Gloucester Square Woking Surrey GU21 6YL Telephone (01483) 755855 Facsimile (01483) 768746 DX 2931 WOKING Email [email protected] Website www.woking.gov.uk 1 July 2014 Dear Sir/Madam, Consultation on the Design SPD and Statement of Community Involvement Woking Borough Council has published the above documents to give you the opportunity to submit any representations that you may have before these are finalised for adoption. The Design Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) provides guidance on the application of Policy CS21 – Design of the Core Strategy. The document promotes the principles of good urban design and good practice to help developers and applicants improve the quality of design in new developments across the borough. The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) provides detailed guidance of how and when the Council will involve the community and other interested people and organisations in Planning decisions, including the preparation of its planning policy documents and the decision making process for planning applications. This is the third version of the Statement of Community Involvement and will replace the 2011 SCI. These are therefore important documents to help deliver the requirements of the Woking Core Strategy. The Council will appreciate your comments and will take these into account before the documents are finalised for adoption by the Council later this year. The consultation period for both documents takes place between Tuesday 1 July 2014 and Tuesday 26 August 2014 and you are encouraged to send any representations that you may have. The draft documents are available via this link http://www.woking2027.info for your reference. All documents are also available for inspection at the following venues: · Woking Borough Council, Civic Offices, Gloucester Square, Woking, GU21 6YL. Monday to Friday 9am – 4.45pm · Woking, Byfleet, West Byfleet and Knaphill libraries. Please see www.surreycc.gov.uk for address and opening times of the libraries 4 Representations can be e-mailed to [email protected] or posted to: The Planning Policy Team, Woking Borough Council, Civic Offices, Gloucester Square, Woking, Surrey, GU21 6YL. If you have any questions on the documents or would like to amend your contact details on our consultees list, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Planning Policy Team on 01483 743871 or email us at [email protected]. Woking Citizens’ Panel Woking Citizens' Panel is comprised of a group of residents from across Woking from all backgrounds, ages and ethnicities. They are contacted a number of a times each year, via email or post, and asked to provide their views on all kinds of issues that affect local people. If you are over the age of 16 and want to have your say, please contact the Stakeholder Engagement team on 01483 743429 or email [email protected] Yours sincerely Ernest Amoako Planning Policy Manager Woking Borough Council 5 Appendix 2: People and organisations consulted at each stage of the process Specific consultee bodies Allchurch Bailey AMEC Alliance Environment and Planning Ltd Bisley Parish Council AMG Planning and Development Bracknell Forest Council Anderson Planning and Development Chobham Parish Council Antler Homes DEFRA Apcar Smith Planning Department for Transport Architype Elmbridge Borough Council Ashill Developments English Heritage – South East Region B R I C Developments Ltd Environment Agency Balmoral Homes Epsom and Ewell Borough Council Banner Homes (Wessex) Ltd Guildford Borough Council Barratt Homes Hart District Council Barton Willmore Highways Agency Batcheller Thacker Mobile Operators Association BBF Fielding Mole Valley District Council Beaumonde Homes National Grid Beckbridge Ltd Natural England Beechcroft Developments Network Rail Bell Cornwell Partnership Ockham Parish Council Bellway Homes Pirbright Parish Council Berkley Homes (Southern) Ltd POS (SE) Bewley Homes Reigate and Banstead Borough Council Birchwood Homes Ripley Parish Council Bishopgate Homes Ltd Royal Borough of Windsor and Bloor Homes Maidenhead Blue Architects Runnymede Borough Council Blue Cedar Homes Rushmoor Borough Council Blue Sky Planning Ltd Send Parish Council BNP Paribas Real Estate Southern Gas Networks Bonham Homes Ltd Spelthorne Borough Council Bouygues Development Sport England South Bovis Homes Ltd Surrey County Council Boyer Planning Ltd Surrey Heath Borough Council Brimble, Lea and Partners Tandridge District Council Broadway Malyan Thames Water Bruton Knowles The Planning Bureau Limited Bryan Jezeph Consultancy The Planning Inspectorate Burhill Golf and Leisure Ltd Veolia Water Cadenza Estates Ltd Waverley Borough Council CALA Homes West End Parish Council Cameron Jones Planning Wisley Parish Council Capita Norman and Dawbarn Woking Partnership Carter Jonas LLP Wokingham Borough Council Carter Planning Ltd Worplesdon Parish Council Castle Wildish Chartered Surveyors CGMS Agents and Developers Charles Church Developments Ltd A H K Associates Charles Richards A.N.D. Consulting Churchods AAP Architecture Ltd Clarence Country Homes Ltd Adams Planning+ Development Ltd Clarke Gammon Wellers ADM Architecture Clarke Willmott Alexson Homes Conceptual Design Associates Ltd 6 Cooper Environmental Planning Henry Smith Courtley Consultants Ltd Heritage Architecture Covery Developments Ltd Heritage Property Consultant Crane and Associates Heronsbrook Crest Strategic Projects Holder Mathias