Ashford Borough Council PART 1 Consultation Statement Regulation 18 Stages 1 CONTENTS Chapters 1 Introduction 2 Jobs Growth and New Homes Consultation Purpose of the Consultation Consultation Details and Advertising Outcomes 3 Plan-it Ashford Introduction Parish Council’s Participation Community Groups and Young People Participation Themes Emerging from Plan-it Workshops Summary of Issues raised by Theme Issues directed to other service providers Plan-it Outcomes 4 Submitted Sites Consultations Introduction Call for Sites Community Consultation Exhibitions 5 Shortlisted Sites Consultations 6 Green Corridor Workshop 7 Heritage and Conservation Areas Consultations 8 Next Steps of Consultation – Regulation 19 Local Plan 2030 2 APPENDICES Appendix A – Jobs and Homes to 2030 Questionnaire Questionnaire (printed version) Invited Consultees & Letters Advertising and Media Additional Exhibition Materials Summary of Responses Appendix B – Plan-it Ashford Consultation Plan-it Consultation Pack Invitations and Advertising Schedule of Plan-it Events Summary Reports from Plan-it Events a) Independence and Access Matters b) Charing Parish Council c) Ashford District Partnership Group d) Newenden Parish Council e) Egerton Parish Council f) Hang 10 – South Ashford Youth Group (11 – 14 year olds g) House Youth Club (13-19 year olds) h) Central Ashford Community Forum i) Willesborough Community Forum j) Sagarmatha Gurkha Community k) ABC Tenants Forum l) Kennington Community Forum m) Norton Knatchbull School (Students age 15-16) n) Smeeth and Brabourne Parish Council’s o) Hothfield Parish Council p) Westwell Parish Council Appendix C – Submitted Sites Submitted Sites Consultation List of Meetings Consultation Feedback Aldington and Bonnington Appledore 3 Bethersden Biddenden Boughton Aluph and Eastwell Brabourne and Smeeth Brook Central Ashford Community Forum Challock Charing Chilham Egerton Great Chart with Singleton High Halden Hothfield Kenardington Kingsnorth Kennington Mersham and Sevington Molash Orlestone (Hamstreet) Pluckley Rolvenden Shadoxhurst Smarden South Ashford Tenterden Westwell Willesborough Wittersham Woodchurch Wye with Hinxhill Appendix D - Shortlisted Sites Consultations Biddenden Chilham Hothfield Kingsnorth Wittersham Woodchurch 4 Introduction The purpose of this document is to set out how the Ashford Borough Council has involved the local community, stakeholder and statutory bodies in the early formation of the Ashford Local Plan 2030 known as ‘Regulation 18 consultation’. These events were held between 2012 and 2015 and focused on overall strategy of the Local Plan 2030 and potential site allocations. This report sets out the information on the following: who was invited to make comments and/or representations, how they were invited to do so, a summary of the main issues raised by the comments/representations, and How these have been addressed in the production and drafting of the Local Plan 2030 and/or supporting documents. The Council recognises that early and ongoing community involvement is a key part of plan making. This consultation statement complies with Ashford’s adopted Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) 2013. The SCI outlines that the Council is committed to effective community engagement, and seeks to use a wide range of methods for involving the community in the plan making process. Regulation 18 Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) Regulations 2012 requires that various bodies and stakeholders be notified that the council is preparing a plan and invite comments about what that plan ought to contain. The Regulation 18 consultation marks the start of the engagement stage of the Local Plan 2030 for Ashford and represents the scoping stage to decide what should be included in the Plan. A variety of consultation events provided opportunities for local residents to help to shape their local areas, and for key stakeholders to comment on the overall strategy: Date/s Consultation Topic & Event 1st August to 31st Jobs Growth and New Homes Consultation Questionnaire, aimed at October 2012 local business groups, key stakeholders and local residents Between October 2012 Plan-it Ashford Workshops with Town/Parish Councils, community and October 2013 forums, local interest groups and young people December 2013 to July Site Submissions workshops with Town/Parish Councils & 2014 Community Forums Throughout 2015 Shortlisted sites meetings/events for potential allocation sites with Town/Parish Councils and local residents July 2015 Green Corridor workshop with interest groups and local representatives 5 2 Jobs Growth and New Homes Consultation 2012 Purpose of the Consultation Crucial to the Local Plan to 2030 was estimating the growth expected in the economy of the area and the number of new homes that will be needed in Ashford. This required feedback from residents and people that work, are involved with community organisations and operate businesses in the borough. In October 2012, the policy team commenced this process by running a public consultation on proposed jobs and homes figures. As a first step in the process, the council appointed consultants, GL Hearn to advise on the economic prospects for the borough to 2030. The expert advice suggested a range of options from the cautious to the more optimistic and suggested an average jobs growth of between 400 – 800 jobs a year to 2030 was required. So that the council knew how much land needs to be identified in a new local plan for development to 2030, we also needed to understand how many homes would be needed. The council appointed a specialist unit at Kent County Council that advises district councils around Kent to produce this information. Using a widely used computer model, this work looked at the existing structure of the population and the way it is likely to change in future and then tested how different levels of jobs growth would impact on the number of new homes needed to 2030. These background documents were made available with the consultation and it was made clear that the forecasts within them are only estimates and they must be treated as such. The Questionnaire asked a number of specific questions relating to these proposed estimates. Consultation Details and Advertising The consultation period ran for 3 months between 1st August and 31st October 2012. The consultation was an online and hard copy Questionnaire, which asked for comments relating to the amount of potential Jobs growth and new homes the borough council, should plan for up to 2030. The consultation was open to all members of the public and all specific consultees and duty to cooperate bodies were specifically contacted by mail with a copy of the questionnaire. Additional consultees within the Policy (LDF) Database and Economic Development Business database were notified of the consultation via email. The consultation documents were also placed in 5 Libraries (including the Ashford and Tenterden Gateways). A press release was issued to all local press and the Consultation was also advertised on the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce’s website and the front page 6 of the Councils website and appeared in the Council’s ‘news’ section five times throughout the consultation period. A radio advert was aired during weeks commencing 8th and 15th October (these were 10 x 30-second adverts per day between 6am and 8pm) on local station KMFM. This advertising resulted in a number of press articles about the questionnaire in the Kentish Express and Express Herald between August and September. Full details of all advertising can be found in Appendix A. The Policy team also held two staffed public exhibitions advertising the consultation in County Square Shopping Centre on Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd October from 10am to 5pm. Overall 158 responses were received to the questionnaire and the analysis of these responses can be found in Appendix A. 3 Plan-it Ashford Consultation Introduction 3.2 As a second part of Regulation 18 Local Plan 2030 consultation, the policy team ran a series of ‘Plan-It’ consultation meetings and workshops with Parish councils, Community Forums, schools and community and voluntary sector groups starting in early August 2012 (partly overlapping with the Jobs & Homes Consultation) and through to Autumn 2013. The intention was to get local people and groups thinking about the issues that affect them now and in the future. 3.3 The Plan-it approach is based on an award-winning idea that worked well in Winchester. The Planning Policy team adapted this by creating seven ‘characters’ to represent a cross section of a local community. All of the characters have different personal situations and issues that need to be addressed. The Plan-it pack was intended to help people to identify with their own situation through the characters and also consider the needs of others as part of the planning process. The full Plan-it consultation pack can be found in Appendix B. 3.4 The Plan-It consultation was initially aimed at Parish Councils and community groups in order to gain an idea of the priorities and issues for each area, and gain some consensus on the key issues. Young people were also targeted through youth groups and schools. The Plan-It consultation intended to get a better understanding of any particular local issues that groups and organisations felt that needed to be addressed over the next 15 years, such as jobs, services and suitable housing. 3.5 A total of 32 meetings or workshops were held for Plan-It. Some were full public meetings, others with the representatives from the Parish Council, community group or voluntary groups/schools, and some were an initial 7 introduction to the process. A full schedule of Plan-It meetings is included in Appendix B. Parish Council’s Participation 3.6 All Parish Councils and community forums received a letter and Plan-it pack in early August 2012 detailing the Plan It consultation and how to engage in the process. Ward Councillors also received copies of the letters. A follow up/ reminder letter was sent to Parish Councils in January 2013.