Winslow Neighbourhood Plan 2014-2031 Published by Winslow Town Council under the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 and in accordance with EU Directive 2001/42 June 2014 Winslow Neighbourhood Plan 2014-2031 Contents Page No Foreword 3 List of Policies 4 Introduction 5 State of the Town Report 8 Vision and Objectives 15 Principles and Policies 17 Delivery Plan 40 Proposals Maps 42 Annexe A: Schedule of Evidence 44 2 Winslow Neighbourhood Plan: June 2014 Foreword The Localism Act 2011 introduced new powers for people to create Neighbourhood Plans. Communities now have the power to create their own plans for future development and Winslow Town Council has seized the opportunity to work with the community to deliver the Winslow Neighbourhood Plan. Our partners in this venture have been Community Impact Bucks and our planning consultants, rCOH Ltd. We have been fortunate to be able to refer to earlier consultations carried out for the Winslow Town Plan (developed 2008-2011) and a Community Survey carried out in respect of the Vale of Aylesbury Plan in November 2011. This information has been updated and augmented by discussions with residents at Open Days and Workshops over the last eighteen months. We have also talked to planning professionals, landowners, developers, local organisations, local health professionals, neighbouring town and parish councils, the District Council and the County Council. The resulting proposals are in this document. We have had to ensure that our Neighbourhood Plan is consistent, where appropriate, with the saved policies of the 2004 Aylesbury Vale District Local Plan, the 2012 National Planning Policy Framework and subsequent updates and guidance notes. Once approved by the community in a referendum and ‘made’ by the District Council it will become part of the development plan for Aylesbury Vale. The plan will direct future development at Winslow to meet the changing needs of the community over the next fifteen or so years. It indicates where and when that development should take place and what additional community facilities we will require as a result of it. We believe that the Plan addresses all of the key issues facing Winslow in successfully completing this phase of growth in the town’s long history. The new rail station, secondary school, jobs and services provided for in this plan will help us become a community less reliant on our neighbouring towns. But the plan also ensures that new housing development is contained within a sensible development boundary and provides for homes suited to those in later life, growing families and those seeking lower cost homes. Provision has been made to review the plan every five years so that we can reflect changing needs over time. My heartfelt thanks go to all those who have worked so hard to bring this plan to fruition and to the whole community for the positive response you have shown. Cllr Llew Monger Chairman, Winslow Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group 3 Winslow Neighbourhood Plan: June 2014 List of Policies Policy No. Policy Title Page No. 1 The Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development 17 2 A Spatial Plan for the Town 18 3 Housing Allocations 20 4 Affordable Housing 26 5 Housing Design 27 6 Land South of Buckingham Road 28 7 Land North of Buckingham Road 30 8 Cycle Routes 31 9 Bus Services 32 10 Traffic Management 32 11 Winslow Community Centre 33 12 Winslow Medical Services Centre 33 13 Sports Facilities 34 14 Childcare Nursery 34 15 Play Facilities for Young People 35 16 Assets of Community Value 35 17 Winslow Shopping Area 36 18 Small Supermarket 37 19 Local Green Spaces 38 20 Infrastructure Investment 41 4 Winslow Neighbourhood Plan: June 2014 1. Introduction Purpose 1.1 Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) designated the Winslow ‘Neighbourhood Area’ on 25 February 2013 for the purpose of enabling Winslow Town Council to prepare the ‘Winslow Neighbourhood Plan’ (WNP). 1.2 The plan below shows the boundary of the Winslow Neighbourhood Area (see Figure A). The Town Council has led the preparation of the WNP to cover the plan period 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2031. The WNP sets out specific policies and proposals for the use and development of land in the Area over that plan period. Figure A: The Designated Winslow Neighbourhood Area 1.3 The WNP has been prepared in accordance with the Town & Country Planning Act 1990, the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the Localism Act 2011, the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012 and Directive 2001/42/EC on Strategic Environmental Assessment. The Town Council has prepared the plan to establish a vision for the future of the town and to set out how that vision will be realised through planning and controlling land use and development change. Neighbourhood Development Plans 1.4 The WNP is amongst the first Neighbourhood Development Plans prepared in England since the 2011 Localism Act. The National Planning Policy Framework states: “The application of the presumption will have implications for how communities engage in neighbourhood planning. Critically, it will mean that neighbourhoods should: 5 Winslow Neighbourhood Plan: June 2014 - develop plans that support the strategic development needs set out in Local Plans, including policies for housing and economic development; - plan positively to support local development, shaping and directing development in their area that is outside the strategic elements of the Local Plan; and - identify opportunities to use Neighbourhood Development Orders to enable developments that are consistent with their neighbourhood plan to proceed (para. 17). “Neighbourhood planning gives communities direct power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and deliver the sustainable development they need. Towns … can use neighbourhood planning to set planning policies through neighbourhood plans to determine decisions on planning applications; and grant planning permission through Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders for specific development which complies with the order (para.183). Neighbourhood planning provides a powerful set of tools for local people to ensure that they get the right types of development for their community. The ambition of the neighbourhood should be aligned with the strategic needs and priorities of the wider local area. Neighbourhood plans must be in general conformity with the strategic policies of the Local Plan. To facilitate this, local planning authorities should set out clearly their strategic policies for the area and ensure that an up-to-date Local Plan is in place as quickly as possible. Neighbourhood plans should reflect these policies and neighbourhoods should plan positively to support them. Neighbourhood plans and orders should not promote less development than set out in the Local Plan or undermine its strategic policies (para.184). Outside these strategic elements, neighbourhood plans will be able to shape and direct sustainable development in their area. Once a neighbourhood plan has demonstrated its general conformity with the strategic policies of the Local Plan and is brought into force, the policies it contains take precedence over existing non-strategic policies in the Local Plan for that neighbourhood, where they are in conflict. Local planning authorities should avoid duplicating planning processes for non-strategic policies where a neighbourhood plan is in preparation (para.185)”. Strategic Environmental Assessment 1.7 The WNP has been prepared in accordance with the EU Directive 2001/42 on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to ensure that its policies have avoided having any significant environmental effects. 1.8 In doing so, the WNP has also sought to demonstrate that its policies contribute to achieving sustainable development, as required by Regulation 15 of the 2012 Regulations and by Section 4B (6) and 8 of the 1990 Act, and covered in greater detail in the accompanying Basic Conditions Statement. 1.9 An SEA report has been prepared as a separate document to assess the objectives and policies of the WNP. This report also sets out the necessary information for AVDC to validate the assessment in the WNP that the policies will not have any significant effects on a European site, under the Conservation of Habitats & Species Regulations 2010 (as amended by Schedule 2 of the 2012 Regulations). 6 Winslow Neighbourhood Plan: June 2014 The Plan Preparation Process 1.14 The plan preparation process has been led by Winslow Town Council, as a ‘relevant body’ under the 2012 Regulations, with decisions delegated to its ‘Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group’. 1.15 The plan making process has comprised three main stages: State of the Town Report (May 2013) – a report that summarised all the evidence on which the WNP is based and was also published for consultation as the SEA Scoping Report Pre-Submission WNP (August 2013) – a report that comprised the draft vision, objectives, policies, proposals and map of the plan, and draft SEA, for an eight week public consultation period Submission WNP (December 2013) – this report, which takes into account the representations received on the Pre-Submission Plan and has been modified as necessary for submission to the local planning authority; it is accompanied by the SEA Report, a Basic Conditions Statement and a Consultation Statement 1.16 The WNP is submitted to AVDC under Regulation 15 of the 2012 Regulations for examination. It will be publicised for six weeks under Regulation 16 and then an examination will be undertaken by an independent, professional planner. 1.17 If deemed acceptable in respect of meeting the basic conditions of a Neighbourhood Plan, the examiner will recommend that the WNP will proceed, with or without modifications, to a referendum. If supported by a majority vote at the referendum, the WNP will be made and will become part of the Local Development Plan for the parish of Winslow for the Plan period. Consultation 1.18 The Town Council has consulted the local community extensively, including the 2011 questionnaire and the consultations for the Town Plan which all underpin the consultation feedback upon which the WNP is based.