What Is the Neighbourhood Plan?
The Localism Act is expected to become fully enacted in early 2012. It is intended to devolve power from central to local government and covers a range of policies one of which is a reform of the planning system. The Government thinks that local communities should have an opportunity to influence the future of the places where they live and to achieve this the Act will introduce the right for communities to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan.
The Neighbourhood Plan will allow communities to say where they think new houses, businesses and shops should go and what they should look like. The Plan will have to conform to the national planning policy and the local development framework set by Arun District Council but if the local community vote to accept it in a referendum then Arun District Council must recognise it as a statutory document and a material consideration when making planning decisions in the future.
Although the Neighbourhood Plan is focused on planning and development it may also influence other areas of our village including employment, transport, education, health and recreation. Poor planning can result in a degradation of these services and facilities; by including them in our Neighbourhood Plan we aim to highlight any deficiencies and what facilities Developers should be asked to provide as part of any community infrastructure levy.
Why Does Yapton Need a Neighbourhood Plan?
No plan means no say in where Developers build in the future.
Without a Neighbourhood Plan for Yapton, Developers will be able to build anywhere in and around the Village without the need to apply for planning permission.
The recent approval on appeal of 173 new homes (known locally as the Gleeson Site) demonstrates how Developers can currently ride rough-shod over the wishes of the local community. A Neighbourhood Plan for Yapton gives US the opportunity to determine where we want new development based on local knowledge and experience.
How Will the Yapton Neighbourhood Plan Be Developed?
In the July 2011 issue of Yapton News we asked for volunteers to help with this project and we now have a core Steering Group led by Andy Faulkner and Phil Robinson. The team will use multiple channels of communication including public meetings, regular updates in Yapton News, flyers and posters in local shops, the Yapton Parish Council website and Facebook to keep the local community updated on progress.
The project started with a Drop-In Day to introduce the process to local residents and other stakeholders and provide them with an opportunity to ask questions and complete a Community Survey.
Following the meeting, the survey wassent to every house in Yapton in the Yapton News magazine asking for responses to a series of questions on what it is like to live in Yapton in 2012. The survey was also available to download from the Yapton Parish website and to fill in on-line for those who wish to do so. The survey results will be collated to provide a platform on which to build the Plan’s vision, objectives and policies and the responses will form an integral part of our Community Profile. The Community Profile itself will be used to help define the policies that are contained within the Neighbourhood Plan.
Arun District Council have employed a Planning Expert for a year to help communities who wish to develop a Neighbourhood Plan and the team intend to work with them to ensure conformity with national and local Government policies. Other relevant organisations such as West Sussex Highways, The Environment Agency and West Sussex Primary Care Trust will also be involved. In addition, the team hope to liaise with other local parishes who are developing a Neighbourhood Plan where our interests may overlap.
Once drafted, another public meeting will be held to introduce the first draft of the Yapton Neighbourhood Plan and it will also be published in the Yapton News and made available on-line for comment. It may also be possible to hold individual presentations to local interest groups.
Following consultation with the community a final draft will be produced and subjected to an audit by an independent third party (TBA) who will recommend that it is either rejected or sent to a referendum. If the community vote to adopt the plan, it will become a statutory document and part of the local development framework.
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