Source: http://wshwnp.org.uk/news_of_the_wshwnp/
Timestamp: 2019-08-19 22:39:18
Document Index: 451191494

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 2', 'art-2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art-2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2']

News – Wootton and St Helen Without Neighbourhood Plan
The current timeline for the Neighbourhood Plan
Comments received on the publication version of the NP were reviewed at the Steering Group meeting on 21 November and the final version for examination was submitted to the Vale of White Horse District Council.
The Steering Group considered a shortlist of independent examiners and based on advice selected Andrew Ashcroft, who was the examiner for the Radley NP. He started work in December 2018 and we hope that the examination will proceed rapidly in January 2019. The examination process is managed by the VWHDC and will be followed by a referendum of our parishes residents.
Keep an eye out for referendum notifications and we should have more news next month. We hope that the NP will be made in early 2019 and become a legal part of the planning process.
The Vale's Local Plan Part 2 has progressed with a dialogue between the inspector and the Vale following his public examination. Full details can be found on the examination web page http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/services-andadvice/planning-and-building/planning-policy/localplan-2031-part-2/local-plan-2031-par . The initial response from the LPP2 Inspector was encouraging as he requested limiting development on the airfield to 1200 dwellings in the planning period up until 2031 with any further development having to be considered in subsequent Plan. He also confirmed that the army playing field on Cholswell Road/Long Tow would be retained within the Green Belt, as would land adjacent to Starveall Farm in White Cross. He appeared to intimate that only sufficient land should be removed from the Green Belt to facilitate the building of the 1200 dwellings.
In a subsequent communication to the Vale the LPP2 Inspector, surprisingly, asked them to remove "the built up area of Shippon and the built up area of Dalton Barracks" from the Green Belt. The SG queried this with his office and received the response that this request is ‘without prejudice to his final decision’.
The Steering Group are obviously concerned about this apparent contradiction and ST Helen Without Parish Council has written to our local MPs seeking their support
The VWHDC appointed an independent examiner in December 2018, namely, Mr Andrew Ashcroft. The NP Steering Group was given a choice of examiners by the VWHDC and sought advice from our NP consultant, Nigel McGurk before selecting Mr Ashcroft. He was the examiner for the Radley Neighbourhood Plan.
It is anticipated that the examination with take place in January / February 2018.
Once the examiner is satisfied that the NP has met the required conditions, the VWHDC will organise a referendum of the local community in early 2019. If a majority of those voting support the NP it will be adopted and become a legal part of the VWHDC's Planning Process.
The two Parish Councils will be responsible for the implementation of the NP, particularly, seeking ways to build on the ideas for community actions to enhance the quality of life in the area.
The Neighbourhood Plan has now progressed from its publication phase and we will have, hopefully, reviewed any comments made, at our meeting on 21st November.
The Plan will then be ready for submission to an independent examiner, whom we will chose from a list supplied by the Vale of White Horse District Council. Whilst we are unsure of the timescales involved we are pressing to have this completed as soon as possible.
Meanwhile the LPP2 (The Vale’s Local Plan Part 2) inspector has written a preliminary response to the Vale following the recent public examination of that plan. The Inspector appears to have picked up on a number of issues raised by our NP. His full comments can be viewed www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk - Local Plan 2031 Part 2: Examination -Examination Library List.
As there is no WADS newsletter in January, we will ensure that our website is kept fully up to date with any developments in respect of the NP. Our website address is www.wshwnp.org.uk
We are delighted that after a period of discussion with the Vale of White Horse District Council (VWHDC) they have accepted our Neighbourhood Plan (NP) for submission for independent examination with some minor amendments.
The VWHDC are inviting comments on the NP and supporting documents prior to the examination during a six-week publicity period from Friday 5 October until 5pm on Friday 16 November 2018. You can view the NP and supporting documents at www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/wshw
Hard copies are available to view at Wootton and Dry Sandford Community Centre between 8am and 10pm Monday to Sunday in the main foyer, or at The Prince of Wales Public House, Shippon on: Mondays: 5.30pm – 9pm; Tuesdays to Thursdays: 12pm – 3pm and 5.30pm – 11pm; Fridays and Saturdays: 12pm – 12am and Sundays: 12pm – 5:30pm. To view the documents outside of these times, please email: clerkshwpc@woottondrysandfordshippon.co.uk.
The documents are also available to view at Vale of White Horse District Council’s office, 135 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, Abingdon, OX14 4SB between 8.30am and 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am to 4.30pm on Fridays.
The most convenient way to comment is the online questionnaire, which is available at http://survey.southandvale.gov.uk/s/WSHWNP/ Responses can also be made by: * emailing planning.policy@whitehorsedc.gov.uk * writing to Vale of White Horse District Council at the above address * completing a comment form (available at the above venues) and posting or emailing it back to us.
The NP Steering Group encourages everyone to study the NP. It is very much based on what the community sees as the most important issues and needs for the future development of our area. The Independent Examiner will consider all comments both supportive and those, which suggests ways in which the NP could be improved.
It is anticipated that the examination with take place in December 2018. Once the examiner is satisfied that the NP has met the required conditions, the VWHDC will organise a referendum of the community in early 2019. If a majority of those voting support the NP it will be adopted and become a legal part of the VWHDC's Planning Process. The two Parish Councils will be responsible for the implementation of the NP, particularly, seeking ways to build on the ideas for community actions to enhance the quality of life in the area.
In the June 2018 WADS Newsletter the Draft Neighbourhood Plan (NP) was launched with the community and statutory bodies given a six week period (ending 6 July 2018) in which to give their responses and comments. The VWHDC submitted their response late on the 10 July 2018 and the Steering Group had to use a previous draft response received in May 2018 in considering any up-dated to the draft plan (Note: the 10 July response was virtually identical to the previous version).
The Steering Group considered all the responses and where it felt a comment would strengthen the NP changes were made. The final submission NP was completed with a great effort from Jan Banfield (SG Vice Chair) and Gwen Morgan, who did the design work and was submitted to the Vale on Monday 6th August 2018, together with all the supporting material.
The submission NP and the other documents can be downloaded from the website www.wshwnp.org.uk.
The next steps are organised by the Vale:
• Vale must satisfy itself that the NP submitted to it for independent examination complies with all the relevant statutory requirements.
• The Vale appoints an independent examiner - his role is limited to testing whether or not a NP meets what are called the Basic Conditions and a few other matters.
• You can give your views or submit evidence to the independent examiner, for the examiner to consider, by written representations to the Vale during the statutory publicity period which must be at least 6 weeks.
• If the examiner is satisfied with the NP then they will recommend that the NP proceed to referendum which will be organised for a specific date by the Vale.
• If a majority of those who vote are in favour of the NP then it will be "made" and become a legal part of the Vale's planning process.
Launch of Draft Neighbourhood Plan - Consultation You have told us your views and priorities for our area over the past 12 months through a variety of workshops, events and questionnaires.
Our Neighbourhood Plan has the following three aims:
1. Protection of the rural character of the area and the discrete nature of our settlements. This is enshrined in our Spatial Strategy (SS) policies, which seeks to protect the rural setting and character of each of our settlements.
2. Provision of more appropriate and timely infrastructure than would otherwise occur. This is detailed in our Infrastructure Needs (IN) policies, which address the timing of infrastructure delivery, specific anticipated threats to existing infrastructure (e.g. our roads), and the infrastructure needs of specific sections of our communities.
3. Delivery of development that ‘fits in with’ our area’s character and communities. This is specified in our Design Guide (DG), which requires development to reflect the historic and rural setting of the area, encourages design standards that are higher than the minimum required nationally, and identifies heritage assets that are locally important and worthy of protection.
Our planning policies are organised around nine objectives, which seek to deliver these aims. The objectives and policies are outlined in the following table.
The community were informed of the outcome of the questionnaire at a public workshop on Wednesday 11th April. The winners of the competition were
First Prize (£100); Daren Hutchinson, Shippon
Second Prize (£50); Susan Clifton, Wootton
The workshop also discussed the emerging Neighbourhood Plan.
Let us know what you like and don’t like about your community by signing up to Placecheck on http://www.placecheck.info/maps/view/?map=wootonsthelen It there is a green space that you think should be preserved or an road which suffers from traffic jams or speeding you can mark it on the map and make a comment. This will help us identify issues for the Neighbourhood Plan. You can also ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ comments made by other residents.
A good response of around 33% was achieved on the Neighbourhood Plan questionnaire and the results are being analysed; the Steering Group would like to thank residents for taking the time to complete it.
Residents are cordially invited to an event at the Wootton & Dry Sandford Community Centre on Wednesday 11th April at 7.30pm for the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group to report the results of the questionnaire to the community.
The condition of local footpaths, access to public facilities and safe road crossings are important issues to elderly and disabled residents with mobility problems or impaired vision. The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group would like to invite local residents interested in discussing these issues on Thursday 19th April between 4pm and 6pm at the Wootton and Dry Sandford Community Centre; tea and cake will be served. At the meeting we hope to create an audit of areas which could be improved and to discuss the rules that should be laid down in the Neighbourhood Plan for new developments.
We will be seeking stunning photographs of areas within the parishes of Wootton and St Helen Without to use within the final version of our Neighbourhood Plan. We will also be interested in original designs for the cover – contact: g.edmondsbrown@btinternet.com or telephone 01865 739419
There is still time to complete the Neighbourhood Plan questionnaire if you haven’t already done so. Your views on your community; what we need to protect and what we need to improve are important We need as many members of the community as possible take the time to complete the questionnaire, as this will provide the evidence to the Independent Inspector of what the community wants. Extra copies of the questionnaire can be obtained or completed on-line on the website www.wshwnp.org.uk or help completing the questionnaire can be obtained by contacting George Edmonds-Brown on 01865 739419 or e-mailing g.edmondsbrown@btinternet.com .
The Neighbourhood Plan questionnaire should arrive on everyone’s doorsteps before the end of January asking your views on your community; what we need to protect and what we need to improve. This will provide you with the opportunity to say what is important to you within your area and for you to have a say regarding facilities in the area plus improvements you feel can be introduced; it will shape the future of your community for the next 20 years or so. It will be vitally important that as many members of the community as possible take the time to complete the questionnaire, as this will provide the evidence to the Independent Inspector of what the community wants. Watch out for details of a number of events introducing the questionnaire. Extra copies of the questionnaire can be obtained or completed on-line on the website www.wshwnp.org.uk or help completing the questionnaire can be obtained by contacting George Edmonds-Brown on 01865 739419 or e-mailing g.edmondsbrown@btinternet.com .
We will be holding two Young People’s Fun Days from 2pm to 5pm on Wednesday 14th February at Dalton Barracks Community Centre and on Thursday 15th February at the Wootton and Dry Sandford Community Centre. There will be a range of activities and free pizza, cakes and drinks. Register at www.wshwnp.org.uk/youngperson or call Richard Bahu on 07802 201708 or e-mail him on richard.bahu@btinternet.com . A Consent Form signed by a parent or guardian, which can be downloaded on the website or obtained from Richard Bahu, will need to be brought to the meeting or completed at the start of the event.
Let us know what you like and don’t like about your community by signing up to Placecheck on http://www.placecheck.info/maps/view/?map=wootonsthelen It there is a green space that you think should be preserved or an road which suffers from traffic jams or speeding you can mark it on the map and make a comment. This will help us identify issues for the Neighbourhood Plan.
(Adverts for Questionnaire and Young Peoples days)
The Wootton and St Helen Without Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, together with Wootton and St Helen Without Parish Councillors, will be holding an Open Evening on Wednesday 13th December from 7pm at the Wootton & Dry Sandford Community Centre. Christmas drinks and refreshments will be served. Your views count, so we now need to bring everyone in our community together to debate the KEY OBJECTIVES for the Neighbourhood Plan. It is your opportunity to tell us what you'd like the Neighbourhood Plan to achieve, so we can ensure that we can draft policies that can deliver on our agreed objectives. It would be helpful if you could inform the Wootton Parish Clerk if you plan to attend. Tel. 01865 739419; e-mail – g.edmondsbrown@btinternet.com
In January a questionnaire will land on your doorsteps asking your views on your community; what we need to protect and what we need to improve. This will provide you with the opportunity to say what is important to you within your area and for you to have a say regarding facilities in the area plus improvements you feel can be introduced; it will shape the future of your community for the next 20 years or so. It will be vitally important that as many members of the community as possible take the time to complete the questionnaire, as this will provide the evidence to the Independent Inspector of what the community wants.
The viability of local businesses is important to the community and it will be important to address it in our Neighbourhood Plan. This will include assessing the impact of the proposed Garden Village on the Dalton Barracks site, both in terms of challenges and opportunities and on the impact on the local infrastructure. As a first step the Wootton and St Helen Without Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group cordially invites representatives of local businesses in the two parishes, large and small, to attend an Open Evening on Wednesday 8th November from 6pm to 9pm at the Wootton & Dry Sandford Community Centre. The invitation includes farmers and landowners. It is hoped that volunteers interested in participating in a Business Forum can be identified at the event. Drinks and refreshments will be served. If would be helpful if you could inform the Wootton Parish Clerk if you plan to attend. Tel. 01865 739419; e-mail – g.edmondsbrown@btinternet.com
The Vale of White Horse District Council Local Plan Part 2
The consultation on the VWHDC Local Plan Part 2 was published on 11th October; the consultation period will last until 5pm on Wednesday 22 November 2017.
Details of the Local Plan can be found on the VWHDC website
http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/services-and-advice/planning-and-building/planning-policy/local-plan-2031-part-2
The VWHDC will hold a series of events, each will be an exhibition from 4 to 6.30pm followed by a public meeting from 7 to 8.30pm. the dates and venues are as follows -
Monday 6 November: Abingdon and Witney College, Wootton Road, Abingdon, OX14 1GG
The proposal to build a Garden Village on the Dalton Barracks site will have a big impact on our two parishes and it will be important that the two Parish Councils and our Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee, together with as many residents as possible, respond to the consultation.
The Joint Neighbourhood Plan
A meeting of all our volunteers will be held on Tuesday 10th October at 7pm at the Wootton and Dry Sandford Community Centre; refreshments will be served. If you have not yet volunteered, but are interested in helping with the Neighbourhood Plan you are very welcome to attend.
The next consultation on the VWHDC Local Plan Part 2 will be published in October. The VWHDC will be holding an event on the Plan on Thursday 16th October from 3pm to 9pm at the Community Centre. Information is gradually emerging on the amendments to the Plan following the consultation earlier in the year. These include a decision not to remove Whitecross out of the Green Belt; this is to be welcomed. Unfortunately this success has not been mirrored in Shippon, which it is still proposed to remove from the Green Belt. We will be seeking the views of residents, so that we can address this issue in the next round of consultation.
Work has been continuing over the summer, the area covered by the Plan has been designated and a Project Plan and budget is being prepared so that we can apply for grants. We exhibited at WADS-STOCK and are now preparing the next stage of engagement with the public. The Sub-Groups have begun their work and discussions are taking place with the District Council.
A large number of people visited our stall at WADS-STOCK and we had an excellent response from residents completing the mini-survey. This has provided some very useful information on the areas of importance to residents, which will be useful in our main public consultation. Those who completed the questionnaire were able to enter a competition for a prize draw -
We would like to congratulate the following winners of the prize draw (see photos)
1st Prize - Hamper - Tammy Matthew & little Ethan, Dry Sandford
2nd Prize - Vodka - Joan & Michael, Dry Sandford
3rd Prize - Wine - Jess & Daniel, Wootton
We would like to thank the following local companies for contributing to the competition prizes – The Bystander, The Coop, Fit2Run, The Flower Workshop, Fortress Alarms, Head to Toe, KTM Premier Bikes, Leo Fish & Chip and Chinese Takeaway, Lowe and Oliver, Mallams Auctioneers, Manor Flooring, Molly Maids, One Stop, Oxford Fireplaces, Oxford Kitchens, Smart Signs and Graphics, John Werrell & Son, Whitecross Metals and Wootton Pharmacy.
We have had an excellent response from the community offering to help with the Neighbourhood Plan. As we move forward we hope to be able to fully engage with our volunteers and to identify the areas each one would like to focus on. One of the main elements in developing a Neighbourhood plan is to engage with the public and find out what are the main areas of concern to them and how they would like to see improvements made to their community. One of the key instruments for achieving this will be the main questionnaire which we hope to circulate in September. As this will be our principal evidence base, it will be important that as many residents as possible complete it. We hope to build a team of volunteers who are willing to follow up in their local street or area encouraging and helping people to complete it. This will be a useful task which should involve helping for a six week period. Do let the Wootton Clerk know if you would like to be involved.
We want to hear you views so feel free to contact us by e-mailing steeringgroup@wshwnp.org.uk Do keep informed by visiting the neighbourhood Plan website www.wshwnp.org.uk .
Download Our Neighbourhood Plan Leaflet
Work is continuing on the Joint Neighbourhood Plan, the Steering Group is setting up sub-committees to consider “Environment and Conservation”; “Infrastructure”; and “Development.”
The work of these sub-groups will be vitally important in developing the Plan; other sub-groups are likely to be set up soon. Joining a sub-group will offer volunteers the opportunity to fully engage with the future of your community; it is not too late to volunteer.
The Parish Councils and the Steering Group are working with the District Council on the area to be covered by the Plan (the Designated Area) and we are hoping to receive a decision shortly. This will allow us to apply for grants to assist the development of the Plan. The Neighbourhood Plan Group will have a stall at WADS-STOCK where you can learn more about the Neighbourhood Plan and let us have your views.
You will see an advert on Page 7 of this newsletter and a leaflet giving more details. The Neighbourhood Plan Group now has its own website www.wshwnp.org.uk keep yourself informed and e-mail steeringgroup@wshwnp.org.uk to contact us.
It was agreed at the last Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group meeting on 28th June that we would send our volunteers regular updates on developments. The Group greatly values your willingness to help with the Neighbourhood Plan and welcomes any comments you may have, including letting them know of particular areas in which you would like to get involved.
Andrew Maxted the Senior Vale of White Horse District Council Planning Policy Officer, who has particular responsibility for the VWHDC Local Plan Part 2, and Louise Rawlins the VWHDC Community Engagement Officer attended our meeting on the 28th June. Andrew Maxted confirmed that the Area Designation of our Neighbourhood Plan has now been agreed and we should get formal confirmation very soon. This will allow the process of preparing the Plan to begin including applying for grants to assist the Steering Group’s work, by helping to meet the cost of technical assistance and printing.
Louise Rawlins will be able to help the Steering Group to seek the views of our residents in developing the Plan. This will include designing a questionnaire to send to every household in the two parishes.
Members of the Steering Group and the two parish councils met the Vale of White Horse DC team on 12 June to discuss progress and agreed to meet regularly. This will enable us to benefit from the Vale’s experience in Neighbourhood Planning and will also allow us to feed in our views into the Local Plan Part 2 process; the Plan will have a major impact on our community as it envisages building 1200 houses on the Dalton Barracks site by 2031, rising to up to 5,000 thereafter. The next consultation on the Local Plan Part 2 is expected in October.
As you will see from the community newsletter, the Steering Group will have a stall at WADS-STOCK on the 29th July at the Wootton & Dry Sandford Community Centre. The Stall will be staffed from 10am until 6pm so do please drop by and have a chat. Residents will be asked to complete a short questionnaire, the results of which will be helpful in identifying the key issues to be addressed in the Plan and will be used to design the main questionnaire. Everyone who completes a questionnaire will have the opportunity of entering a competition for a prize hamper kindly made up from donations from local companies.
Sub-Groups have now been set up covering “Environment and Conservation”, “Infrastructure” and “Development”; full details of the areas they will cover and those that have already volunteered to participate are attached at Annex A. If you are interested in participating in any of the sub-groups do not hesitate to contact us. Other groups and activities will be set up as the Plan is developed and if you are not already involved we will be happy to work with you to find a role that interests you.
The Steering Committee is now meeting every three weeks and is beginning to identify the areas to be covered in the Joint Neighbourhood Plan. It has been able to meet representatives of other parishes that have prepared a Neighbourhood Plan and to benefit from their advice and experience.
The Steering Committee invited the volunteers who had offered to help with the Neighbourhood Plan to its meeting on 17th May, this provided an opportunity to begin the dialogue on how the community volunteers can help produce the Plan. New volunteers from the two parishes are still very welcome and it should be possible to identify how everyone can help in an area where they have a particular interest. If you would like to volunteer please contact your parish clerk.
The Vale of White Horse District Council has put to consultation the proposal by the two Parish Councils that the Joint Neighbourhood Plan designated area should be the whole area within the boundaries of the two parishes. The consultation period ended on 26th May and the two parishes can expect to hear at the beginning of June whether the designated area has been approved. This will enable the parishes to apply for grants to assist the Steering Committee in developing the Neighbourhood Plan.
The Steering Group met twice in April 2017 to provide a response to the LPP2 consultation. You can find the Steering Group NP response here.
Progress is being made in developing the Wootton & St Helen Without Joint Neighbourhood Plan. The Steering Committee held its first meeting on 14th March and expects to start soon a process of consulting the communities in both parishes to ascertain their views on the key issues to be addressed in the Neighbourhood Plan.
The Steering Committee are grateful for the volunteers that have come forward to help with the Neighbourhood Plan and hope to be able to meet with them soon. Contributions in any way are most welcome and the Committee has suggested one or two areas that members of the community might consider –
It is important that the views of young people are included in our plans for the future of our communities. There could, therefore, be a task for a younger person to canvass the views of younger members of the community perhaps by setting up an arrangement through the social media (this could for example be an exercise for someone working towards a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award).
One of our team is blind and would welcome help from someone volunteering to read key documents to them.
We still need someone to take the minutes of the Steering Committee. [note: we now have someone to help us with this.]
A Public Meeting was held on 17th January and was very well attended. Presentations were given by the Vale of White Horse District Council and Community First Oxfordshire and residents responded with a lively session of questions and answers. Developing a Neighbourhood Plan is an exercise involving the whole community and it is vital that volunteers come forward to offer their time and skills to the process. We are grateful to the volunteers that have come forward already and we shall be in touch with them shortly.
Contribute to the future...
Feel as though you can help? Can you spare some time? Register your interest using the email address: i-want-to-help@wshwnp.org.uk. Or contact us using the button on the right.