Newsletter No 9

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN PROJECT

Newsletter No 9 – June 2021

The work on the Neighbourhood Plan continues at a modest pace to
keep our work in line with Covid restrictions. As mentioned in earlier
newsletters the plan needs to be undertaken with reference to the
national and local planning policy guidelines, both of which are
undergoing review and will have an impact upon our work and the
housing development in the Parish at some future point. In light of this,
we thought it might be helpful to readers to summarise these two key
aspects and to give a brief update on the current situation and future
activity related to our Parish Neighbourhood Plan.
Government reforms for Housing Planning and Development
The Queen’s speech included a new Planning Bill to reform the current
planning system. There is very little in the way of details on what this
will contain, and it seems unlikely that this new system will be in place
until mid-2022. Our approach to this is to continue with what we are
doing, as the Government has signalled that it intends to keep
Neighbourhood Plans as part of any revised system.
The Planning Bill is expected to make planning quicker and easier to
use, create more certainty and allow more active public engagement.
For more details on the Governments approach please see:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-for-thefuture/

The Dorset Local Plan:
All the comments on the new Local Plan are now being considered by
Dorset Council and further studies are underway, with the aim of
getting an updated plan drafted by the end of the year. This will be
subject to consultation and then forwarded to the Planning Inspectorate
who will examine the plan and may suggest further changes before it
can be adopted, probably around early 2023.
The last draft did not propose any major development in our area and
supports the role of Neighbourhood Plan in meeting local needs. For a
more detailed look at the Local Plan, please see
https://news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/2021/06/08/the-next-steps-for-the-dorsetcouncil

Progress with the Neighbourhood Plan:
The Steering Group has been meeting regularly using the ZOOM
facilities and was anticipating having its first face-to-face meeting for
some time, at the end of the month, subject to government COVID
guidelines. This now looks unlikely.
A number of key milestones in the plan have now been completed, and
our next key stage in developing the Neighbourhood Plan is to begin
the public consultation activity.
• Housing design codes for any future development have been
proposed by the planning consultants commissioned by the
Steering Group and funded through a government grant. These
will be presented and made available through the public
consultation events mentioned below.
• Site assessments of landowner’s proposals for development have
also now been reviewed by the external planning consultants and
will be considered by the Steering Group for inclusion in any
development plans. The results of the site surveys will also be
presented and made available through the public consultation
events once discussions with the landowners have been
undertaken.
• The format for the first of the three major public consultation
events has now been drafted and will be agreed at the next
Steering Group meeting. These consultations are a critical part of
community engagement and contribute significantly to the final
acceptance of the formal Neighbourhood Plan, with the
Referendum on the Plan scheduled for around early 2023.
• Events will be organised in each of the four villages, one session
during the day, and one in the evening. The first series is currently
scheduled for September and for convenience, each is open to
any member of the community, regardless of which village they
reside in.
• The consultation events will be open to the public for two hours
and you are welcome to ‘drop-in’ for as long or short a time as
you wish. The sessions will be coordinated by each village and
Parish councillor representatives, supported by volunteers from
the Steering Group, and the community wherever possible. There
will be map displays, summarised results from the surveys and an
opportunity for comment and suggestions from the community on
the Neighbourhood Plan. Refreshments will be available.
We will also be publicising the community engagement events as
widely as possible prior to them taking place and we would like the
public consultations to be as inclusive as possible, and if readers have
any suggestions on this, or other issues we may need to take into
consideration, do please get in touch with Derek Troughton, the Chair
of the Steering Group. He can be contacted on email,
[email protected] or by phone on 07802 204771.