Petworth Town Council Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Meeting
Petworth Town Council Offices
7pm, Tuesday 21st February 2017

Present
Julie Aguilar (NP Clerk)

David Burden (Member SG)
Douglas Cooper (Chair of SG)
Chris Kemp (PTC & Chair of Leisure & Well-being Working Group)

Ian McNeil (Member SG & representative of Housing Working Group)
Sarah Nelson (SDNPA)

Alex Rees (Chair of Working & Shopping Working Group)

John Riddell (Member SG)

Dominick Veasey (Nexus Planning)

Leanne Williams (Nexus Planning)

Apologies for absence

Pip Aitken (Co-opted member of SG & Chair of Housing Working Group)
Kate Brickell (Chair of Environment, Sustainability & Design Quality Working Group)
Rob Evans (Chair of Getting Around Working Group)

Approval of notesfrom meeting on 24th January 2017

Approved without changes.

Actions from meeting on 24th January 2017

  • Report on meeting with master planners – see agenda item that refers on page 2 of these minutes.
  • Revisions to Draft Plan – see agenda item that refers on pages 2, 3 & 4 of these minutes.
  • JA has organised a series of meeting dates for the organising sub-group in preparation for the public consultation event on 31st March.
  • DC/CK reported back on their meeting with Chris Paterson from SDNPA. DC said it was a good meeting and that Chris was very supportive and provided several helpful suggestions. The two main items that he said the team should make clear in the upcoming public consultation are:
    -that the event is not the referendum;
    -to help people understand what is likely to happen if there is no Neighbourhood Plan.
  • ALL to identify potential sites within the town for housing, employment, retailing or industry for discussion at this meeting – see pages 3 & 4 of these minutes for discussion outcomes and further actions.

Update on meeting with master planners

DCprovided an update. Here are the main points discussed:

  • Savills has made a good start on site PW23 although it neglected to scope out the other two sites.
  • Following subsequent correspondence with the Leconfield Estates, all three sites will be included in the master plan to be presented at the public consultation on 31st March.
  • DC asked for Nexus’ view on the draft master plan. DV said it is currently too detailed and should be expressed more in block plans rather than showing individual homes.
  • DC/CK have two more meetings with Savills before 31st March and will keep the group informed of progress.

Other points discussed by the Steering Group

Savills has used the LIDAR (also known as the LADAR) surveying method to show landscape contouring and demonstrate how houses will fall away from each other to provide attractive views.

Total housing numbers are approximately 150 although SN said this could increase over time by around 10%. The group should not be constrained by the 150 figure but it should also not be concerned that a major increase in numbers will be required.

IM believes the density figures should be explained slightly differently, perhaps with certain caveats, so that flexibility is maintained. SN advised prefacing density figures with words such as ‘approximately’ or ‘between’. DV said that the major outcome is that the plan can deliver 150 homes over the three sites.

DC stressed the importance of not losing green space and CK added that land outlined for housing development should not be taken up by non-housing infrastructure such as access to the school and turning space or screening.

Revised Draft Plan

LW advised that no revisions have yet been provided for the Getting Around and Working & Shopping sections.

CK said an extra display board might be necessary to accommodate the latest findings of Alan Baxter Associates, in particular options for the Market Square taking into consideration the potential move of the Co-op to Swan House. LW suggested including the Alan Baxter Associates report in the appendix section of the Draft Plan.

DC asked how many copies of the final Draft Plan are needed for the event on 31st March. It was agreed that a number of hard copies should be available for people to read but not take away on 31st March with additional copies available in the library and at Petworth Town Council during the 6-week consultation period beginning 3rd April. SN suggested asking those parishioners who needed a hard copy to state their preference in the questionnaire.

CK asked whether housing facilities for the older generation (such as Morgan Court apartments, Petworth Cottage Nursing Home, Rotherlea Care Home, etc) should be included in the Leisure & Wellbeing section. Following discussion, it was agreed to include these in both the Housing and Leisure & Wellbeing sections.

Potential sites for housing, employment, retailing and industry

Various sites within the town centre boundary were discussed such as the Market Square Garage (including British Red Cross Centre and Anthony Short premises), Fire Station, Royal Mail sorting office and Telephone Exchange.

AR pointed out that the Fire Station is not in the town centre boundary but could potentially be developed into a car park for traders to maximise parking for visitors in the Pound Street Car Park. CK added that Petworth Town Council could issue a ‘right to bid’ on the site. DC cautioned that if the Fire Station is included as a potential site, another site would need to be found at Hampers Green.

DV recommended the list of potential sites for housing, employment, retailing and industry should be part of an aspirational policy to encourage their re-use or re-development at a later stage.SN suggested they could be referred to as a ‘list of re-development opportunities’.

The final aspirational sites chosen are:

  • Market Square Garage (including British Red Cross Centre and Anthony Short retail premises);
  • Fire Station;
  • Royal Mail sorting office;
  • Grain Dryer site;
  • Telephone Exchange;
  • Old Children’s Home (36, Littlecote) – see page 6 of these minutes.

ACTIONS:

  • AR to provide input on behalf of the Working & Shopping Working Group by Friday, 24th February and will base feedback on the latest version of the document.
  • DC/CK to discuss how to progress the Getting Around section in RE’s absence.
  • ALL to provide their comments on the revised version of the Draft Plan to JA by close of play on Monday 27th February. JA will then send the consolidated group comments back to Nexus by close of play on Wednesday, 1st March.
  • Nexusto re-work maps per the discussion points made earlier in this section and circulate to JA for the group’s final input.
  • CK to check with the Leconfield Estates that the allotments and Hampers Green Common can be designated as green spaces in the Draft Plan.
  • AR to update the retail frontages for the map on page 41.
  • Nexus to arrange for 25 copies of the final Draft Plan to be printed for use on 31st March and throughout the public consultation period.
  • DC to check with the De Pass family about designating their green space (LS to provide DC with the correct contact details).

Progress on preparations for 31st March Public Consultation

Promotion

JA outlined the key aspects including:

  • Update of video (Pip Aitken will be the voice-over);
  • Press release issued this week to announce the date of the event with more to come;
  • Event posted on Facebook;
  • Event and press release noted on Petworth Town Council website;
  • Nigel Flynn, town crier, to promote the event at the Farmers’ Market on 25th March;
  • 2,000 flyers are to be distributed to people on the Petworth Parish electoral role (one per household) and handed out to the public on 25th March;
  • Banners to be created and put up on the NatWest railings, Dawtrey Road, Hampers Green and on the side of the Leconfield Hall;
  • Spring issue of Petworth Pages has now been delivered and includes invitation to the event on the front page and is the issue’s cover story.

Draft Presentation

CK said that one of the major comments made last year was that there was too much information to take in so the presentation needs to be succinct.

Main points agreed:

  • Timeline will remain two boards but the past will be faded out to highlight current activity.
  • Omit ‘Summary of Draft Petworth Neighbourhood Plan’ and ‘What are the key benefits of the Draft Neighbourhood Plan’ and summarise all relevant information in the ‘Story So Far’ board.
  • Working Group sections should reflect wording in Draft Plan but be bulleted so they are easier to read.
  • Site names should be referenced by their policy numbers.
  • Master plan boards will be displayed separately from the rest of the presentation (similar to how the Alan Baxter Associates boards were displayed at last year’s event).

DB said that an important message is that Petworth needs to evolve its way of thinking and the Neighbourhood Plan is an opportunity to make the town a living, breathing and sustainable community for the future. Evolution and Sustainability are key themes.

SN said the inclusion of a map to indicate green spaces should be a priority. With regard to other maps, text should be supporting the maps, not the other way round. The majority of people attending will be drawn to visuals rather than too many words.

Questionnaire

Nexussaid they will draft the questionnaire once the content of the display boards is confirmed. They will include the overarching Referendum question and add one box for comments at the end of the questionnaire.

IM said the main objective is to elicit a reaction to the policies.

ACTIONS:

  • Nexusto populate the draft presentation with text and agreement on photography will follow once the text is confirmed.
  • Nexusto advise what type of photographs are required. They should also consult the SDNPA website which holds a bank of photographs free of charge.

AOB

Parish Workshop

SN announced that the next SDNPA Parish Workshop focuses on CIL and recommended the group send along a representative. The event will be in the April/May timeframe. Noted by CK.

Timing

DC asked for confirmation that preparations for the 31st March are on track. JA will send across the project timeline to Nexus to keep them informed and to enable them to confirm their own actions/deadlines.

SN asked about progress on the SEA. Nexus confirmed that the document will be available in time for 31st March. It is important to draw the attention of parishioners to this document.

SN confirmed that SDNPA will conduct the Habitats Regulation Assessment.

Amberley

SN stressed the need to back up everything in the Draft Plan with hard evidence and research. This follows the request by the examiner of the Amberley Draft Plan to remove two out of three of their designated green spaces.

SN recommended the Environment, Sustainability & Design Quality Working Group revisit their green spaces and make sure each one is backed up by facts. She also advised the group carry out some biodiversity research on the pond which now appears to exist and is of a substantial size.

Another housing site

AR raised the site near 36, Littlecote which is about 1,000 square metres in size. This is the Old Children’s Home site but WSCC never put it forward as a potential development site. However, it should be on the aspirational list of sites.

ACTIONS:

  • JA to share the project timeline with Nexus who will check the proposed deadlines for their actions;
  • DC to speak to EH about biodiversity research on the pond.

Next meeting

There is an interim meeting to which the Steering Group and Working Group chairs are invited. This takes place at 7pm on Friday, 17th March at Petworth Town Council Offices. This will focus on final preparations for the event on 31st March.

The next Steering Group committee meeting takes place at 7pm on Tuesday, 28th Marchat Petworth Town Council Offices.

The meeting closed at 10.20pm.

-ends-

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