KINGSTONE & THRUXTON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

What is a Neighbourhood Plan ?

Neighbourhood planning is a right for communities introduced through the Localism Act 2011. Communities can shape development in their areas through the production of Neighbourhood Development Plans. Neighbourhood Development Plans become part of the Local Plan and the policies contained within them are then used in the determination of planning applications.

Our Neighbourhood Plan links to, and supports the Herefordshire Council Core Strategy which covers the period 2011 to 2031.

Designated Plan Area

Why do we need a Plan ?

Basically to give our community some control over how future planning applications will impact our villages

Our Vision for Kingstone & Thruxton

The Vision for our plan is to support development that maintains the rural character of the region and preserves the rural nature of the Parishes of Kingstone and Thruxton.

To that end all development should proceed in a way to minimise impact on the environment and adjoining parishes.

Development will be encouraged that supports the local community, including suitable provision of housing, small scale local business and the development of appropriate infrastructure to support these enterprises.

Key Issues for our Parish.

  • The need for suitable housing to allow local people to live locally.
  • The need to provide opportunities for small scale local businesses to establish and thrive.
  • The need to ensure that all development proceeds in such a way as to preserve the rural character of the Parish.
  • The need to preserve community facilities, buildings and sites of historical importance, including but not restricted to Doctors Surgery, Schools (Primary and Secondary), Bull Ring Public House, Shop and Post Office, Village Hall, Black and White Houses, Kingstone Church, Four Alms Houses, Recreation Ground / Sports Field.
  • The need to protect all local green spaces.

Settlement Boundary.

The settlement boundary for Kingstone is shown in Appendix 1. This defines the area where limited development (as defined in the housing policy) should take place. It is the same boundary as used to exist in the Herefordshire Council Unitary Development Plan, but now also includes land where recent planning permission has been granted e.g. Architype site, land to the rear of Whitehouse Drive. Appendix 1 does not show these sites.

Our Neighbourhood Plan Objectives

The principal objective of the Neighbourhood Development Plan is to ensure that the housing and employment needs of the local community are met in such a way that minimises the impact of development on the rural nature of the parish.

The plan will provide guidance on how such developments can be designed and implemented in accordance with the wishes of the local community and clearly highlight all areas where special consideration needs to be given.

Each policy also has a set of objectives.

Our Neighbourhood Plan Policies.

The polices are quite detailed so there is a short summary of each below:

1)Housing.

  • Four policies which define the building, phasing, tenure, mix, scale, location, layout, character, distribution, use of brown field sites and other criteria for any future housing development in the Parish.

2)New Employment & Protecting Existing Employment .

  • Two policies which define criteria for the location and type of any future employment opportunities in the Parish. Also includes criteria for change of use of existing agricultural buildings in the Parish, and protection of existing employment premises. It also includes criteria for provision ofhigh speed broadband and other relevant communication networks.

3)Flooding.

  • Three policies set criteria that any new development will have to meet to protect existing and future properties from flooding from surface water, and other flood risks.

4)Developer Contributions.

  • Policy which defines financial contributions any future developer will have to make to the Parish - for example to enhance village facilities.

5)Local Heritage and Green Spaces.

  • Policy to protect local heritage assetsand green spaces.

6)Provision and Protection of Community Facilities and Services.

  • Policy to protect and enhance existing parish facilities and services.

What Next ?

Our plan will be reviewed by Herefordshire Council. Herefordshire Council will arrange a formal consultation period where residents of the Parish, local businesses located in the Parish and other interested parties will have chance to comment. Once formal consultation has been completed, the plan will be adopted i.e. becomes legally binding, and will be used by Herefordshire Council Planning Department when deciding the outcome of any planning applications received for the Parish. Our plan will only be adopted when the Herefordshire Council Core Strategy is formally adopted, as our plan needs to support the Core Strategy.

APPENDIX 1

SETTLEMENT BOUNDARY

1