LONG CRENDON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN STEERING GROUP

FORMATION AND GOVERNANCE

AUGUST 2015

Revised February 2016

This paper sets-out the rationale for the formation of the Long Crendon Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group (LCNPSG), its aims, objectives and governance to ensure processes are carried out in a transparent and democratic way.

1Background

1.1On 20th July a public meeting of the Long Crendon Parish Council Planning Committee was held.In advance of the meeting, the Agenda was published on the Parish Council’s website address and residents were invited to advise The Clerk should they wish to address the meeting. Immediately preceding the meeting, a period of up to 5 minutes per topic was allowed for members of the public, who are electors or residents in the parish, to address the Committee primarily in respect of items on the agenda but also in the interests of wider public discussion. The meeting was attended by 24 concerned residents, the majority of whom attended as interested parties to Agenda Item 7, which was listed as ‘Gladman’s proposal for development of 75 houses in Chilton Road’. Two residents, Philip Rose and Susan Holding, voiced the concerns of a group of residents and were each given 5mins by the Committee to speak on the topic.

1.2Following the meeting, a group of residents from around the village volunteered their services to help the Council in the development of a Neighbourhood Plan as the Parish Council’s existing plan ‘Long Crendon Parish Plan 2009’, urgently required updating. The Council sought to ensure that all areas of the village were represented and in particular, those areas which were located near sites previously submitted for potential development.

1.3A leaflet was distributed throughout the parish, giving details of the newly formed Steering Group.

1.4On 4 August, the Parish Clerk wrote to Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) to notify the Council that the Parish Council intended to develop a neighbourhood plan for the parish. This letter is posted on the website.

2The Long Crendon Neighbourhood Plan (LCNP)

2.1The LCNP will set out a plan to ensure that the village and parish develop in such a manner as to protect the area’s heritage and landscape, maintain its attractiveness, provide for increasing national housing needs and build for an economic future in a sustainable way up to 2033. In doing so this plan will need to address the infrastructure and amenities needed to support this development over the next 20 years.

2.2In particular, the LCNP will aim to:

  • Ensure the local community take ownership for the sustainable development of the village and surrounding area for the long term.
  • Retain a distinct communityand protect and cherish the natural and physical heritage of the parish.
  • Meet defined housing needs in a manner commensurate with Aylesbury Vale District Council’s(AVDC) requirements, including settingpolicies which define the settlement boundary.
  • Consider the employment needs of the area in a manner commensurate with A V D C’s requirements and the character of the designated area.
  • Ensure a flourishing commercial and economic environment.
  • Facilitate the needs of residents in the areas of education, health, leisure, recreation, sport and transport.
  • Ensure that Long Crendon is a thriving place to live and work with facilities for a diversity of residents with differing needs within the community.
  • Maintain and protect the natural and historic environment and availability of green spaces within the designated parish boundaries.
  • Maintain on-going dialogue with local organisations, developers, individuals and AVDC to ensure that agreed VALP criteria are met throughout initial development of the Neighbourhood Plan and beyond.
  • Once adopted the LCNP will form part of the Development plan, which planning applications in the area will be assessed against. The LCNP will includepolicies which look to shape development, provide a design focus and designate areas of Local Green Space.

3The LCNP Preparation Process

3.1Long Crendon Parish Council has responsibility for preparing the LCNP in accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012, the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the European Directive on Strategic Environmental Assessment 2004.

3.2The LCNP will be prepared with regard to national policies as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework 2012 (NPPF) and will be mindful of the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) of October 2014 in respect of formulating neighbourhood plans.

3.3The plan preparation process will be led by Long Crendon Parish Council, as a ‘relevant body’ under the 2012 Regulations.

3.4The plan outcomes will however, need to be driven by the wishes of the local community to determine development in the best interests of everyone living and working within the community and, in the spirit of the Localism Act 2011, ensuring communities determine their future rather than speculative developers. Thus its development will involve consultation with key local interest groups and local residents to generate research and evidence which will ensure that resulting Planning Guidance fits this need.

3.5To support the process, the Parish Council has established the Long Crendon Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group (LCNPSG)to help develop and co-ordinate the production of the LCNP on their behalf.

4Long Crendon Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group (LCNPSG)

Terms of Reference

4.1The purpose of LCNPSG is to support the Parish Council in creating a Neighbourhood Plan for Long Crendon (the LCNP) in pursuant of this the LCNPSG will:

  • Make suggestions, recommendations and present ideas and plans for the village development.
  • Develop and share with the local community a timetable of the key stages of the plan development.
  • Co-ordinate actions and liaise with the appropriate bodies.
  • Consult with the local community at various stages throughout the creation of the Neighbourhood Plan.
  • Communicate with local residents via the Parish Council website ( postings in the village paper, ‘The Crendon Crier’,and when necessary, through leafleting across the village.
  • Submit the plan to the Parish Council and in turn to AVDC for approval, organising the referendum and adoption of the plan.
  • All financial and statutory matters remain the responsibility of the Parish Council and the LCNPSG have no involvement in the structure or make-up of the Council, nor decide planning policy nor make decisions or provide advice on planning applications.

Membership

4.3The LCNPSG was instigated and formed by the Long Crendon Parish Council (LCPC).

4.4Members of the local community who attended the Long Crendon Parish Council’s Planning Committee in July 2015, and who expressed an interest in supporting the Council in the development of the plan, were invited to form the Steering Group.Other members were subsequently invited to complete a geographical spread of the village.

4.5The members of the group are a mixture of parish councillors and local residents, all of whom are unpaid volunteers. The local residents are drawn from different areas of the village to ensure widespread and democratic involvement is achieved in the development of the Plan. Should a member resign, another resident within the same locality will be invited to join to ensure a continued balance is maintained in the membership. The size of the membership ensures that decision-making can adhere to the plan timetable for submission by early January 2016. Wider consultation with the community will take place throughout the development process.

4.6The members of the LCNPSG are as follows:

Name / Village Location / Core or Support
Mark Jones / Heidi Jones / Chilton Road / Core
Rowly Willis (PC member) / High Street / Core
Tim Chapman (PC member) / Harroell / Core
Susan Holding / Pitters Piece / Core
Barbara Smith (PC member) / Harroell / Core
Phil Rose / Chilton Road / Core
John Fishburn / Frogmore Lane / The Square / Core
Steve Holt / Chilton Road / Core
Grant Stevens (PC Clerk) / Clerk to PC / Support
David Newell / High Street / Core
Phil Spiers / Bicester Road/ Sandy Lane / Core
John Hooper / Wainwrights / Core
Greg Lismore / Nappins Close / Core

4.7Members of the LCNPSG have declared they have no conflict of interest.

Meetings and Reporting

4.8LCNPSG Meetings will be held on a fortnightly basis, but the interval may vary dependent on the stage of the Plan.

4.9Decisions will be made on a majority view of the group with where necessary the Chair of the steering group having the casting vote.

4.10Any decision where agreement cannot be reached amongst the steering group will be referred to the Parish Council for a decision

4.11Steering Group meetings will be chairedon a rotational basis. Currently Tim Chapman is the Chairman.

4.12Minutes will be drawn up by the Parish Clerk within 7 days following the meeting and available to members of the steering group.

4.13The LCNPSG Chair will report to the Parish Council every 2 weeks(1st and 3rd Monday each month). A written copy of the updates placed on the village website.

4.14There will be a monthly update report in the Crendon Crier compiled by the Chairman of the Parish Council.

External Advice and Support:

4.15The Parish Council recognises that the development of the plan will be a complex process and it will require professional advice and support. Two sources of advice and support have been identified:

  • Planning Consultants: rCOH Limited were commissioned by the Parish Council to assist the group with the design, planning and delivery of the plan and to act as facilitators at public meetings. They have been selected because of their successful involvement with other councils within Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and have been recommended by other local councils who have recently completed their Neighbourhood Plan.
  • AVDC mentor: AVDC have an obligation to provide Parish Councils with advice and support in the development of their plans. Louise Anderson / Olivia Wojniak and Peter Williamswill fill this role

5Outline plan and timescales

5.1The plan will take a minimum of 21 weeks to complete (on an accelerated timetable, worked out by rCOH Ltd.) Work started with the inaugural meeting of the LCNPSG on 27 July when consultants rCOH were engaged to assist the group with the development of the plan. The aim for submission and ratification is early January 2016. This is a challenging schedule but is necessitated by the growing number of speculative planning applications for large developments in Long Crendon currently being submitted to AVDC

5.2A Vision Workshop will be held on Wednesday 26 August with invited stakeholders within the community, such as the doctor’s surgery, primary school and local businesses as well as AVDC, Bucks County Council and Thame Council.

5.3A Public Meeting will be held on a weekend date in early October. The meeting will test the emerging policies. The proposals for site selection will be presented in an exhibition for the community consultation and feedback.

5.4Pre-Submission, the LCNP will be published by the Parish Council for public consultation for a six-week period to give residents the opportunity to comment on the submitted proposals.

5.5Following the end of the consultation period, an independent examiner will be appointed to carry out an examination of the plan. If the plan meets the basic conditions, the examiner will recommend that the plan proceeds to the referendum stage. All members of the community will have the opportunity to vote on the proposals at this stage.

G N Stevens.

Clerk to the Parish Council.

August 2015 / Revised February 2016