Newbold Verdon Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee

Meeting Monday 18thSeptember 2017 7:00 pmVenue – Swan, Main Street

Agenda

1)Apologies

2)Minutes of last meeting

3)Matters Arising

4)Chair’s Update (10min) See Appendix A

5)Report from Issue Group Chairs (30 min) – Update on progress

6)Where to from here? A short workshop on our plans for the next few months. (See Chair’s Report)

  • Consultation – Needs and Methods
  • HBBC – process of liaising

7)Finances

8)AOB

9)Date of next meeting

Appendix A

Steering Committee Meeting: 14th August 2017

Chair’s Report

Parish Council Communications

At the September meeting, I presented the PC with a short report. The brevity was partly in recognition that the majority of councillors are actually on the Steering Committee and therefore do not need to receive information they already have, and that those councillors who do not attend Steering Committee meetings have access through the PC website to all our documentation. My focus was on seeking approval of our draft Vision and Aims Statement with the view to achieving majority approval for the draft, which we achieved with only one abstention.

12 Months On

It is now 12 months since we began to get our teeth into the NP. Though it is not 12 months of continuous work (it feels so sometimes) it has still been a large amount of time and effort on behalf of everyone. There is still much to be done, the process demands that, but I think we can say that there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

Housing is now starting the process of Site Assessments and this will lead to meetings with landowners and developers and then on to final decisions about not only recommended sites but also types of housing.

Environment and Heritage is focusing on the field survey and this will provide very robust evidence that can be used by Housing in their deliberations regarding the most appropriate sites for development.

Transport, Infrastructure and Economic Development have completed their review of amenities and facilities and will have done the same with regard to Traffic once the Speed and associated traffic volume survey has been completed.

Consultation with the Public

It was disappointing to see a relatively small number of residents turn out for the much publicised, easy to reach, pop-up sessions; as was the response by service businesses (shops, pubs etc) to our request for information on what it was like running a business in the parish.

At our last meeting we discussed how we could engage the public better in meaningful consultation during this second phase that seeks to find out what people think of the identifiedissues. I am coming to the conclusion that whilst it is vitally important we gain the views and engagement of the parishioners, we should do so in such a way that is cost effective both in terms of time and effort. I propose that at the Steering Committee Meeting we discuss this and then generate a three to four month action plan in order for this to be achieved.

Hinckley and Bosworth District Council Liaison

We will soon be at a point where we need to be liaising more closely with the District Council on what we have been doing and to check out the following.

  • How do our issues relate to those of the District Council?
  • Are they complimenting or contradicting district and national planning?
  • What additional information can HBBC provide for us in order to establish a sound evidence base?

Field Farm, Barlestone Road – Application for an Indoor Equestrian Arena

When an individual or company currently makes an application for planning permission it does so through Hinckley and Bosworth District Council. They in turn publish the application and begin the process of assessing its viability. The public notification and consultation follows a regulatory procedure including the notification of the relevant parish councils, and there is a response time for the public of 21 days.

HBBC will take in all responses and then come to a decision set against the national planning framework and associated district policies, sometimes after asking for clarifications and secondary submissions with revised plans. This has been the case with Field Farm and its request for the erection of an indoor equestrian arena and associated infrastructure. A decision is now awaited. Whatever the merits or otherwise of any individual planning application, the actual process provides for very little time for public scrutiny of any really meaningful substance.

The application at Field Farm is going to lead to a very substantive building being erected into a landscape that offers one of the best visual views in the whole of the parish. The structure will be 72m in length, 40.66m in width and 7.4m in height.

I have included this in my Chair’s Report not to object to the plan (we are too late for that anyway) but because it demonstrates how current legislation fails to offer any meaningful voice for individuals or the community to scrutinise, comment upon, and offer their opinion as to whether certain projects should be approved or not.

The neighbourhood plan offers us the opportunity through our policies to have a greater say in how we wish our parish to develop and to give steerage to those considering applying to make changes to our infrastructure. It is an pertinent reminder of why what we are doing is so important. I hope you agree.