Remenham Parish Council

Remenham Parish - Neighbourhood Development Plan

Remenham Parish Council

Neighbourhood Development Plan

PRE-CONSULTATION REVISIONS

6 November 2014

Contents

1.0Introduction

1.1Policy Objectives

2.0 About Remenham

2.1Parish Council Application Area and Communication

2.2 Evidence-Based Justification

2.3Natural Environment and Sustainability

2.4Built Environment and Design Quality

2.5Services Infrastructure and Traffic

2.6Leisure and Wellbeing

2.7Core Planning Principles

3.0Policy Objectives

3.1To identify current and long-term neighbourhood planning issues and priorities

3.2To assume Green Belt sustainability within agreed planning development

To agree targets on rates for new housing development

To limit further development within the flood risk zones

To address planning concerns over ‘temporary’ structures and event management

3.3To recommend future development of infrastructure concerning waste water, road safety, parking and the Thames Footpath

3.4To monitor, assess and reduce ‘noise’ and music volumes from commercial activities. Likewise, ‘light pollution’ at night is an increasing irritation

To identify and assess commercial

uses of the landscape, roads, public paths and Thames Pathway and ‘temporary’ parking for events. Limited access and road closures.

4.0 Delivery: A sustainable future for Remenham (This section provides a timeline and lists accomplished steps)

5.0 The Annual Precept

6.0 The Future of Remenham Parish with a Neighbourhood Development Plan

6.1List of Neighbourhood Plan Policies(to be updated after discussion)

Appendix A. Local Policy Objectives based upon interviews with local residents

Appendix B. Useful websites

Appendix C. List of supporting documents

Foreword from the Parish Council Chairman

This Neighbourhood Development Plan (NPD) has been drawn up in 2014 by the Remenham Parish Council (RPC) during consultation with the Borough Council, Remenham Residents Association and the wider local community. The Remenham Parish is the Application Area as defined under the Localism Act. This Neighbourhood Development Plan takes account of and includes feedback provided by local residents setting out the views and opinions of those that live in the Parish of Remenham. The Remenham Parish Neighbourhood Development Plan is intended, under the Localism Act 2012, to provide Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) with guidance as to the wishes of the parishioners and an understanding of the community and its priorities. It is intended for this Neighbour Development Plan to become part of the statutory process for making local planning decisions within the Remenham Parish

John Halsall

Chairman

Remenham Parish Council

Remenham Parish - Neighbourhood Development Plan

1. Introduction

Remenham Parish is a small community of around 500 people. The resident population is formed of a few tiny hamlets bordered on two sides by the River Thames. The Parish has several designated Heritage Conservation Areas and Areas of Special Heritage Character as well as a large Historic Park and Garden within the boundaries. Although essentially rural in nature, wholly designated Green Belt and adjacent to AONB across the river, its location, crossed by two A roads meeting at a main Thames crossing point, its close proximity to Henley-on-Thames and with a high annual input of visitors for a number of major recreational and cultural events means it is subject to intense pressures. Some of the pressures for commercial development and use of the landscape seem rather unconventional and not necessarily covered by planning for housing. Remenham Parish needs a fully comprehensive Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) to manage a community agreed and sustainable level of development. This plan encompasses the current desires and aspirations of local residents within the Parish. It also addresses other current activities including religious, club and business. The major part of the Parish is made up of agricultural land. Remenham needs a Neighbourhood Development Plan because all communities in the south of England are under pressure to allow more development. When properly followed, the guidelines in this statement will help to balance these pressures against the desire of the residents of Remenham to preserve the character of the parish.

Visitor, commercial and commuter vehicular traffic, incremental development and annual temporary developments, combined with large number of casual tourist, cultural and recreational visitors place great stresses on the limited parish infrastructure and if not properly controlled will lead to increasing degradation of the quiet rural character of the parish and the quality of life of the residents.

The aim of this document is to identify the specific features that make Remenham Parish unique. These features need to be preserved for the medium and long term. Evidence and justification for the aims and policy objectives are provided. The NDP therefore has three main objectives.

To identify, document and protect the high quality, nationally recognised landscape within Remenham Parish. It is important now to agree formally what is most worthwhile and what should be preserved and enhanced.
To identify and quantify the detrimental pressures impinging on Remenham Parish as well as infrastructure.

3. To set in place sustainable development policy objectives and establish a desirable rate at which to mitigate those pressures to Remenham Parish.

Remenham Parish - Neighbourhood Development Plan

1.1 Policy Objectives

The Neighbourhood Development Plan proposes the following Policy Objectives:

Remenham Parish - Neighbourhood Development Plan

To identify current and long-term neighbourhood planning issues and priorities

To assume Green Belt sustainability within agreed planning development

To agree targets on rates for new housing development

To limit further development within the flood risk zones

To address planning concerns over ‘temporary’ structures and event management

To recommend future development of infrastructure concerning waste water, road safety, parking and the Thames Footpath

To monitor, assess and reduce ‘noise’ and music volumes from commercial activities. Likewise, ‘light pollution’ at night is an increasing irritation

To identify and assess commercial

uses of the landscape, roads, public paths and Thames Pathway and ‘temporary’ parking for events. Limited access and temporary road closures need review and changes.

Communities are growing and changing all around us. Most people have strong views on whether this change is for the better or the worse, but unfortunately for the vast majority of individuals this is as far as their involvement will go. Parish plans give everyone in a community the opportunity to influence the development of their surroundings.

The range and intensity of impacts, some temporary but annual, and others permanent means that the very qualities and views of the rural landscape along the river Thames that residents and visitors have come to enjoy will be degraded by that intensity of use if unchecked

Remenham Parish - Neighbourhood Development Plan

The Remenham Parish Council has decided that the most appropriate way of delivering a plan was to prepare and circulate a draft via the Parish Magazine that goes to all properties and interviews with business owners and stakeholders within the Application Area. This Neighbourhood Development Plan has been produced without cost with volunteers working in consultation with staff from Development and Regeneration within Wokingham Borough Council. The aim has been to engage the local community.

Remenham Parish - Neighbourhood Development Plan

2.0About Remenham

The following sections on the natural and built environment as well as traffic and leisure are presented as evidence to identify and document current and long-term neighbourhood planning issues and priorities. The area is unusual in several respects. The resident population of Remenham Parish has remained relatively constant for at least two hundred years at around 500. In the summer months, however, this population increases materially, by visitors to events such as Regatta and Festival and to a lesser extent by walkers, rowers and other events.

2.1 Parish Council Application Area and Communication

The Remenham Parish is the Application Area as defined under the Localism Act. Formal application was submitted in October 2012 and approved. A map of the Parish is available at Additional maps of Green Belt, Conservation Areas, Historic Parks and Gardens, Areas of Special Character and Flood Risks are available. Decisions for the Parish of Remenham can be found at

Wokingham has an online complaints procedure. Instructions are available on

The evidence upon which these policy objectives are based is presented as justification for our policy objectives. These policies will contribute significantly toward sustainable development. Priorities are set based upon Parish Council debate and interviews with local residents. With this Neighbourhood Development Plan, it is hoped to ensure approval in advance of appropriate use of the landscape within this new government scheme for Localism.

2.2 Evidence-Based Justification

This Pre-consultation version of a new Neighbourhood Development Plan for Remenham has been prepared by use of discussions in the Parish Council, local consultation and feedback from earlier drafts. Parish Council agenda regularly features items for assessing and commenting on local planning applications, traffic and events, The objective was to assemble a list of issues arising from the local community. The local population, thus, generated the topics presented in this draft. Based upon initial responses, these topics have been investigated further within the local community and accessible websites. The draft, therefore, documents local concerns and groups topics into worthwhile sections of the draft. Evidence has been collected in the local community to justify inclusion of the selected issues in the new Neighbourhood Development Plan.

There is recognition that annually repetitive temporary developments impact on both the residents and the rural nature of the parish as much if not more than more permanent built developments and their extension and/or intensification should be subject to the same consideration by the planning process, and the presumption should be against extension/intensification unless it can be demonstrated that there will be a positive impact for Remenham. Conversely existing current usages and impacts of events should be defined and noted and kept as a reference against which future expansion requests should be judged. The Parish welcomes the principle of pre-application consultation and requires that all proposals be presented to and discussed with the Parish before submission to WBC for consideration. Past successful planning applications do not set precedence. New proposals will be assessed on an individual basis using the accepted Remenham Parish Council principles and guidelines.

2.3Natural Environment and Sustainability

The Parish contains strong geographic and topological elements of hills, flood plain and river and a primary planning aim is to safeguard and promote the quality and individuality of those elements and through them the improve the quality of the rural environment of the parish as a whole. It is recognised that our nearest neighbour Henley is an urban area with all the development pressures that entails. Pressure for development arising from Henley where it detracts from the first three planning principles will be strongly resisted.

The Parish Council will seek to extend the principles of preservation and control of development as set out in the original Hambledon Covenants to the whole of Remenham. The whole of the Parish is designated as Green Belt and this amenity should be respected. Within Remenham, there is a desire for expansion of existing Conservation Areas and ongoing aspirations to become a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The identified ‘high’ risk pressures are related to incremental development and commercial use of the landscape. The landscape is essentially rural in character with traditional field patterns, hedgerows and open fields on the extensive perimeter flood plain. Fencing to be of a rural and agricultural nature with hedgerows maintained and enhanced. Natural and historic field patterns and drainage should be maintained. Large copses and areas of woodland surrounding Remenham Hill and White Hill should be preserved without development. Drainage patterns should not be disrupted. With the system of Thames locks and weirs, the winter flooding has been limited, for the most part, to the existing flood plains.

The Parish provides a stable rural backdrop of high visual quality from Henley-on-Thames and forms an essentially rural part of the Thames valley. We must remain aware of impact of incremental development in Remenham and the adverse affects of policy changes in Henley-on-Thames. Development bordering Remenham can create major pressures on the rural landscape and local traffic. In contrast, Remenham is quiet, especially at night. A small population is spread out over a large rural area.

We must continue to recognise the importance of the rural landscape as a fundamental aspect of Remenham Planning. Changes to the landscape setting, such as decorative terracing, should remain minimal. Existing long panoramic views should not be obstructed. As policy, existing trees must be retained and new planting should be encouraged without disturbing the neighbourhood. Retention of trees, hedgerows, and copses for both rural and scenic purposes is most desirable. In these days of set aside, more sensitive and appropriate planting of trees and hedgerows is desirable to maintain existing long views within the Parish. Many of the ancient hedgerows throughout England have gone in the interests of increased development. The Parish Council endeavours to apply pressure to preserve such hedgerows as are left. Services should be hidden underground.

The floodplain along the River Thames is an essential part of natural defences against floods. Any planning consideration needs to take full account of this fact Floodplain maps are also available on this website.

2.4Built Environment and Design Quality

Remenham has eight distinct Hamlets and the Thames Path. Each Hamlet has distinct criteria and needs which must be taken account in considering policy and planning. Those inherent qualities and elements that make up the character of Remenham and make it different from other parts of Wokingham must be sustainable for the future.

We must continue to recognise the historic diversity of the built environment in our small rural community. There should be finite limitations on development planning to maintain the integrity of the Parish with its distinctive small hamlets and individual houses or small groups of houses. No set style or pattern of housing style is dominant within the Parish. The rate of development must be monitored and better reflect local concerns and priorities.

The parish is dominated by three large estates which have led to historic land use stability. The three estates have developed individual historic characteristics which should be respected. The peace, beauty and tranquillity of the Park Place Estate should be maintained under existing designations and agreement.

2.5Services Infrastructureand Traffic

Minimal infrastructural development is planned for the near future. However, the key priority for infrastructure development concerns waste water and water pollution in the Thames,

For example, sewerage problems at Mill End, near Hambleden in Buckingshmshire have been documented. Since 2012, several million litres of local sewage and waste water per day has been reported flooding into the Thames, “making life miserable for the local community with little sign of abating or long-term solutions being offered”.

Considerable through traffic on Parish roads causes congestion, pollution, and lowers the quality of life to an unacceptable level. To ensure that traffic congestion and road safety is taken account, especially on major roads, the Parish Council will monitor response to local traffic incidents. As policy, the Council should take appropriate measures to help discourage traffic from using the narrow country lanes as “rat runs”. New traffic calming measures consistent with guidelines on the main roads to reduce speeds, should help to improve pedestrian safety and generally encourage safer road use. There have been some serious traffic accidents and RPC has looked to WBC to put in place appropriate traffic calming measures. Extensive discussions over safety and speed have taken place and a few “soft options” have been implemented such as “cautionary red road paint areas”, electronic speed warning signs, a 30mph limit over the Henley end of the Wargrave Road, some double yellow lines, parking restrictions and a 30mph speed limit covering Remenham Church Lane and Remenham Lane.