Yarcombe and Marsh Neighbourhood Plan

Yarcombe and Marsh Neighbourhood Plan

Consultation Statement

Consultation Statement –Yarcombe & Marsh Neighbourhood Plan

Consultation StatementAppendices:

Part 1 Community Consultation

Appendices:
1 / Community Engagement Plan for Yarcombe & Marsh (sent as attachment)
2 / Launch Event Poster
3 / Launch Survey
4 / Community Questionnaire (sent as attachment)
5 / Key Findings of Questionnaire
6 / Letter to community groups and organisations
7 / List of Local community group and organisations
8 / Letter to young people
9 / Responses of young people
10 / Power point presentation for Annual Parish Meeting (sent as attachment)
11 / Photos of Visions, Aims and Objectives Event
12 / Regulation 14 Consultation Letter on Draft Neighbourhood Plan
13 / Draft Plan Response form

Part 2 Consultation with Statutory and Strategic Consultees

Appendices:
A / List of Statutory Consultees (sent as attachment)
B / Summary of Initial Responses
C / Letter to Statutory Consultees regarding Draft Neighbourhood Plan
D / Summary of Responses to Draft Neighbourhood Plan

Preface

This Consultation Statement has been prepared by the Yarcombe & Marsh Neighbourhood Plan Steering Groupto conform to the legal obligations of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012.

Section 15(2) of Part 5 of the Regulations sets out what a Consultation Statement should:

(a) Contain details of the persons and bodies who were consulted about the proposedneighbourhood development plan

(b) Explain how they were consulted

(d) Describe how these issues and concerns have been considered and, where relevant, addressed in the proposed neighbourhood development plan

Part 1 of this Consultation Statement summarises all statutory and non-statutory consultation undertaken with the community in developing the Yarcombe Neighbourhood Development Plan.

The aims of the Yarcombe Neighbourhood Plan consultation process were to:

‘front-load’ the consultation, so that the Plan could be informed by the views of local people and other stakeholders from the earliest stage
ensure that consultation events and drop-in sessions enabled people ‘have their say’ and get feedback on the emerging plan at key points in the process and when decisions were required

•engage with as wide a range of people as possible, using a variety of events and communication techniques

•ensure that the results of consultation and updates on the neighbourhood plan were provided for local people as soon as possible after consultation events through the most appropriate and widely read media.

Part 1: Community Consultation Statement

YarcombeParish Councilwas keen to ensure that the Neighbourhood Planwas a community-led document. The Yarcombe Neighbourhood PlanSteering Group was established from community volunteers with Parish Council representation and the widest range of people and groups have tried to be engaged.

Consultation was undertaken by the Steering Group working to a strategy and programme that was prepared, with some guidance from our consultants, Stuart Todd Associates Ltd.

Consultation events and surveys took place at the following stages in the neighbourhood planning process:

Yarcombe Neighbourhood plan – Consultation Events
Event / Dates / Purpose
Launch event at Yarcombe Village Hall / 12th July 2014 / To engage the community in understanding what a Neighbourhood Plan is and why we are undertaking the project.
Community Questionnaire to all households / July / August 2014 / To give the community an opportunity to express their views on a range of issues pertinent to the Plan.
Young Peoples’ Questionnaire to all those aged 25 years and under. / November 2014 / As mainly older people had responded to our questionnaire, we wished to give young people a simpler questionnaire to hear their views.
Young Peoples’ “Hot dog” event in Yarcombe Village Hall / 24th November 2014 / To engage young people in the parish with the Neighbourhood Plan process.
Vision, Aims & Objectives Consultation event at Yarcombe Village Hall / 24th November 2014 / To encourage the community to “have their say” on the draft Vision, Aims & Objectives
Powerpoint Presentation at Yarcombe Annual Parish Meeting at Yarcombe Village Hall / 18th May 2015 / To update the community on the progress of the Plan

1.Background to Consultation on Neighbourhood Plan

Yarcombe Parish Council agreed to undertake a Neighbourhood Plan in April 2014. A community steering group was established by asking for volunteers from the community to work with a small working group of parish councillors and the parish clerk.

The level of consultation that has been undertaken for the Neighbourhood Plan goes beyond that required by legislation as the Parish Council and its Steering Group has continuously sought to work with the local community to make the Plan, as much as possible, reflect their views and wishes. We have worked closely with the relevant authorities, East Devon District Council and the Blackdown Hills AONB and thanks should be given for their support and encouragement in this regard.

In preparing the Yarcombe Neighbourhood Plan the Steering Group has consistently ensured that residents and other stakeholders including local authorities, interest groups, land owners, businesses and statutory bodies have been consulted and that their comments have been noted and where appropriate incorporated into the plan as it evolved. In order to make available information, minutes and notices, and update residents and stakeholders on the progress of the Plan a decision was taken to produce a Neighbourhood Plan page on the village website so that as much as possible could be made easily accessible online and an easy method of feedback could be established.

2.Summary of Consultation Approach to Engage the Community

A number of key community consultation stages were identified at the outset and set as key milestones in the Project Plan. A Community Consultation andEngagement Plan including method statements was agreed. Its purposesincluded:

enabling each consultation stage to be properly planned for
ensuring the community at large understood when and why they were being consulted

The Community Consultation and Engagement Plan for the Yarcombe Neighbourhood Plan is included as Appendix 1 to this report. It is founded on a number of important principles:

Publicising as widely as possible
Utilising a variety of methods
Applying the right method to the task and the required outcomes
Providing appropriate levels of assistance, explanation and interpretation
Maximising access and opportunity
Encouraging reaction and feedback
Reporting back on what was said and how it has been interpreted

Aside from these highly programmed and organised consultation ‘events’. The Steering Group has been keen to facilitate a continuous two-way dialogue between the planning group and the community at large. This has been achieved by:

Communication Methods: / Brief Description:
Website / Designated NP page on Yarcombe village website
Reporting in person / Presentations by Chairman of Steering Group at Community Lunch and at Annual Parish Meeting
Village noticeboards / Updates & notice of surveys and events posted on noticeboards at Yarcombe and Marsh
Village magazine ‘The Voices’ / Articles, updates & notice of surveys published in monthly magazine which is distributed to nearly every household

A copy of our Community Consultation and Engagement Plan has been included at Appendix 1 to this report and has been available online since August 2014 at:

3.Equality and Inclusivity

We recognise that the foundation of a good neighbourhood plan is an effective and inclusive programme of consultation and engagement. Our aim was to reach everyone with a stake in the future of the area including people living, working or doing business here, those who deliver services to the local communities and people who have influence over the future of the area. We wanted to communicate and listen to everybody with a view;regardless of gender, ethnicity, colour, disability, religion, family responsibility, age, occupation, marital status, sexual orientation or trade union affiliation. We made efforts to reach those that others have traditionally found hard to reach and hard to hear. We agreed a communication strategy as part of an overall consultation and engagement plan, both to guide our approaches and monitor our effectiveness.

4.Initial Launch Event

It was decided to ‘launch’ the neighbourhood plan process by holding a ‘drop-in-type’ event which would focus on: raising awareness and informing the community about the process and timetable; what a neighbourhood plan is and can achieve; and asking the community to get involved in producing the Plan. It was also intended to ask about some of the key planning and development issues that residents feel could be addressed in the Plan. (See Appendix 2)

Shortly afterwards, to maximisethe effectiveness of the launch period, the full range of local and strategic stakeholders were informed about the Parish Council’s intentions. (We report on their response in Part 2 of this Consultation Statement.)

Yarcombe Neighbourhood Plan Launch Event
Date / 12th July 2014
Location / Yarcombe Village Hall
Attendance (Nos.) / 44

4.1Who was consulted?

The launch event was held at the monthly Saturday Village Market in order to engage with as many people as possible in person. A range of parishioners and small businesses were present.

4.2What did they say?

People were invited to express their views on a brief A5 size question sheet on how they felt Yarcombe & Marsh should look like in 10 years’ time. They were asked what 3 things they valued most about our parish and what 3 things they would most like to change or improve.

Most people said that they valued the beautiful landscape and the sense of community. The majority of people said they would like to improve broadband provision and make provision for small scale housing for young people and downsizing. There was also concern about traffic speeding through Yarcombe village centre. (See Appendix 3)

4.3How were the issues and concerns responded to?

All responses were kept and referred to by the Steering Group when compiling the Community Questionnaire and subsequently drafting the Plan.

Community Survey

We distributeda community questionnaire which:

provided some feedback from work we have done on understanding the key issues for the area (i.e. help to set out some context)
asked questions about some of the local issues which have come to light so far during the process
asked questions to help fill gaps in our understanding of key local issues and problems
asked about people’s aspirations for their themselves and their neighbourhood

The questionnaire/survey was delivered to each household in the Parish.

Yarcombe Neighbourhood Plan NP Questionnaire
Date / July / August 2014
Delivery Method / By hand or post to every household. Also available for completion online at
No. of questionnaires delivered / 205
No. of completed questionnaires returned / 81
Return Options / Online; by post in prepaid envelope; by hand to Yarcombe Village Hall

5.1Who was consulted?

Everybody who lived, worked or visited the parish was given the opportunity to complete the Community Survey. It was delivered to every dwelling in the parish and additional copies were made available from the Parish Clerk. It could also be completed online.

5.2What did they say?

The natural environment and qualities such as tranquillity and dark skies are highly valued by the community.
Public footpaths and accessible woodland are important for the community to access and enjoy the surrounding countryside.
The design, size and location of new domestic buildings and preserving the overall character of local buildings and settlements are the highest priority of the Neighbourhood Plan in regards to the built environment.
Solar panels on farm, commercial or domestic homes are the preferred option.
Cycling is not popular within the parish, but walking is.
Support was high for decisions regarding visibility splays and the number of parking spaces for new properties to be taken within the local area.
There was support for continued housing development, at a rate equal to, or greater than, that of the last fifteen years.
Support was high for new housing developments to be affordable housing for young people or privately owned for older villagers trading down.
The majority of residents in employment commute outside the parish.
There are a significant number of residents who work from home and more that would consider it. Improved broadband would further support this trend.
A village/community shop was identified as a good local employment opportunity and a needed local amenity.

5.3How were the issues and concerns responded to?

A copy of the Community Survey Report was available to read in full on the village website and was also available from the Parish Clerk. The Steering Group produced a summary of key findings was published in the village magazine and displayed on the noticeboards.

The report raised the concern that the number of young people that responded was small and advised that additional engagement with young people might be considered to ensure that their opinions were included. Consequently, a letter was sent to each parishioner under the age of 25 years inviting them to complete a short survey (available online at Surveymonkey) and to attend a ‘hotdog’ supper and event at the Village Hall. (See Section 6 Community Context for details)

A copy of the Community Questionnaire and a summary of its Key Findings are included as Appendices 4 & 5 to this report. A separate report on the Yarcombe Community Survey 2014 has been available online since September 2014 and can be found at:

6.Community Context

Alongside the Community Questionnaire we wrote to all the community-based organisations, groups and local businesses. Our communication was aimed at ensuring that all such bodies were aware of neighbourhood planning in the area and had an opportunity to make a contribution. We also asked them to encourage their ‘members’ to participate in the neighbourhood planning process. A copy of the standard letter is included in Appendix 6.

6.1Who was consulted?

A list of all bodies that were written to is included in Appendix 7. A copy of the letter sent to all young people under the age of 25 years is included at Appendix 8 and a summary of their responses is included in Appendix 9.

The dates and purpose of our communications is shown below:

Yarcombe Neighbourhood Plan NP Local Groups Consultation
Date: / Method / Purpose:
30th July 2014 / Letter/email / Inform groups of process for NP and of community questionnaire
20th October 2014 / Letter / Letter to 69 parishioners under the age of 25 years
24th November 2014 / ‘Hotdog’ supper & NP Exhibition / To give young people an opportunity to give their views and aspirations for NP

6.2What did they say?

13 letters to local stakeholders were sent out, but only 1 response was received which did not raise any issues or concerns.

13 responses were received from the young people’s survey. The key findings were:

The young people highly valued the beautiful natural environment, wildlife and open space.
They felt that they lived in a very friendly parish with a good community spirit.
They would like better public transport.
A pub and village shop would be welcomed.
A playing field or meeting place for young people would be desirable.
Improved broadband provision is required.

6.3How were the issues and concerns responded to?

No issues or concerns were raised as a result of letters to local stakeholders. The Steering Group concluded that this might be due to local groups in this small parish mainly being organised and attended by parishioners who responded as individuals in the Community Questionnaire.

The responses of the young people mainly reflected the views of the Community Questionnaire and were taken into consideration when drafting the Neighbourhood Plan document.

7.Community Follow-up

The Yarcombe Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group made it known that it was prepared to hold of specific consultations with local groups and organisations as necessary, to ensure that their views and opinions were heard.

7.1How we consulted?

Different formats were used including short presentations with Question and Answer opportunities at village events and a ‘hotdog’ supper for young people under 25 years of age. These were arranged to:

Meet the specific request of a local organisation or interest group for a meeting
On our instigation, to help us fill ‘gaps’ in our knowledge or understanding
Help further awareness of and involvement in neighbourhood planning for targeted ‘harder to reach’ groups

7.2Who was consulted?

The Chairman of the Steering Group was invited to give a short presentation after the bi-monthly Community Lunch at Yarcombe Village Hall on Wednesday 16th July 2014. Approximately 45, mainly retired parishioners attended.

A ‘hotdog supper’ was held on 24th November 2014 to engage the younger members of the community in discussion of the Plan. (see section 6)

A Powerpoint presentation was given by the Chairman of the Steering Group as part of the Annual Parish Meeting on 18th May 2015 to update the community on the progress of the Plan. A copy of the Presentation slides is included in Appendix 10.

7.3What did they say?

Although interest was shown in understanding the process of drafting a Neighbourhood Plan at the two community events, no specific issues or concerns were raised and the community appeared to approve of the progress being made.

Please see Section 6.2 above for the key findings of the young people’s questionnaire.

A copy of the Powerpoint presentation has been available online since May 2015 at: