Neighbourhood Plan consultation

SOME readers may recall my letter in last August’s issue, suggesting that the second round of public consultation on the draft Melbourne Neighbourhood Plan (NDP) had been conducted inadequately by South Derbyshire District Council (SDDC), and did not appear to comply in full with the statutory regulations

In my opinion, this jeopardises the validity of the NDP as a whole, and was damaging to the work of the team in the parish that put it together It has taken more than six months of persistence to pursue this matter, first with officers of SDDC, and then with their Chief Executive, ultimately via an official complaint Some questions remain unanswered even now

The council’s line of defence, ultimately, is that the general public were (according to them) made aware of the consultation by an article in the October 2021 of Village Voice They describe this article as an SDDC press release giving consultation details, which it manifestly was not: the article, by the Village Voice’s own reporters, heralded a forthcoming consultation, but gave no details or timeframe

There was no further news of any consultation, either from SDDC or anyone else So when the Referendum was announced by SDDC in 2022, the NDP was presented as a fait accompli, which the general public had been given no opportunity to engage with since 2019, and had heard very little of since

2017

The council has adopted a fairly elaborate “Statement of Community Involvement” (SCI) to guide the conduct of its public consultations in precisely such circumstances

The council cites Covid-19 as the reason for not adhering to it fully on this occasion, but it is an unconvincing excuse; there were various ways of informing the public in “Covidsafe” ways that could easily have been employed

This second stage of public consultation, organised by SDDC, was a legal requirement prior to referendum and adoption of the Neighbourhood Development Plan, not some discretionary “extra” The regulation required the council to publicise the NDP and consultation details on its website “and in such other manner as they consider is likely to bring the proposal to the attention of people who live, work or carry on business in the neighbourhood area”

The documents were on the SDDC website, and a hard copy was apparently placed

Electric vehicles charging points

RESIDENTS in Derbyshire interested in having an electric vehicle charging point installed on the street near their home are being asked to register their interest

Derbyshire County Council has agreed to install up to 500 charge points connected to the electricity supply for street lights in areas of the county where residents have no off-road parking

Now people are being asked to come forward to help identify w h e r e c h a r g e p o i n t s c o u l d b e installed by registering online at www derbyshire gov uk/evsurvey

Councillor Carolyn Renwick, Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for infrastructure and environment, said: “This is a new initiative for Derbyshire to support local motorists to make the switch to cleaner, greener vehicles to help cut carbon emissions

“We know a huge proportion of Derbyshire homes do not have off-road parking, which means that switching to an electric vehicle is not an easy option for many residents ” in the library, in part-fulfilment of the obligation, but such measures are of course entirely useless and ineffective when there is nothing to signpost the general public to them Total ignorance of the “consultation” was general, with good reason

It would appear, therefore, that our council believes it can undertake a so-called general “public consultation” without you having any sensible means of knowing about it, and even when such action is contrary to any reasonable interpretation of central government regulation

Raising the general public out of a characteristic lack of enthusiasm for such consultations is hard in the first place, without the added problem of the council not adhering to the proper process

The NDP, for all its inevitable tediousness (prescribed, and not a fault of the compilers), is supposed to be a document that we, as residents, inform, shape and “own” The non-inclusive consultation does not resonate with that Philip Heath, Melbourne (South Derbyshire District Council was given a copy of this letter at the end of February by Village Voice The newspaper has had no correspondence on the matter from them )

Chance to have say on county flood risk

RESIDENTS and businesses are being given the chance to help shape how the county’s flood risk is managed by taking part in a consultation launched this week by Derbyshire County Council

The council has reviewed its Local Flood Risk Management Strategy, which sets out how it manages surface water flood risk in the county, under its role as lead local flood authority

The comprehensive review of the current strategy sets out over the next five years up to 2028 how the council will undertake its flood risk management responsibilities and ensure it meets the requirements of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010

To take part in the consultation, which is open until 28 April, go to: www derbyshire gov uk/floodstrategy

Derbyshire residents with any queries about the consultation, or who need help to take part should email flood team@derbyshire gov uk