Upfront: neighbourhood planning news september:october 2017

View this email in browser

Sept/Oct 2017

News

Resources

Welcome to the latest edi4on of UpFront, designed to

My Community Champions Map

keep you informed about all ma>ers connected to neighbourhood planning.

September brought the very posi4ve news that over 400 neighbourhood plans have now been successful at referendum as well as confirma4on from Housing and Planning Minister Alok Sharma of a support package worth £22.8 million for communi4es wishing to develop a neighbourhood plan.

With the neighbourhood planning movement con4nuing apace, this edi4on includes guidance for groups at the early stages of the plan process with top 4ps on on establishing a neighbourhood planning advisory commi>ee in a parished area, as well advice on how to monitor neighbourhood plan implementa4on for those groups who have already received a 'yes' at referendum.

This issue also contains an update on the My Community Champions Network with news of the launch of a Champions map as well as a profile of Neighbourhood Planning Champion Faye LeBon. As usual, this edi4on also contains the latest neighbourhood planning news, legisla4on and resources.

Policy and legisla4on update The Government has published their latest consulta4on proposing changes to the planning system, planning for the right homes in the right places. As well as a new methodology for calcula4ng councils’ housing needs, which will direct more housing in areas where earnings are four 4mes higher than the na4onal average, the consulta4on also seeks views as to whether a council’s Local Plan should also set out bespoke housing need figures for designated neighbourhood plan areas. In circumstances where a council’s plan is out of date, it proposes that neighbourhood plans use a simple formulabased approach based on the new proposed na4onal methodology.

Why is this being proposed? To save uncertainty and costs that can befall some neighbourhood groups in providing evidence as a basis for calcula4on. We think this will be welcomed by neighbourhood planning groups. It is important to note that the methodology will provide a base line for neighbourhood plans to work from. Once the baseline has been agreed, the next step will be to iden4fy what constraints and opportuni4es there are to meet, or even exceed that number. The consulta4on paper stresses that neighbourhood plans will not be required to meet

The new Champions map is now live of the My Community website.

The map includes details of My Community Champions based across England, all of whom have a wealth of knowledge and experience in making their communi4es be>er, be this through neighbourhood planning, assets, service transforma4on, community economic development or community-led housing projects. Champions have iden4fied their key specialisms and these appear when a person clicks on a pin. For more informa4on about the My Community Champions Network, or if you a current Champion and would like to be added to the map, please email champions@locality.org.uk.

Neighbourhood Planning Champion profile: Faye Lebon Neighbourhood Plan or local authority area: Neighbourhood Plan area is the parish of Swanton Morley.

Role in neighbourhood planning: I am Parish Clerk to Swanton Morley Parish Council. Swanton Morley is a village of approximately 2,500 people and has been designated by the Local Planning Authority as a Local Service Centre and therefore has an important balance to keep between providing a good level of services for local people but keeping a tradi4onal village feel. As Clerk to the Council I am responsible for ensuring that all Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group mee4ngs are correctly convened, minuted, are open and transparent to the public, and that members have the correct informa4on to help them make decisions. I also act as a liaison between the Parish Council and our neighbourhood plan consultant, to ensure our consultant understands exactly what our village wants to achieve from the neighbourhood plan and to help members of our community understand just how important neighbourhood planning is.

What stage is your neighbourhood plan at? We are currently finalising our policies and hope to commence our pre-submission consulta4on in January.

Why did you get involved as a Neighbourhood Planning Champion? I am currently studying for my founda4on degree in Community Governance, through the Society of Local Council Clerks, and have chosen to specialise in aspects such as sustainable communi4es and community engagement. These subjects are both essen4al to

other authori4es’ unmet need. The RTPI is currently asking its members for feedback on the consulta4on to address a number of ques4ons about the wider housing need calcula4on methodology, for example, whether it will direct housing where it is most needed.

The Department for Communi4es and Local Government (DCLG) has confirmed £22.8m of funding to support neighbourhood planning groups. It is planned to release £5.5m a year un4l 2022. UpFront will keep you updated when it becomes clear how groups can access the funding.

Update on neighbourhood planning and community right to build support programme We are now in year three of the DCLG-funded support programme, worth £22.5 million for neighbourhood planning and £3.5 million for

community buildings.

We have awarded over £9.6 million in grant funding and £4.6 million in technical support to neighbourhood planning groups.

Many groups have seen the successful comple4on of their technical support packages with reports on strategic environmental assessment, health checks prior to examina4on, and heritage and character assessment helping them progress with their plans.

Community groups all around the country con4nue to show significant interest in projects to build new community facili4es and community-led housing developments. So far, there have been more than 359 requests for applica4ons for community buildings project support and pre-feasibility grants, with over £1.46 million awarded.

Referendum news Four neighbourhood plans were successful at referendum in August, including Goostrey in Cheshire and Upper and Nether Poppleton in North Yorkshire.

A further 14 plans successfully passed referendum in September, including Budleigh Salterton in Devon, King's Caple in Hereforshire and Welford in Northamptonshire. Full details of all referendum results for June and July are available here.

Neighbourhood planning FAQs Locality are in the process of pujng together some frequently asked ques4ons around neighbourhood planning and the wider planning system. We understand it can be a daun4ng process and we’d like to offer advice on topics that many groups struggle with.

We’re aler your help with this.

Are there any ques4ons that you would like answering?

Anything you know that you think it’s important to share with other groups? If so please email neighbourhoodplanning@locality.org.uk

Events Neighbourhood planning events coming soon:

Neighbourhood Planning Event RTPI South East:

neighbourhood planning, whatever the size of the se>lement, and I feel I can put to good use the skills learned through my course by helping parish councils (including my own) create sustainable planning policies and enthuse their communi4es about the neighbourhood planning process.

What’s been the best part of being involved in neighbourhood planning for you? Seeing the policies grow to create opportuni4es for my local community, in par4cular the next genera4on. Many people that our neighbourhood plan will benefit are not yet old enough to vote, so it is important to focus upon their needs on their behalf. Our plan will help young people to stay in the village when they decide to move out of the family home, provide economic opportunity for them, and allow them to con4nue to enjoy the unspoilt countryside that our village has to offer.

What advice, or words of encouragement, would you give to a community group, Town or Parish Council, at the start of the neighbourhood plan journey? The Neighbourhood Plan is a great way for a community to pull together to agree how best to shape the se>lement in the future. It’s important to focus upon the opportuni4es that neighbourhood planning can provide, such as protec4on of what is important to the community whilst keeping the community vibrant. Development can be a scary thing for some people, but with it brings some great opportuni4es for local people.

Case study: Delivering affordable housing in Bembridge, Isle of Wight In 2012, the local Parish Council brought together a working group to develop a neighbourhood plan in the village of Bembridge, on the Isle of Wight. It was two and a half years in development and with a passionate working group who ensured the neighbourhood plan served the community, the plan secured a 92% ‘yes’ vote at referendum in July 2014.

A key policy of the plan was to include a provision of small scale, sustainable developments and support for the development of affordable homes and since the development of the Bembridge Neighbourhood Plan, by working with developers the local community have managed to secure and approve 21 affordable homes. Of the 21 dwellings, 13 are on Sycamore Drive – a small-scale development of affordable housing, which is made up of four discounted market sales and nine social rentals.

View the full case study here.

Community-led housing in neighbourhood plans This new My Community guide is targeted at people and organisa4ons that are currently preparing neighbourhood plans, or have recently made a neighbourhood plan and are looking at ways to deliver its aims. The focus of the guide is on community-led development, in par4cular small community-led housing schemes.

UpFront podcasts In our latest video Harry Burchill, RTPI Policy Officer (England), speaks to Ian McKay, Neighbourhood Planning Manager at Leeds City Council, about the growth of neighbourhood planning in Leeds and the working rela4onship between the Neighbourhood Planning Team at the Council and neighbourhood planning groups across the city. View the video

Wednesday 18th Ocotober 6:15pm-8:30pm, Didcot Planning Aid England and RTPI South East team up once again to provide a comprehensive insight into neighbourhood planning. Speakers from a range of backgrounds will share first-hand experience of the process and lessons learnt, and consider recent research on the subject, with plenty of 4me allocated to discussion and sharing best prac4ce. For further informa4on and to book your place visit the RTPI website.

Locality ConvenRon '17 - 'CommuniRes in Control: 14th & 15th November, Manchester Locality’s Annual Conven4on is two days of inspira4onal learning, connec4ng and networking with our diverse and interac4ve schedule of sessions, talks and workshops including a focus on neighbourhood planning. For details of the programme, and to book your place visit Locality.

Details of all forthcoming events can be found here. If you'd like your event included here please email us

Top Tips Establishing a neighbourhood planning advisory commi>ee or steering group in a parished area In a parished area, the parish or town council is the only legal qualifying body who may produce a neighbourhood plan. However, governance arrangements for neighbourhood planning will differ from parish to parish.

Some town/parish councils undertake most of the plan formula4on themselves whilst others choose to establish an advisory commi>ee or steering group in order to lead neighbourhood plan ac4vity.

For those considering establishing an advisory commi>ee or steering group, it is important to first clarify some arrangements that cannot be delegated: submijng a request to the local planning authority to agree the neighbourhood planning area; submijng the dral neighbourhood plan, together with the basic condi4ons statement and consulta4on statement; liaison with the local planning authority on ma>ers rela4ng to the examina4on process; Submijng an applica4on for neighbourhood planning grant from Locality; and Being a fund holder for funds related to neighbourhood planning, including Locality grant.

Our other videos can be found here.

Ques4on of the month Q. Successful referendum? What next? Advice on monitoring neighbourhood plans This month’s answer is provided by Neighbourhood Planning Consultant Liz Beth (MRTPI) www.lbplanning.uk So you finally reach your referendum day, all goes well and the neighbourhood plan receives a big yes vote from the local community. Job done, 4me to get a life again?

Wrong. Well do get a life again, but now you have your plan in place you need to ensure that its policies and aspira4ons become reality.

This will not just happen. Busy and stressed development management teams have a lot of local and government policy to consider, and your neighbourhood plan could get lost in an avalanche of other policy. Even if Local Planning Authority (LPA) staff are working with your neighbourhood plan as a guide, you are the experts on it!

Your Forum or Parish Council and steering group know it as no one else does. You nurtured, reviewed and altered it over its long gesta4on into a full, legal policy document.

You can offer assistance with interpre4ng the policies in your plan that will be genuinely valued by the planning authority.

So get into the habit of responding to each planning applica4on in your neighbourhood area with a response sejng out in what ways the proposal complies with your plan’s policies, and where it doesn’t. Consider what could be altered in the proposed development so that the applica4on did comply, and ask for this to be incorporated and the proposals changed. If the applica4on can’t be made acceptable, set out the reasons why you consider the development proposed is not complying with the neighbourhood plan and needs to be refused.

Read the full answer here.

Let us know what you think Let us know what you think about Up Front. News items, resources, events, 4ps and ques4ons are all very welcome.

If this has been forwarded to you, why not subscribe yourself?

Read the full ar4cle here.

What top 4ps could you pass on? Send us your sugges4ons for this e-bulle4n.

Where to go for help There are a number of websites dedicated to neighbourhood planning including My Community. This has informa4on on neighbourhood planning, including case studies, a range of toolkits covering topics such as wri4ng planning policies and wri4ng a consulta4on statement, as well as details of upcoming events.

The Forum for Neighbourhood Planning has a wealth of informa4on and resources including; latest news; case studies; resources; and links to ‘made’ plans.

This bulle4n is produced by Planning Aid England with funding from the Department for Communi4es and Local Government

SUBSCRIBE

UNSUBSCRIBE

www.ourneighbourhoodplanning.org.uk e: ebulle4n@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk Planning Aid England is part of the Royal Town Planning Ins4tute, a charity registered in England 262865 and Scotland SC 037841

Planning Aid England, Royal Town Planning Ins4tute, 41 Botolph Lane, London EC3R 8DL