NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN FAQ’S
What Is A Neighbourhood Plan?
A Neighbourhood Plan is a document produced by a Parish Council to set out the future of a community for 10-15 years.
Usually the whole process, including an independent examination and a referendum, takes between 2 and 4 years.
Who Is Involved?
Everyone can be involved it is a plan for the whole community. Residents, business owners, interest groups and developers will be asked for their views regularly. The Parish Council will lead on the Neighbourhood Plan and volunteers will produce it. If you would like to be involved, have skills you think might be useful or simply wish to be kept informed, please contact 01296 395211.
We were reading the recent copy of the Village View, and noticed the article regarding the Neighbourhood Plan for the land at the back of our house. (farmers back fields as they are fondly known by) I understand how a Neighbourhood Plan works but wondered what the thoughts were regarding what will be built at the back. I realise you will be sending out questionnaires, but we were particularly concerned about the potential of building 1500+ homes which was the original planning permission. Are you able to give any more info? Or do we need to wait and see what unfolds??
Are there any plans to add further housing within the Watermead boundary? Is the Parish Council under a pressure to do so?
Response: A Neighbourhood Plan is a document produced by the Parish Council to set out the future direction of the community for 10-15 years. The Boundary map that has been included in the Village View is the designated boundary map for our Parish and this is the area that we as a Parish can influence planning decisions in future, taken by the Planning Authority; which is Buckinghamshire Council.
Everyone in the Parish will be asked to become involved, as it is a plan for the whole community. All residents, business owners, community groups and land owners will be asked for their views regularly. The Parish Council will then lead on the Neighbourhood Plan and work together with key stakeholders and community volunteers who will produce the first draft Plan for consultation with everyone who will be affected.
The Neighbourhood Plan, once adopted, will (under current and proposed future Legislation) has legal weight in planning decisions:
In terms of the land to the east of Watermead (behind your home), the Parish Council was instrumental in opposing the last proposal to build on that land; making strong representations against approval at every stage of the planning process, as well as attending and speaking at planning meetings and every day of the Inspector’s Hearing. We were successful in this and the Planning Inspector turned down the application on the grounds of:
The Parish Council would always strongly oppose any plan to build that was unsuitable, risked flooding or other damage to our village and we hope that a considered plan, perhaps including additional community facilities elsewhere in the village will have weight and best reflect the future needs of our community.
The fact that we are producing this Plan does not mean that we are aware of any developer or individual intending to apply for permission to build here. We are simply making sure that if anything were ever to come along in the future, we can influence it. If we don’t have such a plan in place, then we would have little or no chance of being able to challenge anything we saw as detrimental.
Is this a Parish Council initiative?
Response: The Parish Council is directly linked to the Neighbourhood Plan.
Statement and questions raised at the April 2021 Parish Council Meeting
“Members of the public are here to discuss question 19 on the neighbourhood survey. It may help you in relation to the discussions we are going to have this evening if I quickly run through the plan as far as Watermead is concerned: as part of the evidence gathering the survey is an integral part.
Timing: Changes to planning legislation mean that parishes without a neighbourhood plan are very vulnerable to speculative development on any and all pieces of empty land regardless of whether they are within a green belt, agricultural use or similar.
Parish map: Cllr Severn shared her screen showing the Watermead Neighbourhood Plan Area designated by Bucks Council includes much empty land, such as the land to the east of Watermead between us and Bierton where we joined AVDC to take the developer to a planning hearing: they lost: they probably wouldn’t in today’s planning climate. We cannot rely on someone not coming back on this land. Other areas, while designated leisure, as we know only too well can simply have change of use.
Housing: We have to cover this if we don’t the plan will never be accepted by the Local Planning Authority. We have to consult parishioners on where and what. If we discover no land is available, or no need so much the better, but it has to be covered off in the questionnaires and the plan.
Demographics: We need to know who lives here and something about them as well as what they want for the future.
Facilities: The question about a possible new village hall has caused unnecessary concern. We are sorry about this, we were simply asking parishioners did they want one, and if so, what they might want to use it for. It’s not a done deal. Unfortunately, this has not come across clearly enough, for which we are sorry (had we had any desire to focus on that in particular we would have provided more information).
Please remember this is our plan for everyone for the future.
We wanted to know how much support there would be for a larger hall.
Anecdotal evidence beforehand indicated that many people wanted a larger hall, more available, away from housing, without disturbing neighbours etc. And the parish council has for several years had a sum in its budget earmarked for ‘recreational facilities’ which, quite frankly, is ‘code’ for getting the cricket pitch back into parish ownership and allowing a sports and leisure facility to be built.
The result?
About the hall, of 240 respondents:
152 were in favour of a new hall and 88 against the hall - we know now there is not the unanimous support needed to justify making this a priority project at the present time.
The single most popular request is for improved path around the lakes. This is already a priority for the parish council.”
Resident Question JB
Has lived on Watermead for 26 years and is very proud of the area. He thanked Sue for the clarification but he had concerns regarding the transparency and wording of Q19. The question states that the Parish Council had discussed this but he was unable to find any record of this in any minutes. He requested to be directed to the relevant minutes or that the question be corrected. He felt the question was bias in the survey. Q18 was a good question asking about 12 areas of improvement to be ranked in order of importance. Q19 had much more wording than any other area of improvements. He therefore felt that Q19 and Q20 were bias towards a village hall. Recommended that Q19 and Q20 be removed from the survey.
Cllr Severn thanked JB for his input and points would be taken into consideration.
Resident Question DC
Agreed with JB. The Chairman’s explanation of the reason for the questionnaire was very helpful and if more information had been included with the questionnaire, people may have been more receptive to it. Many of the questions appeared to be nosey and intrusive but with the explanation of why demographics were important, people would have understood the need for questioning. She also agreed with JB that Q18 was a good question, but that Q19 and Q20 were leading questions. Many would not appreciate the costs involved with building a new village hall. With so much detail given on the facilities of a new hall, it gives the impression that it would be a massive project that would cost an enormous amount of money. It had not been explained how that would be paid for and stated it could potentially become self-funding. She was concerned that the PC would consider taking on such a project which may not become self-funding after huge expenditure on building. Timing of the questionnaire was also a concern just before parish council elections.
Cllr Severn advised that the timing was due to accessing the grant funding which was needed to pay for the expert consultancy needed in putting the Neighbourhood Plan together. The window of opportunity to obtain the funding closed on 31 March.
DC was also shocked by Q21.
People had raised questions regarding the questionnaire on the All About Watermead (AAW) Facebook page and the discussion was forcibly moved to another group with the questions/points made in the AAW group removed. Threads had been deleted and in the new group when people asked specific questions of the Cllrs, the questions were unanswered.
Cllr Severn commented that as a general rule Cllrs do not respond to matters raised on Facebook but by official routes. DC commented that the new Facebook group had been set up by Cllrs. Cllr Severn advised that the group had been set up with the intention of driving the traffic about the Neighbourhood Plan to the new group and as a way of providing information. Results of the survey would be published on this page. Cllr Severn assured DC that no Cllr had requested that the thread on the AAW group be removed. Cllr Morgan had been in contact with Jo Fagan who had kindly agreed to be an Admin for the new page.
Resident Question PL
In relation to a potential village hall, he was struck by the length and wording of Q19. He would need much more information to make an informed decision but was interested to know when and where a new village hall had been discussed.
Cllr Severn advised that there had been an article in the village view about the Neighbourhood Plan which some people may not have seen. For many years the PC had a sum in its budget earmarked for ‘recreational facilities’ which, quite frankly, is ‘code’ for getting the cricket pitch back into parish ownership and allowing a sports and leisure facility to be built. Cllr Severn apologised that the question had been worded incorrectly.
It was agreed to extend the Open Forum
Resident Question AJ
The questionnaire refers to other key stakeholders and she was interested to know who they are. Cllr Severn advised that there are 142 businesses registered in Watermead and neighbouring land owners were also key stakeholders. With regards to the vision for a village hall and a business hub, where would the funding come from? Cllr Severn advised that it would have to be self-funding. Discussed Princes Trust doing a joint venture with the businesses. A young enterprise area may be something to be considered and would be part of the business questionnaire due out in the next 3-4 weeks.
As a responder to the questionnaire, she felt she had been asked questions against a prepared document of insider knowledge.
Cllr Severn advised that Q19 would be revisited.
Resident Question DA
With regard to empty land around Watermead as a potential site for building a new village hall, she was concerned about being contradictory if we were to say we don’t want more houses but can we build a hall. Cllr Severn responded that you can’t have residential property in Flood Zone 3a but that you can have properties that can only be occupied during the day. Cllr Severn advised that we have to answer question on housing in the plan. Vast majority do not want any more housing. 998 houses on Watermead and everyone received a copy of the questionnaire. A return of over 25% had been received which was expected.
Going forward DA believed it would be a good idea for the PC to have its own Facebook page. Cllr Singleton responded that the PC has a website but that a Facebook page would be considered.
Resident Comment DC
As 2 Cllrs set up Facebook group, if more had been explained within the group, maybe more people would have completed the questionnaire.
What Is A Neighbourhood Plan?
A Neighbourhood Plan is a document produced by a Parish Council to set out the future of a community for 10-15 years.
- It has legal weight in planning decisions
- It has to be supported by the community
- It is only concerned with land use matters
- It can direct appropriate growth to appropriate locations
- It can protect local assets such as important green spaces and local facilities
- It can ensure that new development is sensitively designed
- It can be used to set out a ‘wish list’ for improvements or new facilities e.g. play facilities
- It can’t prevent new development
- It can’t be in direct conflict with Aylesbury Vale’s Local Plan
- It can’t be in conflict with Government Planning Policy and Guidance
Usually the whole process, including an independent examination and a referendum, takes between 2 and 4 years.
Who Is Involved?
Everyone can be involved it is a plan for the whole community. Residents, business owners, interest groups and developers will be asked for their views regularly. The Parish Council will lead on the Neighbourhood Plan and volunteers will produce it. If you would like to be involved, have skills you think might be useful or simply wish to be kept informed, please contact 01296 395211.
We were reading the recent copy of the Village View, and noticed the article regarding the Neighbourhood Plan for the land at the back of our house. (farmers back fields as they are fondly known by) I understand how a Neighbourhood Plan works but wondered what the thoughts were regarding what will be built at the back. I realise you will be sending out questionnaires, but we were particularly concerned about the potential of building 1500+ homes which was the original planning permission. Are you able to give any more info? Or do we need to wait and see what unfolds??
Are there any plans to add further housing within the Watermead boundary? Is the Parish Council under a pressure to do so?
Response: A Neighbourhood Plan is a document produced by the Parish Council to set out the future direction of the community for 10-15 years. The Boundary map that has been included in the Village View is the designated boundary map for our Parish and this is the area that we as a Parish can influence planning decisions in future, taken by the Planning Authority; which is Buckinghamshire Council.
Everyone in the Parish will be asked to become involved, as it is a plan for the whole community. All residents, business owners, community groups and land owners will be asked for their views regularly. The Parish Council will then lead on the Neighbourhood Plan and work together with key stakeholders and community volunteers who will produce the first draft Plan for consultation with everyone who will be affected.
The Neighbourhood Plan, once adopted, will (under current and proposed future Legislation) has legal weight in planning decisions:
- It can protect local assets such as important green spaces and local facilities. This is very important to us all in Watermead.
- It can ensure that any potential new development is sensitively designed.
- It can be used to set out a ‘wish list’ for improvements or new facilities e.g. community facilities.
In terms of the land to the east of Watermead (behind your home), the Parish Council was instrumental in opposing the last proposal to build on that land; making strong representations against approval at every stage of the planning process, as well as attending and speaking at planning meetings and every day of the Inspector’s Hearing. We were successful in this and the Planning Inspector turned down the application on the grounds of:
- Flood risk to our community
- The proposed development would causes both parishes (Watermead & Bierton) to lose its separate identity and as such be a further agent of coalescence
- Visual impacts from across the Vale would be affected, including sensitive areas and the historic ridge line of the Vale of Aylesbury.
The Parish Council would always strongly oppose any plan to build that was unsuitable, risked flooding or other damage to our village and we hope that a considered plan, perhaps including additional community facilities elsewhere in the village will have weight and best reflect the future needs of our community.
The fact that we are producing this Plan does not mean that we are aware of any developer or individual intending to apply for permission to build here. We are simply making sure that if anything were ever to come along in the future, we can influence it. If we don’t have such a plan in place, then we would have little or no chance of being able to challenge anything we saw as detrimental.
Is this a Parish Council initiative?
Response: The Parish Council is directly linked to the Neighbourhood Plan.
Statement and questions raised at the April 2021 Parish Council Meeting
“Members of the public are here to discuss question 19 on the neighbourhood survey. It may help you in relation to the discussions we are going to have this evening if I quickly run through the plan as far as Watermead is concerned: as part of the evidence gathering the survey is an integral part.
Timing: Changes to planning legislation mean that parishes without a neighbourhood plan are very vulnerable to speculative development on any and all pieces of empty land regardless of whether they are within a green belt, agricultural use or similar.
Parish map: Cllr Severn shared her screen showing the Watermead Neighbourhood Plan Area designated by Bucks Council includes much empty land, such as the land to the east of Watermead between us and Bierton where we joined AVDC to take the developer to a planning hearing: they lost: they probably wouldn’t in today’s planning climate. We cannot rely on someone not coming back on this land. Other areas, while designated leisure, as we know only too well can simply have change of use.
Housing: We have to cover this if we don’t the plan will never be accepted by the Local Planning Authority. We have to consult parishioners on where and what. If we discover no land is available, or no need so much the better, but it has to be covered off in the questionnaires and the plan.
Demographics: We need to know who lives here and something about them as well as what they want for the future.
Facilities: The question about a possible new village hall has caused unnecessary concern. We are sorry about this, we were simply asking parishioners did they want one, and if so, what they might want to use it for. It’s not a done deal. Unfortunately, this has not come across clearly enough, for which we are sorry (had we had any desire to focus on that in particular we would have provided more information).
Please remember this is our plan for everyone for the future.
We wanted to know how much support there would be for a larger hall.
Anecdotal evidence beforehand indicated that many people wanted a larger hall, more available, away from housing, without disturbing neighbours etc. And the parish council has for several years had a sum in its budget earmarked for ‘recreational facilities’ which, quite frankly, is ‘code’ for getting the cricket pitch back into parish ownership and allowing a sports and leisure facility to be built.
The result?
About the hall, of 240 respondents:
152 were in favour of a new hall and 88 against the hall - we know now there is not the unanimous support needed to justify making this a priority project at the present time.
The single most popular request is for improved path around the lakes. This is already a priority for the parish council.”
Resident Question JB
Has lived on Watermead for 26 years and is very proud of the area. He thanked Sue for the clarification but he had concerns regarding the transparency and wording of Q19. The question states that the Parish Council had discussed this but he was unable to find any record of this in any minutes. He requested to be directed to the relevant minutes or that the question be corrected. He felt the question was bias in the survey. Q18 was a good question asking about 12 areas of improvement to be ranked in order of importance. Q19 had much more wording than any other area of improvements. He therefore felt that Q19 and Q20 were bias towards a village hall. Recommended that Q19 and Q20 be removed from the survey.
Cllr Severn thanked JB for his input and points would be taken into consideration.
Resident Question DC
Agreed with JB. The Chairman’s explanation of the reason for the questionnaire was very helpful and if more information had been included with the questionnaire, people may have been more receptive to it. Many of the questions appeared to be nosey and intrusive but with the explanation of why demographics were important, people would have understood the need for questioning. She also agreed with JB that Q18 was a good question, but that Q19 and Q20 were leading questions. Many would not appreciate the costs involved with building a new village hall. With so much detail given on the facilities of a new hall, it gives the impression that it would be a massive project that would cost an enormous amount of money. It had not been explained how that would be paid for and stated it could potentially become self-funding. She was concerned that the PC would consider taking on such a project which may not become self-funding after huge expenditure on building. Timing of the questionnaire was also a concern just before parish council elections.
Cllr Severn advised that the timing was due to accessing the grant funding which was needed to pay for the expert consultancy needed in putting the Neighbourhood Plan together. The window of opportunity to obtain the funding closed on 31 March.
DC was also shocked by Q21.
People had raised questions regarding the questionnaire on the All About Watermead (AAW) Facebook page and the discussion was forcibly moved to another group with the questions/points made in the AAW group removed. Threads had been deleted and in the new group when people asked specific questions of the Cllrs, the questions were unanswered.
Cllr Severn commented that as a general rule Cllrs do not respond to matters raised on Facebook but by official routes. DC commented that the new Facebook group had been set up by Cllrs. Cllr Severn advised that the group had been set up with the intention of driving the traffic about the Neighbourhood Plan to the new group and as a way of providing information. Results of the survey would be published on this page. Cllr Severn assured DC that no Cllr had requested that the thread on the AAW group be removed. Cllr Morgan had been in contact with Jo Fagan who had kindly agreed to be an Admin for the new page.
Resident Question PL
In relation to a potential village hall, he was struck by the length and wording of Q19. He would need much more information to make an informed decision but was interested to know when and where a new village hall had been discussed.
Cllr Severn advised that there had been an article in the village view about the Neighbourhood Plan which some people may not have seen. For many years the PC had a sum in its budget earmarked for ‘recreational facilities’ which, quite frankly, is ‘code’ for getting the cricket pitch back into parish ownership and allowing a sports and leisure facility to be built. Cllr Severn apologised that the question had been worded incorrectly.
It was agreed to extend the Open Forum
Resident Question AJ
The questionnaire refers to other key stakeholders and she was interested to know who they are. Cllr Severn advised that there are 142 businesses registered in Watermead and neighbouring land owners were also key stakeholders. With regards to the vision for a village hall and a business hub, where would the funding come from? Cllr Severn advised that it would have to be self-funding. Discussed Princes Trust doing a joint venture with the businesses. A young enterprise area may be something to be considered and would be part of the business questionnaire due out in the next 3-4 weeks.
As a responder to the questionnaire, she felt she had been asked questions against a prepared document of insider knowledge.
Cllr Severn advised that Q19 would be revisited.
Resident Question DA
With regard to empty land around Watermead as a potential site for building a new village hall, she was concerned about being contradictory if we were to say we don’t want more houses but can we build a hall. Cllr Severn responded that you can’t have residential property in Flood Zone 3a but that you can have properties that can only be occupied during the day. Cllr Severn advised that we have to answer question on housing in the plan. Vast majority do not want any more housing. 998 houses on Watermead and everyone received a copy of the questionnaire. A return of over 25% had been received which was expected.
Going forward DA believed it would be a good idea for the PC to have its own Facebook page. Cllr Singleton responded that the PC has a website but that a Facebook page would be considered.
Resident Comment DC
As 2 Cllrs set up Facebook group, if more had been explained within the group, maybe more people would have completed the questionnaire.