|
BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS - this is NOT the voice of Blisworth Parish Council |
|
Blisworth
Confines (see map below) and Neighbourhood Planning The Confines, March 2012: It had been requested of the Parish Council that they write a stern letter to the SNC on the basis that opinions in the village from the 2010 Community Survey had indicated that further village enlargement was generally thought undesirable and that the village confines should not be extended at all in 2012, being the year planned for a review. The vice-chairman heads a sub-group that normally deals with planning matters. This sub-group convened during February and decided that the original sternness was too confrontational and an alternative text be recommended for the PC to consider. This was reviewed at the PC meeting on March 5th. In essence it was determined that the letter should stress the concern we have over village enlargement, making some of the points that were included in the stern draft, and request that the PC be involved with the SNC in their review of the village confines. The letter was sent to the SNC on March 30th. With the above deliberations stress was also laid on the fact that the blisworth.org.uk website is an independent one with no link what so ever with the PC - and this was also pointed out to the SNC in case they had already come across the original sternly worded text. The SNC is relaxed about their current land-bank situation as developments at Towcester and Brackley have completely removed pressure on villages until 2016. However, this will not always be the case and Blisworth should resist such 'preparatory expansions' as extending the confines. It is noteworthy that in proposal documents for the assignment of management regions within South Northamptonshire, the projected increase to 2017 for the number of the electorate in Blisworth parish is 90. This number is thought to equate to 53 houses, using a postulated average of 1.7 voters per household (the number is based on the village's current population), whilst the numbers of houses known to have recently been built and are agreed to be built are 27 (Chapel Hill Farm) plus 6 (the Ladyfield units that may actually have been counted prior to this comparison) plus 5 (distributed in-fill). This seems to suggest another 15 (may be 21) houses to be allocated somewhere in the village by 2017 and that number would have to be outside the current confines. Perhaps the balance is small enough to be due to noise, on the other hand, perhaps planners already have at least a small field in mind for 2016/17 with more to come in successive years. April 2, 2012 A notification of the timetable for the SNC to review the village confines was given out. The formative period is May to October 2012, with a draft presentable within SNC by January 2013. As stated elsewhere, the new confines will follow clearly established boundaries to avoid confusing difficulties that have arisen in some villages. This inevitably means that whole fields (not part-fields) will be circumscribed. The confines are not expected to be formalised, with central government, until 2013/2014, the timing clearly tuned to SNC's needs to plan their 5 year land-bank for 2015 onwards. May 15, 2012 Our PC has been notified of a 6 week consultation period from approx. June/July. June 12, 2012 It has suggested at the last PC meeting that the "housing needs survey" mentioned last month, see below, should be carried out to help in PC's consultation with the SNC on the Confines. It was realised that it should be configured to indicate any need for the village to expand. Sept 4, 2012 It has been decided to wait for the SNC to issue their first consultation draft of the new village confines rather than approach them prescriptively. Emphasis was placed on the probability that the changes will only reflect anyway a tidying-up and removal of anomalies, although the SNC had already remarked that the two areas marked with an H in the map below would receive support in principle if ever proposed for development. Patience for news from the SNC was dwindling by February 2013 - perhaps they would request an update. But the quiet period continues . . . July 2, 2013 The decision mentioned above has meant that, even now, nearly every month, SNC report back that an announcement on the new confines is deferred owing to "broader organisation issues". The approval of a massive (1000 houses) development at Brackley has meant that pressure on villages such as ours, in terms of land-bank allocation, is significantly relieved for many years (but the ongoing Chapel Hill Farm project apparently helps - this being a point that they must declare?) January 13, 2014 The PC met to finalise the wording of a draft that expressed response for Blisworth to the Local Plan. It was there recommended we retain confines as a useful attribute and in the next revision (2014 - 15) accept only minor adjustments plus the inclusion of the field adjacent to the playing fields (see 'H' at Sept 2012) with a reference to its asset value for the future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Neighbourhood Plan, February 2012: In the eventual development by the PC of a Neighbourhood Plan ("Neighbourhood Plan" is the latest set of new goalposts applying to communities invited to join in "Localism") there could also be made the point that the village should not expand much in future. The plan would be expected to go into detail on what would be acceptable types of housing, acceptable street and house design, etc. However, it is a fact that enthusiasm for embarking on a relatively expensive process of creating a neighbourhood plan has been much dampened by the realisation that the mere fact of having a plan does not facilitate any veto over development. Development remains a matter for government, both central and local, and having a plan simply helps ensure that the design of new houses, or new shops, indeed new anything, will have been thought out ahead of time. In view of the dates given in the paragraph immediately above this one, there can be no specific gain in completing a plan before about 2015/16 and this may have a beneficial effect on how the plan project is funded. So it remains to be seen whether or not our PC will embark on neighbourhood planning - they certainly have a small number of souls committed to the idea! April 2, 2012 The points covered in a neighbourhood plan will need to match those sections highlighted in the NPPF, a multi-100 page draft on a National Planning and Policy Framework that has been recently rolled out. It is the opinion of one villager, at least, that there is a serious need for a careful analysis of Blisworth's needs if a couple of new fields are included in the confines review. Not only housing but also roads, parking, shops and leisure facilities need to be considered from a standpoint of Desirable Village Design. Good design is one area where there should be a high probability that a substantial consensus will be achieved. A well-timed "present-position statement" from Blisworth, costing relatively little but nevertheless having the status of a brief neighbourhood plan, should be enough to cover our concerns and it is hoped that an opportunity to go that route can be explored. May 15, 2012 In recent discussions with the SNC planners, it has been suggested that the PC might go through "Blisworth's housing needs" in some detail (large houses, small downsize houses and affordable houses, etc). This could be the kernel of a "present-position statement". Sept 4, 2012 After much deliberation the survey mentioned in May has been shelved. The whole topic of neighbourhood plans has withered in the Summer sun, there being no-one who is keen enough to promote it. By February 2013 an opportunity was taken to remind the parish council that they still had not indicated to SNC what would amount to a 'suitable' array for new housing in the village. January 13, 2014 A response that reflects the desired future of the village has been drafted by the PC for SNC consideration regarding the current Local Plan. This appears to satisfy at minimal cost the requirements previously couched as "Neighbourhood Plan", "Village Design", etc. Tony Marsh |
