Should Little Chalfont have a Neighbourhood Plan (1)

Editor's Notes

• #2: Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you very much for coming along this evening to hear me present.
• #3: The overall intention and aim of this presentation is to equip you all with the relevant knowledge that you need to make the decision, as to whether or not Little Chalfont needs a neighbourhood plan. I am not here to sell you an idea, what I am here to do is to give you an unbiased and realistic portrayal of the facts that will enable you to make a decision based on the evidence. So what I will do is outline what neighbourhood planning is, covering the basics, and what a neighbourhood plan can do, as well as what it can’t do. I will outline some of my research findings as what to the strength’s and weakness’s as well as the opportunities and threats to neighbourhood plans, as well as provide you with some of the reflective thoughts from other neighbourhood planning groups across the country. Through this I will outline what some of the common pitfalls and misconceptions are about neighbourhood planning, and give you an insight as to the important lessons learned by other communities. I will conclude by outlining the additional and unintentional benefits of neighbourhood planning with relation to community resilience.
• #4: So yes, who am I and what makes me qualified to tell you about this? Over the past 3 years I have been studying neighbourhood planning, I dedicated my Master’s thesis to it, and so over the last two years I have had to; Learn the ins and outs of neighbourhood planning Critically review over 15 neighbourhood plans and their related documents I have Conducted 5 in depth case studies, this entailed, over 25 Interviews with many officials in planning, government, academia and individual neighbourhood planning chairmen, Delivered 5 presentations and conducted 5 focus Group discussions with Parish councils and steering group members who have been through the process from start to finish.
• #5: So I did originally have a video I intended to show you, but It wouldn’t have had any audio so in essence here Is what it would have told you; Gives communities important new rights around local planning; allowing communities to decide: On the type of development that they want The places where they want it; where new homes, shops and offices should be build What they should look like Protect and Improve your high street vitality Preserve local green spaces A legal planning document must be used when considering all future planning applications
• #6: Slide 5: So, how does Neighbourhood planning policy fit into the planning system? Neighbourhood planning policy was introduced under the Coalition Government in 2011, as part of the Localism Act. The Act, was intended to reform and simplify the planning system that had existed under the Town & Country planning legislation. To devolve the power from regional and national government, to the local councils and communities. The Act grants district councils the right to develop a Local Plan, this is a strategic plan to guide development across the area. The Act has also granted the right for local communities to develop a Neighbourhood Plan, either led by the parish council or by a Neighbourhood Forum set up by community groups and individuals. A neighbourhood plan must conform to a local plan and together, the local plan and neighbourhood plans form the strategic development plan. With neighbourhoods plan setting out more specific guidance for each local area. Neighbourhood Planning Policy is a framework which is designed to enable communities to have greater control over development in their area. Neighbourhood planning allows communities to establish a shared vision, informed by an understanding of the local needs and priorities (Chetwyn, 2012). This vision is then supported by a set of community agreed policies that will be used as part of the statutory development strategy to guide future development in their area (DCGLG, 2012).
• #7: Here on the slide are some examples of the neighbourhood plans that I have analysed, as you can see already there are major differences Since their introduction through the Localism Act, the number of made Neighbourhood Plans has grown steadily – with the total number currently at 160, with a further 30 in the pipeline having achieved a successful referendum. There are now around 1,800 designated Neighbourhood Plan Areas and, whilst not all will progress to a made Neighbourhood Plan, it clearly shows that momentum is growing and that the geographical coverage of Neighbourhood Plans can be expected to increase significantly in the future. However as pointed out by a recent article in the Guardian and a report by Reading University ‘popularity does not guarantee success’. I suggest anyone who intends to do a neighbourhood plan reads the paper by Gavin Parker at reading University, http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/43545/7/wp0615.pdf So here are some initial points to orientate you, The first point to get across is that every community is different, their situation is different and what they want from a neighbourhood plan is different. Therefore ALL guidance out there needs to be read and then re-interpreted into the context of the local area and the local community. AND THEN TACKEN WITH A PINCH OF SALT. The second point to remember is that this is not your plan this is the communities plan, you may end up writing a plan that contains policies that you do not like or believe in. It must represent the views of the entire community – not just the outspoken minority. You must go out of your way to engage the public consistently throughout this process, if it is to truly have any effect or be worthwhile. That may mean you may end up with a plan that is pro-development or anti-development. It also means that the scope and scale of the neighbourhood plan will ultimately be decided by the community. You can be anti-development in theory but not in practise - There is no room for NIMBY with neighbourhood planning, if you want to write a neighbourhood pan to constrain or prevent development, walk out of here right now, it is not about that, it’s about guiding development, stopping inappropriate development and ensuring that the community gets the development that it needs and that is appropriate to the local context. Some groups have tried to be sneaky, it doesn’t work, For example here is a policy; “Until a comprehensive scheme is implemented to address the surface water drainage issue, there will be no further house building.” – Bad policy- they were forced to remove it
• #8: So neighbourhood planning, a simple or complex process? – Essentially it is whatever the community chooses, in terms of the scope and scale of the plan, the size of the community and their ambitions. Here on the slide shows the process, taken from two differing pieces of guidance, this is what I mean about taking it with a pinch of salt, So how complex is it really?
• #9: The answer is that there is no answer, you will only find out by doing it, this diagram on the slide shows the Roseland’s Neighbourhood plan’s first step in more detail, this is all of what is involved in just putting together the draft, before consultation. This really is the most complex part of it all, however if you get this part right, then it should be smooth sailing after…. In theory. This is because Engagement and participation is absolutely and fundamentally crucial and I cannot stress that enough, and not just with community members, but the statutory consultees and the other community stakeholder groups- that of course includes businesses and developers. Engagement of the whole community is ideal, but a complex and difficult process, past evidence like previous consultation and village design statements etc. are good starting basis BUT, they will inherently only be capturing the voice of the ‘most vocal and active minority’ You need to go out there and try to reach the whole community, there must at least be 1 full scale attempt to reach all household members in the community. You must go purposely out of your way to include other groups and age ranges, demonstrate diversity and inclusivity. Connect the elderly and the young, whilst remembering that there are many contrasting and conflicting views in relation to development in this village, and an attempt must be made to hear them all. ‘Consultation’ is simply not good enough in this instance.
• #10: Here on the diagram is an example of the process that Yoxall undertook, again slightly simplified, but it illustrates the general jist, However this diagram has missed the essential first steps that should be taken even before attempting to designate a neighbourhood area   Step 1: Deciding whether or not this is something that the parish council it wants to peruse Step 2: Front loading; this is the initial teaser engagement with the local community. Used to find out what the main issues in the village are with a fresh survey to determine if its service and facilities related or if it is development related, or if its infrastructure, what extent is the infrastructure an issue, can it be solved with a neighbourhood plan? Remember A neighbourhood plan is a land use policy document. This is not a ‘community plan’. Therefore it cannot contain any policies that do not specifically and directly relate to land use. It is therefore seen by many as very limited it what it can actually do. Typically a lot of what comes up through community engagement falls beyond the remit of neighbourhood planning, and many group have found they needed to produce both a neighbourhood plan and an additional community action plan, stating that it is important that the community knows they have been listened to and their problems will be addressed. This is because people are tired of half arsed consultation where nothing changes, there may be very simple an inexpensive solutions to a lot of community problems. In some cases you may not even need a neighbourhood plan, you find that given what the initial feel is after the front loading that a community-led action plan would be more appropriate. Step 3: Make a decision on what type of plan you need a neighbourhood plan, a community action plan or both? Is the parish council is willing to commit to this? Step 4: this is really important - engage with the local authority, go to them and tell them of your intentions, ask for advice, ask questions, ask for help and guidance, communicate with them, see how a neighbourhood plan can help the local plan and vice versa.   Then you may designate your area. BUT, even after you designate the area, there are still some pretty important steps before beginning. In the case where there is a parish council, the parish council takes the lead responsibility for the neighbourhood plan, what they then should do in terms of following the lessons of others and best practise is to set up a steering committee Advertise and hire volunteers to fill positions, members who put themselves forward should be elected by the others, the steering committee should not just be made up of the ‘usual suspects’ should represent the whole interests of the community demonstrating inclusivity and diversity in its membership, and a wide range of skills and attributes, transparency at all times, a dedicated and professional website should be set up where a terms of reference should be published, along with all minutes, votes, proposals and supporting documentation, The committee then need to produce the following; plan of action, community engagement plan, communications strategy, stakeholder analysis, a socio-economic demographic portfolio, funding and budget plans. Then you may begin on the steps on the diagram. In reality, it is in a very iterative process between, evidence gathering, community engagement and re-drafting – that’s the hard part! If you get that right its smooth sailing… in theory.
• #11: So Money… Most typical expenses incurred are: Engagement & consultation Consumables & marketing Evidence collection Professional analysis and interpretation of evidence Planning consultant to help write the policies Referendum Legal council Contingencies Back in April the Government agreed to give communities a grant of £9,000, this was previously £8,000 to help with the costs. There is some dispute about who receives this money, some have told me their local authority got the money and then ear marked it to cover the referendum costs, in other cases the parish council received the money directly. This will need more looking into. Technical support provided by AECOM – The princess trust, are also very good for providing specialist expertise and may cover some costs for you, as well as the planning advisory service, who may assign you a policy writing expert, to help you avoid large consultancy fees. If you have a good relationship with the local authority they may even agree to cover some of the additional costs. The money doesn’t just stop there, even the plan is done you can get money. If your plan is approved, the parish council can apply for 25% of the revenues from the Community Infrastructure Levy arising from the development that they have chosen to accept. The money would be paid directly to parish and town councils and could be used for community projects such as re-roofing a village hall, or funding a community centre for example.  
• #12: The Strength's Becomes part of statutory development plan Promotes sustainable appropriate development Build local capacities and resilience Specific policies relating to the local context It empowers local people, encourages other to take part in decision making, brings people together collaboratively A plan can Allocate or suggest areas for development, steering it to the most appropriate locations. Can facilitate the Community right to challenge and community right to bid and right to build, process by identifying new opportunities for improving community assets and services.   The Weaknesses'   On average neighbourhood plans take 3 years to complete, The amount spent on producing a neighbourhood plan, varies considerably, ranging from 4 thousand to 86 thousand, the average figure is believed to be between15-30 thousand. The process is entirely dependent on volunteers, without volunteers there is no plan, it can therefore be difficult to get the skills you need from within the community, it can be difficult to engage different generations and to attract new people, it can also be very hard to sustain enthusiasm and motivation The plan can contain only Land use related policies   It is a living document that requires constant monitoring evaluation Even once made to ensure it is being used in planning applications   The actually effectiveness of neighbourhood plans and the policies within them is still under debate with many groups reporting that there policies have been watered down by district councils or that the policies, don’t actually carry as much weight as they had hoped, with many stating that the neighbourhood plan has no teeth as a result.     The opportunities   A neighbourhood plan is an opportunity to influence development To stop inappropriate development To create new partnerships and for collaboration To address underlying community issues To protect and enhance community assets The guidance to do it, is now available, front runners were not that fortunate, you have an opportunity to learn lessons from others and to follow what is now known best practise     And finally The Threats   The referendum – you must get a 50% yes vote, and government plans to introduce a new 34% voter turn-out rule Legal opposition, from developers is increasing resulting in many judicial reviews Current political-economic climate – in terms of support and funding is highly unknown A number of groups who have done neighbourhood planning state that they have has their policies watered down by district authorities Plan, must always be in conformity, it is important to make sure that it is in conformity with the merging local plan and any subsequent changes to it. Consultation fatigue, overcoming previous failed experiences, low expectations and maintaining enthusiasm through the process can be hard particularly with the recent spree of consultation.     So at this point it is fairly safe to say that there’s a lot of swings and roundabouts, a lot of pro’s and con’s a lot of positives and negatives, the extent to which these influence your plan, is down to you, and how well you do your plan in reality.  
• #13: Here are the common mistakes about neighbourhood planning- 1) Not working with the local authority, they are the ones who have to ‘Make the plan’ and have to approve the policies, so it’s idiotic not to work with them 2) Not working or communicating with developers, to find mutual compromises, failure to do this can increase tensions and exacerbate developer pressures on the communities and cause them to appeal and begin legal proceedings out of spite. 3) Not engaging the community – tokenistic consultation or bad engagement – parish hall meetings, parish hall presentations, not using social media, etc etc. be novel, be new and most importantly be creative. The Roseland plan is a case where 5 parishes came together, they never once had village hall meetings, and it’s one of the best plans I have seen they believed that village hall meetings never achieved any progress and were merely a platform for complaints. Other groups have relied solely on this approach, and it has worked for them. So, be creative and think of new approaches, - the Truro burger van. (Picture) 4) Not engaging stakeholders properly, who then throw up issues in appeal, one example is listing community assets when they are not and without the consent of the owners, leading to massive judicial reviews 6) The issue of housing needs to tackled very carefully and with the local authority if this is an area you plan covers, too many plans are being called into question over the housing issue, about allocation numbers, strategic environmental assessment methodologies for site selection, differences between local plan sites and neighbourhood plan sites and figures, lack of housing supply etc, etc, etc. 7) Trying to constrain and block development quoting the ‘we have taken more than our fair share of development’ personally that statement just offends me now and almost anyone I know that’s my generation. That should never ever be seen in a neighbourhood plan. 8) Being too ambitious, but not being prescriptive enough – ‘we want sustainable homes that don’t increase surface water drainage’ – you need to state then what type of mitigation you want in place otherwise the developers just use the pipe based drainage that’s not sustainable, and if you want sustainable development, you have to state how – in terms of what energy efficiency, consumption, locations etc etc etc. 9) Failure to consider the ramifications of certain policies, that can lead to an increase in grand design style homes etc, etc, etc. 10) Neighbourhood plans do not require SA... There seems to be quite a lot of confusion about this. Our understanding is that neighbourhood development plans are not required to have a sustainability appraisal undertaken on them. Must demonstrate how the plan contributes to sustainable development but that does not require a SA. And you don’t need a Strategic Environmental Assessment unless you are allocating sites. 11) Prescribing and trying to influence what new development should look like, in areas that have been prone to ad-hoc development with no continuity in style.   12) Thinking you can choose where new homes, businesses and infrastructure will go, and believing it’s that simple, very few plans actually do this, because it is extremely difficult.   13) Thinking that because it has past the independent examination, that the plan is sound and water tight, it is not. The examiner only checks to ensure the plan conforms to the basic legal requirements. If there’s an appeal later about the content, then that is a whole other issue with the planning inspectorate and they are very prone to overturn neighbourhood plan policies- hence all the problems with secretary of state recalls.   However it is worth noting that it is not all black and white, and so as part of my research I have been trying to identify the further benefits and opportunities of neighbourhood planning, that as yet have gone unrecognised.
• #14: Here are some of my research findings, And then on the flip side, here are some more positive research findings
• #15: 100% all questionnaire respondents, they all said yes, to the question do you feel that your community is now more resilient than it was before neighbourhood planning. 92% people felt that there community was stronger and more cohesive after neighbourhood planning. 96% people felt that the process had encouraged more groups to work together 83% felt that it will improve the infrastructure issues, 96% felt that it would address housing issues 83% felt that it would facilitate sustainable development. So in actual fact neighbourhood planning can be a strong and powerful tool, when done correctly.   And here are what people had to say about it, (quotes)
• #22: IT IS NO LONGER IN GENERAL CONFORMITY IT IS NOT STRICT CONFORMITY – IF THERE IS A CERTAIN TARGET FOR HOUSING IN THE AREA, THE PLAN MUST PRMOTE THAT AMOUNT OF DEVELOPMENT OR MORE, BUT ABSOLUTELY NO LESS.
• #23: Neighbourhood plans do not require SA... There seems to be quite a lot of confusion about this. Our understanding is that neighbourhood development plans are not required to have a sustainability appraisal undertaken on them. But impacts still need to be considered as part of good planning.  Sustainability appraisal of the type that is legally required for development plan documents is not required for neighbourhood development plans. This is because they are not ‘Local Plans', or development plan documents as defined by the 2004 Act. Neighbourhood development plans have their own designation: they are neighbourhood development plans produced by qualifying bodies under the Localism Act. Even when a neighbourhood development plan is 'made' by a local authority following a successful referendum, and it becomes part of the development plan it does not change its designation into a development plan document (this does not mean it has any less status in terms of decision making, though). Neighbourhood development plans are not required to undertake the type of sustainability appraisal required for a local plan. What is advisable, is a review of the sustainability impact of a neighbourhood development plan, which could be necessary and useful for a lot of neighbourhood plans that are being produced to meet the basic conditions checked at examination. This does not mean that sustainability appraisals as used on local plans are required. It is good planning practice to check what the potential impacts of a planning policy will be on an area, helping to advise which potential options might be best; and doing this against the topics of social, environmental and economic impacts would make a lot of sense. ...but may require SEA A neighbourhood development plan may require a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) under the EU regs – but this will depend on the content of the neighbourhood plan. It is a very good idea for the local authority to undertake an early SEA screening of the plan to highlight if a SEA will be required. If it is required, it needs to form part of the document that is consulted on. The local authority is required to undertake the SEA screening and there is advice available on undertaking an SEA screening.
• #27: Policy and advice National Planning Policy Framework – planningguidance.communities.gov.uk/blog/policy National Planning Practice Guidance – planningguidance.communities.gov.uk My Community – mycommunity.org.uk Placecheck – placecheck.info Historic Environment Local Management – helm.org.uk Building for Life 12 – designcouncil.org.uk/resources/guide/building-life-12-third-edition Organisations Locality – locality.org.uk Urban Vision Enterprise CIC – uvns.org Civic Voice – civicvoice.org.uk Community Matters – communitymatters.org.uk The Planning Portal – planningportal.gov.uk RTPI/Planning Aid – rtpi.org.uk/planningaid Institute of Historic Building Conservation – ihbc.org.uk Design Council CABE – designcouncil.org.uk/our-work/cabe Historic England – historicengland.org.uk Natural England – naturalengland.org.uk National Planning Forum – natplanforum.org.uk Historic Towns Forum – historictownsforum.org.uk National Association of Local Councils – nalc.org.uk Campaign for the Protection of Rural England – cpre.org.uk National Council of Voluntary Organisations – ncvo-vol.org.uk The Environment Agency – environment-agency.gov.uk Planning Advisory Service – pas.gov.uk The Glass-House – theglasshouse.org.uk Communityplanning.net – communityplanning.net Princes Foundation for Building Community – princes-foundation.org Action with Communities in Rural England – acre.org.uk