ET Planning have submitted a planning application for the residential development of 15 dwellings with associated access, landscaping and infrastructure, at Land east of Wing Road, Stewkley. The application has been submitted to Buckinghamshire Council on behalf of Village Foundations Ltd following the allocation through the Neighbourhood Planning process.
What is the process of getting a site allocated in a Neighbourhood Plan?
The Site is a proposed allocation in the emerging Stewkley Neighbourhood Plan.
The Neighbourhood Plan Group were consulted on different scheme layouts and the submitted layout comes as a result of this iterative design process.
The making of a Neighbourhood Plan consists of the following key steps:
- Step 1 – Making a neighbourhood area application
- Step 2 – Publication of proposals for the Plan
- Step 3 – Submission of a draft Plan
- Step 4 – The independent examination
- Step 5 – The Referendum
What are the benefits of Neighbourhood Planning?
- The time it takes to ‘make’ a Neighbourhood Plan is commonly quicker than the process for a Local Plan to be adopted.
- A Neighbourhood Plan has statutory weight as part of the Development Plan.
- This means that locally shaped policies can come into effect sooner, which is particularly important where adopted Local Plan’s are out of date.
- The process enables communities to shape where development comes forward, working with developers to allocate housing sites.
- These housing sites can be delivered more quickly, helping to meet identified need faster (once allocated in a Neighbourhood Plan), due to the fact that the Neighbourhood Plan process tends to be quicker.
- The process can also include identifying shared spending priorities for CIL receipts. So where the money will be spent locally.
- Ultimately, a Neighbourhood Plan can empower local communities and also give greater certainty to developers – with sites which have community ‘buy in’.
How to sell the planning benefits of a proposed development?
The planning application at Land east of Wing Road, Stewkley, comes as the final step in this process, again allowing community consultation as part of the application process.
The development proposal was designed using a set of key objectives, as informed by the emerging Neighbourhood Plan, as following:
- 15 dwellings in a mix of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom units. Two thirds of units proposed as 2 & 3 bedroom units, as informed by the Parish’s Housing Needs Survey.
- Policy compliant 25% affordable housing provision which equates to 4 units on site.
- Emphasis of dwellings fronting onto Wing Road to reflect surrounding development, set back behind the retained hedgerow.
- Careful siting of vehicular access into the site to avoid conflicts with proposed allocated site opposite.
- A mix of 1 and 2 storey dwellings – 2 of the properties proposed as bungalows, as informed by the Parish’s Housing Needs Survey.
- Protection of key heritage views across the site from the Stewkley Conservation Area.
- Sensitive use of materials.
- Landscaping to retain/enhance existing boundary hedges.
- Creation of a southern gateway to Stewkley (a new entrance into the village).
- Provision of safe connectivity to existing pedestrian footway along Wing Road.
- Additional land to the east of the site to contribute towards biodiversity net gain and provide attenuation ponds for sustainable drainage.
- Off site traffic calming measures along the Wing Road, to help reduce vehicle speeds driving into Stewkley – to the wider benefit of the village.
For more advice on ET Planning’s land promotion service, please visit this link https://etplanning.co.uk/services/land-promotion/
You can find the government guidance on neighbourhood planning here. Information on Neighbourhood Planning from the Locality Charity is also available, in addition to guidance on the planning portal.