Woodcote Publication of Neighbourhood Planning Area ... · Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan Area...

1

Woodcote Publication of Neighbourhood Planning Area

Consultation Statement February 2012

South Oxfordshire Submission Core Strategy July Addendum

Consultation Statement Regulation 30

September 2011

1 Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan Area Publication – Consultation Statement, Feb 2012

CONTENTS

CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 2 The purpose of this document.............................................................................. 2 Regulations and government guidance ............................................................... 2 Publication timescales.......................................................................................... 3 Consultation activities........................................................................................... 3 Publication responses .......................................................................................... 5 Outcomes ............................................................................................................. 5 Appendix 1 map of proposed neighbourhood plan area...................................... 6 Appendix 2 Neighbourhood planning leaflet ........................................................ 7


Introduction

The purpose of this document

1. This document provides a record of the publication that took place regarding the Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan area and related Neighbourhood Planning body. The main methods use to publicise the publication process are also documented, along with the main findings from the publication. As this was only a publication process and not a more open consultation, the response rate is not expected to be high.

2. This formal publication period provided members of the public and other key

stakeholders and opportunity to submit comments on the proposed neighbourhood plan area and proposed neighbourhood planning body for Woodcote. The proposed neighbourhood planning body is Woodcote Parish Council and the proposed neighbourhood planning area is shown in appendix 1. On this occasion this process is unique due to the ‘front runner’ status awarded to South Oxfordshire District Council in partnership with Woodcote Parish Council. The ‘front runner status’ award to the partnership preceded the issuing of draft regulations, which indicate the need for this process to be undertaken before commencement of any neighbourhood plan. Clearly this has not taken place, but it is felt that this publication period has taken place early enough in the development of the Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan, not to have a significant affect. It is also thought that due to the successful publicising of the Woodcote Parish Plan process, any issues associated with this area, would have be brought to light by now.

Regulations and government guidance

3. The regulations concerning this matter are still in draft form and were only published in October 2011. As this is a consultation document, this may be subject to some further revision. The draft regulations provide for a specific area regarding publicising an application. Within this the publication information must contain the following:

- The name of the proposed neighbourhood area; - Details of how to respond to the publicity and make representations - The deadline for the receipt of those responses and representations, being

not less than 6 weeks following the date on when the application is first publicised1.

4. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) have recently

issued further guidance on the neighbourhood planning process. A copy of this is available to view in appendix 2. Stage 1 of this guidance note clearly indicates the need to define a neighbourhood as part of the neighbourhood planning process.2

1 Draft Town and County Planning, England Neighbourhood Planning (England) Regulations 2012 2 An introduction to neighbourhood planning, Department for Communities and Local Government, Oct 2011


Publication timescales

5. The publication period for this process commenced from Friday 9 December 2011 to Friday 27 January 2012. This publication period was triggered by formal press notices, copies of which are available to view in appendix 3. It is stated in our Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) that we will try and avoid consulting over known holiday periods, where possible3. As previously mentioned the draft regulations for this process were relatively recently released. This meant that due to the need to proceed with this process expediently, we were unable to avoid the Christmas and New Year holiday break. To try and compensate for this fact, we took the decision of extending the publication period by an extra week. Therefore the publication was seven weeks instead of the usually six.

Timescales break down as follows: Information in internal Weekly Information Sheet 2.12.11 Week call in period 2.12.11 – 9.12.11 Publication period 9.12.11 – 27.01.12 Cabinet meeting date TBC

Previous consultation 6. Woodcote Parish Council is at the initial awareness raising stages of promoting their

neighbourhood plan. This formal publication period, has triggered the parish council to start making progress on things such their website for the neighbourhood planning process. They have tried to publicise neighbourhood planning through local subscriptions/newsletters. The first major event is scheduled for Saturday 10 March 2012. Details of what the parish council has already done are available to view from their neighbourhood planning website http://www.woodcote-online.co.uk/neighbourhoodplan. There has been no previous consultation by the district council on the neighbourhood planning process.

Consultation activities

7. The following publication activities have been identified as suitable for this exercise. This takes into account recommendations from our SCI and minimum standards set out by the draft regulations. The method of engagement used along with any additional information is displayed in the following table. The shaded areas are what could be considered as regulatory minimums and the none-shaded areas are those considered over and above.

3 Statement of Community Involvement, South Oxfordshire District Council, July 2006


Proposed method of Consultation

Aim Date

Hard copies of publication material available in the district council offices

To provide an opportunity for local communities to access hard copy version of the proposed publication area and neighbourhood planning organisation.

9.12.11

Hard copies of publication material available in Woodcote library.

To provide improved access to local community representatives trying to access publication material associated with the Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan publication process.

9.12.11

Correspondence sent out to targeted stakeholders from the planning policy consultation database.

To improve the notification process associated with the Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan publication process. The stakeholders that were targeted were all statutory stakeholders, all planning agents and landowners and all those with a Woodcote reference within their address details.

7.12.11 – 9.12.11

Press notice released to Oxford Times

To help widen the notification process and pick up local community representatives un aware of the neighbourhood plan process.

07.12.11

Information held on the council’s website.

To provide a quick and easy method of obtaining publication data. We have also taken the opportunity of setting up a general neighbourhood planning section to again increase the ease of which information can be accessed from the web.

9.12.11

Information on Woodcote Parish Council’s website

To help widen the notification process and improve information being disseminated to the local community.

9.12.11

Information sent to Woodcote newsletter the ‘Correspondent’

To help widen the notification process and improve information being disseminated to the local community

9.12.11

Information sent to South Stoke newsletter

To help widen the notification process and improve information being disseminated to those in adjacent parishes to the proposed neighbourhood plan area

7.12.11

Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan Area Publication – Consultation Statement, Feb 2012

Publication responses

8. In total we received seven responses to the publication. As this was merely a formal

publication process, the level of response rate is in keeping, with what is to be expected for this process. The publication process also raised a number of queries relating to the neighbourhood planning process. These have been summarised below. Where comments related specifically to consultation matters associated the Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan, these were forwarded onto Woodcote Parish Council. The breakdown of responses is as follows:

Email comments 7 Letters 0 Total 7

Key issues generated 9. As with comments received on Thame’s Neighbourhood Plan area proposals, Oxfordshire

County Council wanted clarification on who had been consulted as part of this process. They wanted to ensure that the County Council would be suitably involved. Natural England submitted no formal comment on the neighbourhood plan area, but requested that they are involved with the neighbourhood planning process, while also listing some areas that would warrant Natural England comment (protected species, local wildlife sites and biodiversity enhancements). Some members of the general public and planning agents wanted further clarification on this stage of the neighbourhood planning process, which was provided to them. There were no queries from members of the general public relating specifically to the Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan or to Woodcote Parish Council being the neighbourhood forum organisation preparing the neighbourhood plan.

Outcomes

10. The results of this publication will be used by the council to decide whether or not to approve the Woodcote Neighbourhood Planning Area and the neighbourhood planning process to be undertaken by Woodcote Parish Council.


Appendix 1 map of proposed neighbourhood plan area


Appendix 2 Neighbourhood planning leaflet


Appendix 3 copy of public notice

Woodcote Publication of Neighbourhood Planning Area ... · Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan Area...

Documents

Transcript of Woodcote Publication of Neighbourhood Planning Area ... · Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan Area...