In October 2016 the Parish Council approved the recommendation that a Steering Group be reformed to advise the Council on the production and subsequent monitoring of a Neighbourhood Plan for Barcombe. A Neighbourhood Plan is a community-led framework for guiding the future development, regeneration and conservation of an area, i.e. it concerns the use and development of land. Such a plan will always need to be relevant to 'higher' plans such as Lewes District Council’s own Local Plan but once adopted by the District Council it becomes a statutory document.

The Parish Council has agreed that the Barcombe Neighbourhood Plan should focus on housing development in the parish for the period to 2030. The adopted Part 1 of the Lewes Local Plan stipulates that the housing allocation for Barcombe is “at least 30 dwellings” and that these be located at Barcombe Cross Village. While the Neighbourhood Plan cannot specify a reduction in that number, it can have a say in where new development might be located and how it should look. Consequently the remit of the Steering Group is to consider the location of any new housing and its appearance.

Details of the Steering Group including members, agendas and Minutes are posted on the Parish Council web-site and on the Notice Board on the wall of the Village Car Park. All meetings of the Steering Group are open to the public.

There are a number of stages to the process (see the pink buttons above). We need the public to engage with the process as we develop the plan and ultimately to vote on its adoption.

Local plans have helped shape the village in the past and have led to major new developments so we hope as many people from across the community can get involved and engage with the process.

In this initial stage of the Neighbourhood Planning process we gather evidence on a range of aspects that help to define Barcombe as a unique place historically and currently as a means to help us decide its future.

The community is consulted on what we collect in draft form in stage 2.

Look out for events and opportunities for you to comment on our evidence and findings and help us to build a collective vision for new development in Barcombe.

The housing survey 2016 was delivered to all houses in Barcombe. The results are attached

Barcombe makes good use of its limited recreational spaces and facilities. These include dedicated sports field, bowling green, tennis courts and sports hall as well as allotments, Wild About Barcombe (informal space) and children's playground. Villagers also utilise the footpaths and bridleways as well as the river and tributaries. Thanks to agreement with landowners have limited access to some private land (for example Knowlands Wood and Barcombe Resouvir at Cobbs Mead) subject to use policies.

Barcombe has limited facilities for recreation and is under-resourced in specific areas (reference community group review - see document)

(Do we need a summary findings / analysis doc?)

Members of the plan group undertook an initial study supported by advise from our consultant. This included looking at the buildings, the landscape and feature aspects that are importance to the village's visual character.

These images are examples of characterful or feature elements identified during the initial process - these and other examples have been mapped onto the main Barcombe community map on this site (previous page).

Attached is the buildings materials map - evidencing the local material types in Barcombe Cross area.

What is the population of Barcombe, who lives here, how old are they. These are some of the questions we gather evidence against when considering the social profile or demographics of the village.

Attached is an evidence paper.

Here are examples of some of the source documents and references we used as part of our evidence gathering.

Barcombe Neighbourhood Plan 2017:

Draft: Evidence and site-specific policy development for sites: 3BA / 5BA / 7BA / 8BA (ref; LDC SHLEAA 2015) ‘Hillside’

Reflection on evidence gathered regarding site / character:

Several adjacent sites have been identified in the LDC Strategic Housing and Land Economic Availability Assessment (LDC SHLEAA 2015) as potentially available for housing development. These are sites referenced 3BA / 5BA / 7BA / 8BA. As these sites adjoin each other at the visually important south-west entry to the village, they are referred to in this Neighbourhood Plan collectively as “Hillside” (HS).

The Hillside site offers good proximity to village amenities such as the school and recreation ground, allotments and ‘Wild About Barcombe’, and potential for a safe route (ref) to school and recreational opportunities avoiding use of the road, as well as potential to promote a reduction in vehicle movements.

Its development in whole or part for housing could contribute to the achievement of the allocation of at least 30 new housing units as set out in the LDC Local Pla Part 1 policy X while supporting the needs of the local community for housing for families, young people and downsizing accommodation for older generation (ref).

Hillside typifies the character of Barcombe Cross as a ‘hilltop’ village (ref). It is a prominent and important element of the visual character of the village and provides a sense of arrival to the village and greeting when entering from the south-westerly direction. It is adjacent to the conservation area and overall it consists of a mix of current dwellings, some of which are of particular character and architectural interest, as well as landscape and natural features of significance (ref conservation map).

Due to the visual importance and physical relationship of these sites at the entry to the built up area of Barcombe Cross, as well as their relationship to the conservation area, it is considered important that they are considered as a whole area so that the future development of any part of the site relates positively not only to the rest of the site, but also to the physical character of Barcombe Cross and needs of the community as set out in this Neighbourhood Plan. This policy is intended to guide development at Hillside.

The objectives of policy for Hillside include, but are not limited to:

Providing a variety of house type and size across Hillside, regardless of current ownership boundaries that reflects local demography and the needs outlined in the 2015 Barcombe housing survey.

Ensuring that affordable housing is provided in line with LDC Local Plan Part 1 policy XX or through other mechanisms in support of local housing needs as evidenced by the village housing survey and any additional local and LDC evidence (ref).

Enabling shared responsibility for affordable housing in proportion to each individual site and proportionate size to achieve desired affordability whilst sharing the affordability burden and in support of overall viability.

To promote collective responsibility for coherent design and reference to policies regardless of current ownership boundaries.

Resulting proposed policies: (DRAFT)

Policy HS.1. If developed for housing the sites collectively known as Hillside (HS) shall either be developed comprehensively as a whole, or as individual parcels, so that the character of the village is maintained and enhanced.

Policy HS.2. Seek to prevent extension of the village boundary beyond the railway bridge and use the tree screening as a natural demarcation of the border to Barcombe Cross.

Policy HS.3. Retain TPO tree (ref) and tree screen on south west of HS site (ref) and promotion of retention of trees and habitat in support of established (ref) and promotion of additional habitats and natural amenity.

Policy HS.4. The Hillside site should deliver at least one alternate route to local amenities such as the school and recreation ground, allotments and ‘Wild About Barcombe’ through the site and avoiding need to use the road.

Policy HS.5. Any development immediately facing the current Bridgelands dwellings should reflect their size and proportion in form and make a consistent reference to the design code developed in relation to the site in terms of vernacular (ref).

Policy HS.6. Any development on Hillside should adopt, authentically modern design and building features and approaches that actively promote biodiversity to help counteract the loss of natural amenity. This should be evidence-able in both buildings and landscaping (also Ref Design Code). The use of green roofs should be specified on buildings that present to the existing south-west and south-east entrance and exiting views from the High St to reflect the current hillside / grassland meadow.

This statement is to form the overarching aspiration for Barcombe that should be reflected in the Neighbourhood Plan and any development if the plan is ultimately adopted. (Version 1.4 March 2017)

Barcombe in 2030 will have retained and enhanced its character to support a flourishing, vibrant and sustainable village. The Neighbourhood Plan will have improved the balance of residential accommodation locally to better-fit local needs, by providing housing, which is suitable for smaller families and young people wishing to live independently and older people wanting to downsize and remain in the community. Any new development should therefore support Barcombe to be a thriving community of modest scale, in harmony with its rural surroundings.

Residential development in the parish over the period will be focussed at Barcombe Cross. New building will be of a scale and appearance that is sympathetic to the established character, but in a way that is an authentically modern and relevant rather than synthetically or superficially historic, imitation or pastiche. The style of architecture should be of its time and celebrate and exemplify the use of local and sustainable materials and significant tradecrafts.

Design statements provide a context for new development, based on local character and sense of place. They are intended to help manage change, at whatever scale it occurs. They are not about whether development should take place; that is a job for the local plan. They are about how planned development should be carried out, so that it is in harmony with its setting and makes a positive contribution to the local community and environment (Countryside Commission 2012).

The document attached is the DRAFT design statement for Barcombe Cross that uses as thematic approach to identifying the design identity for Barcombe - and from there it defines a set of guiding principles for development.

These are:

1. New building will be of a scale and appearance that is sympathetic to the established character, but in a way that is authentically modern and relevant rather than synthetically or superficially historic, imitation or pastiche.

2. The style of architecture should be of its time and celebrate and exemplify the use of local and sustainable materials and significant tradecrafts.

3. Minimise the ingress of ‘urban’ characteristics and clutter in favour of vernacular material methods and modest management of highways.

4. Seek to maximise affordances offered by integrating ‘eco-logical’ principles to dwellings and domestic development that support more sustainable and efficient building use and consumption of resources.

5. To integrate multi-functional green infrastructure that deliberately acknowledges the value of eco-system services in providing concurrent benefits to society, economy, culture and ecology. A pro-active approach to landscape management - planning for restoration and enhancement of existing habitats, in addition to their conservation as an integral part of housing development design.

6. Seek to provide alternative routes and modes of travel between places of significance in the village to avoid use of roads. Prioritise walking (or cycling) and in provide opportunity for social and environmental interaction. Sustainable transport corridors between Barcombe and other villages and towns.

7. Ensure ‘soft edges’ between dwellings and space between private and public space (and subsequently any road or traffic) to support social interaction, shared space and security.

8. Development will ensure sustainable and resilient management of water as a resource and in contributing to pollution and flooding. Demonstrably considering adaptation to changes enforced by climate change such as habitat changes, water catchment, tree diseases etc.

This attached evidence reflects on the size and occupancy of houses in Barcombe.

Aside from the draft policies created in relation to sites allocated by the District Council for Barcombe, this document seeks to outline more general policies for any other development.

These maps come from the Lewes District Council assessment of sites in Barcombe Cross and visualise the sites allocated in Lewes District Council The Local Plan, Part 2 (2017).

These documents contain the data gathered from the first Barcombe Neighbourhood Plan public consultation event in January 2018.

The various documents relate to the themed areas presented at the event. Each document contains the data gathered and the steering group's response and analysis.

Please contact the steering group if there are further questions or queries.

On January 14th 2018 the Barcombe Neighbourhood plan steering group and volunteers presented the evidence gathered for the neighbourhood plan for public consultation.

Based on thorough evidence gathering and engagement with the community the Neighbourhood Planning Steering Group will draft a Neighbourhood Plan document.

Date to be announced.

The draft plan will be published and events created to enable comprehensive community consultation.

Once feedback has been gathered the draft plan will be amended and evidence provided of how community engagement has helped shape the outcome.

Collate all information for submission of final plan for examination

Assuming our neighbourhood plan is passed by the examiner Lewes District Council will arrange a formal referendum (village vote) on the neighbourhood plan.

If the village votes in favour of the plan then it will be 'made' as the formal planning document for Barcombe.