Wivelsfield Parish Neighbourhood Plan

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Neighbourhood Plan

Neighbourhood Plan was introduced as a key part of the Localism Act 2011.

Prior the Act, the planning system provided opportunities for communities to get involved in development decisions that affect them, in practice they have often found it difficult to have a meaningful say.

With the introduction of neighbourhood plan, it put the power back in the hands of local residents, businesses, parish councils and civic leaders. Neighbourhood planning powers will empower communities to manage and enable development in their local area by creating a vision of how their areas should grow, deciding what they should look like, creating locally specific planning policies to manage development in their area, or granting permission by legal order for sites that the local community would like to see developed in a particular way.

These powers are discretionary and should be exercised by Parish Council.

Help

Local Authorities have the duty to support your parish/town in preparing a plan. However, before you decide on a neighbourhood plan, consider the length of time and financial implications of producing one. The complexity of your plan will depend on what it is trying to achieve be it a single topic issues or a wide ranging. Your cost could also be impacted by the size of your population when it comes to surveys and community engagement activities.

The first formal stage of preparing a neighbourhood plan is to get your parish/town/area designated. Your community can begin to identify their issues and concerns as well as aspirations before you become a fully designated area. However, in the case of funding, your community will not be eligible to apply until you become formally designated as neighbourhood plan area.

Vision

The Vision is a statement of the aspirations for shaping the Parish of Wivelsfield over the next 15 to 20 years. It will facilitate the setting of objectives that are both realistic and achievable.

The Vision will state and be informed by what the community wants for the benefit of all. It aims to ensure that Wivelsfield Parish develops in the way the community wants in maintaining the green environment, an attractive village centre, a viable community, housing for all and better facilities and services.

The vision statement will be updated and refined following initial engagement and public consultation with members of the community.

Objectives

The objectives laid out in the Neighbourhood Plan will be the detailed means to achieving the aspirations set out in the Vision Statement. They will be based on the wishes and needs of the community and will identify the policies to be delivered and adopted in Wivelsfield Parish.

Initially, the objectives will be established by the Neighbourhood Planning Steering Group however they will be refined and updated as consultation and engagement with the community takes place as the plan proceeds. The Steering Group is made up of Wivelsfield Parish Councillors and volunteer residents. Any resident is welcome to join the Steering Group and get involved in the development of this plan.

Scope

The Vision statement will dictate the Scope, objectives and policies to be addressed in the Neighbourhood Plan. However consideration must also be given to issues such as costs, skills required to produce the plan, what can be realistically delivered in the time available, which policies and outcomes will deliver the greatest benefit to our community and which policies will give us the most control in the shaping of our Parish over the next 15 to 20 years. The policies will have to be prioritised in order to ensure that quality is not sacrificed for quantity.

Constraints

External Constraints: The Neighbourhood Plan has to conform to current planning policies, legislation and guidance at the local, national and European level. It must conform generally with the strategic policies of the Development Plan for Lewes District Council. It cannot be used to prevent development that is included in the Local Plan. It must also conform to the policies in the Emerging Joint Core Strategy.

Internal Constraints:
Manpower, costs, time frame, skills availability, prioritisation and numbers of policies.

Stakeholder Details

The stakeholders (and others to be consulted) in Wivelsfield Parish shall include, inter alia, Residents in the Community, Statutory Consultees, Parish Councillors, District Councillors, Land Owners, Local Businesses, Community Organisations and Clubs (members & staff/leaders), Religious Leaders, School Governors and Teachers, Tenants Association, Police Community Support Officer. Additionally, in accordance with the duty to co-operate, principal authorities and the Councils of neighbouring areas shall be consulted as appropriate.

Local Planning History

Task: Provide information on previous community led plan exercises carried out and provide examples such as parish plan, village deign statements, village appraisals etc.

Designation, Governance and Project Stages/Plans

Task: How did you form your steering group and other groups to help undertake the plan? Problems encountered and lessons learnt.

Downloads

Neighourhood Plan - Steering Committee Meetings

Attached below are copies of the Steering Committee meeting minutes and agendas for any planned meetings, for reference.

Downloads

Neighbourhood Plan

Neighbourhood Plan was introduced as a key part of the Localism Act 2011.

Prior the Act, the planning system provided opportunities for communities to get involved in development decisions that affect them, in practice they have often found it difficult to have a meaningful say.

With the introduction of neighbourhood plan, it put the power back in the hands of local residents, businesses, parish councils and civic leaders. Neighbourhood planning powers will empower communities to manage and enable development in their local area by creating a vision of how their areas should grow, deciding what they should look like, creating locally specific planning policies to manage development in their area, or granting permission by legal order for sites that the local community would like to see developed in a particular way.

These powers are discretionary and should be exercised by Parish Council.

Downloads

Help

Your Neighbourhood Plan offers you several advantages and opportunities to influence and control development in your area. They are led by the parish and town councils and involve engaging with all residents, community groups and service providers serving your community. The plan will have to be accepted by the community through a referendum hence the crucial element of getting them on board and informing them of progress throughout the process.

Engage with all organisations, departments, local partners and residents to improve dialogue and negotiations which could help with the future development and implementation of your plan policies and proposals.

Community Consultation Activities

Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School
Community Consultation at Wivelsfield Primary School

Wivelsfield Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee held a Community Consultation on June 7th at Wivelsfield Primary School. There was a great turnout which clearly demonstrated the communities concerns about current development plans and a strong desire to help influence the village's future plans.

After this meeting the following press release was issued by the Parish Council, parts of which were published by local newspapers: "Saturday 7 June witnessed a successful Open Day as part of the engagement process with the community. Hosted by the Wivelsfield Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group the Open Day was held in the school hall and attracted more than 150 visitors. Residents were able to see progress on the Neighbourhood Plan to date, preliminary results of the recent household and children’s surveys, as well as the potential development sites put forward for consideration by landowners. Visitors were encouraged to give feedback on any of the information on display.

Members of the Parish Council, Steering Group and Action in Rural Sussex (engaged as consultants for the Plan) were on hand to answer questions, with refreshments kindly being provided by Wivelsfield School PTA. Also on hand was a representative from The Democratic Society advising visitors how they can help the Parish Council secure a share of a £40,000 community prize fund by reducing household waste.

The Neighbourhood Planning process is costing the Parish Council approximately £16,000 and is being partly funded by a £7,000 grant awarded by the Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning Programme led by Locality in association with RTPI/Planning Aid England, CDF and partners, available through the My Community Rights website.

The draft Neighbourhood Plan is expected to be ready for submission to the Local Planning Authority (Lewes District Council) in the first quarter of 2015. Also in the early part of 2015 the Neighbourhood Plan will be submitted to the Examiner for approval and a Referendum will take place.

Community involvement and support is vital to the Neighbourhood Planning process and the Steering Group would like to thank everyone who took the time to attend the Open Day and give their views. There will be another opportunity to find out how the Plan is progressing and to get involved at Wivelsfield Village Day on Saturday 12 July. Meanwhile residents can go online to find out more at www.wivelsfield.net or on Community 21 at /communities/wivelsfield/."

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Focus Group Documents & Reports

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Wivelsfield Village Day - Community Consultation

At the Wivelsfield Village Day, held on Saturday 12th July, the Parish Council and Neighbourhood Planning Steering Committee to the opportunity to further consult with the community over our emerging Neighbourhood Plan.

State of the Parish Report

The purpose of the attached report is to summarise the evidence base and the context within which the WPNP will be prepared and by which the draft and final versions of the WPNP will be assessed and refined. In doing so, the report will provide the local community with a key starting point from which to embark on formulating the draft WPNP.

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WPNP Project Plan

A detailed project plan has been developed to manage the development of our Neighbourhood Plan.

The latest version is attached below.

Downloads

Stakeholder Workshop

The Parish Council and NP Steering Group held a Stakeholder Workshop at Wivelsfield Village Hall on the 12th August 2014.

This event was well attended and the key focus areas identified during the NP development process were discussed and views from the key stakeholders (e.g. local business owners as well as neighbouring parish and district council representatives, etc.) were received.

All of this valuable input will help the team hone the draft plan that is now taking shape.

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Landowners & Developers Presentations

The Parish Council & Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee held a Landowners & Developers Presentation evening at Wivelsfield Primary School on Thursday September 4th from 7:00pm.

Meeting notes are attached.

Downloads

Green Spaces

The Steering Group's Local Green Spaces Report is detailed below.

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Pre-Submission Plan

The Pre-Submission Plan can be accessed via the link below. It is largely based on feedback from you as a result of the survey we ran during 2014.

During the recent six week consultation period members of our Parish Community reviewed the Plan and related supporting documentation (that is available elsewhere on this site) and submitted their comments and questions.

The consultation period ran from 16th February to 29th March 2015 inclusive. During this time the Parish Council and NP Steering Group hosted drop-in sessions for the public to come along, as follows:-

Saturday 21 February 10.00 – 12.30 Village Hall - Renshaw Room;

Wednesday 4 March 6.30 – 8.30 Village Hall - Renshaw Room;

Tuesday 10 March 7.30 – 9.30 Worlds End Pavilion, Worlds End; Recreational Ground, off Janes Lane, Burgess Hill;

Thursday 12 March 7.00 – 8.00 Annual Parish Meeting, Village Hall;

Saturday 21 March 11.00 – 3.00 Village Hall - Renshaw Room

Following this consultation period, the updated plan together with all your comments was submitted to Lewes District Council for their review (which will include a further period of consultation lasting not less than six weeks) prior to the report being passed to an inspector for formal inspection. If this is accepted, then the final proposed plan will be submitted to a public referendum before it can be adopted.

An anonymised summary of the responses received during the consolation period is attached below for your reference.

Downloads

Help

Understand the purpose, discuss and agree the key principles of the Plan, including housing numbers, locations and types and other land use and infrastructure proposals.

Draft Plan including a summary of the ‘State of the Parish’ report, the Plan objectives (including the measures by which its success will be judged in due course), the proposed land use allocations, the proposed Planning policies, the proposed infrastructure investments and a delivery Plan. Prepare draft SEA, comprising a schedule of sustainability objectives and show how each specific proposal measures up against each relevant objective. Where negative sustainability impacts are identified, to indicate how such impacts may be mitigated

Regulation 14 Consultation

Carry out the statutory minimum six weeks public consultation. The Pre Submission Plan and its associated documents such as the draft SEA and Community Right To Build Orders (CRTBO) if being undertaken should be made available electronically via websites as well as in hard copies at vantage locations across the parish/town. Hold drop in session with residents to answer queries and explain reasons for proposed policies. Collect and log the representations made during the consultation exercise. The Steering Group to the review each representation and propose an appropriate response (either agree and amend or disagree) in a single schedule.

Clarification regarding Windfall Sites

Why we can’t use the 75 houses on North Common Road for our Neighbourhood Plan.

We have repeatedly asked Lewes District Council why we can’t use this site towards our neighbourhood plan allocation.

9th September 2014 - Please see email below from Ed Sheath (Head of Planning Lewes DC)

22nd January 2015 - Lewes defended their position when the Chair of the Parish Council questioned on this subject in front of the government inspector.

13th February 2015 Wivelsfield Parish council wrote to Lewes District Council to insist that we be able to use the 75 houses for our plan.

19th February 2015 -Lewes have formally written back with their justification for not allowing the 75 houses ( see below)

Downloads

Submission Plan and Associated Documents - January 2016

The Wivelsfield Neighbourhood Plan – Submission January 2016 - has now been Submitted to Lewes District Council for review and subsequent independent examination by an inspector.

The relevant documents are attached below.

Please see Tab 5 for confirmation from Lewes District Council of their receipt of these documents and the progression of the NP process to Regulation Stage 16 Consultation.

Downloads

Help

Your final plan which is the Submission Plan must be submitted with other documents required by the neighbourhood plan regulations. These are: The Basic Conditions Statement, The Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA), The Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) if required and The Consultation Statement

A Sustainability Appraisal (SA) incorporating a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

Downloads

Regulation 16 Consultation and Independent Examination

Regulation Stage 16 Notice from Lewes District Council

Wivelsfield Parish Council has submitted their Neighbourhood Plan and related documents to Lewes District Council under Regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012. The Neighbourhood Plan, and other submission documents, are now available for a 6 week representation period (Regulation 16) between: Monday 8th February and 5pm Monday 21st March 2016 Further details, including how to make a representation, can be found along with the submission documents and Regulation 16 Public Notice at the link below. Representations can be sent to the following email address – ldf@lewes.gov.uk

http://www.lewes.gov.uk/planning/24337.asp

Following the Regulation 16 consultation, the Neighbourhood Plan will be submitted to an independent examiner who will determine whether the Plan meets the Basic Conditions.

Strategic Policy Lewes District Council

Help

Once the final plan is submitted to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) with all the associated documents, it becomes the responsibility of the LPA. The LPA will once satisfied with the plan and all the documents submitted will proceed to publish them for a further six weeks consultation known as the Regulation 16 Consultation. During this period, the LPA will work with the parish or town council to appoint an examiner who will independently examine your plan and all the documents submitted. Some Local Planning Authorities may choose to agree and select the preferred examiner with the parish or town council before the final documents are even submitted.

REFERENDUM 27TH OCTOBER 2016

THE WIVELSFIELD PARISH NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN REFERENDUM WILL BE HELD AT THE VILLAGE HALL, EASTERN ROAD, WIVELSFIELD GREEN

The Referendum question will be as follows:

“Do you want Lewes District Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Wivelsfield Parish to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

Vote “YES” to support your Wivelsfield Parish Neighbourhood Plan and help stop unsustainable large scale development in the Parish.

Remember, a “NO” vote is a vote FOR the developers and unsustainable development.

Thursday 27th October is during school Half Term holidays and if you are going to be away from home please apply for a Postal Vote.

Postal Votes To vote by post. If you do not already have a Postal Vote you will need to complete an application form and send it to the Electoral Registration Officer, Lewes District Council, Southover House, Southover Road, Lewes, BN7 1AB……… to arrive by 5pm on Wednesday, 12th October 2016.

Postal Vote Application Forms are available at the LDC Helpline on 01273 471600 or by emailing electoral@lewes.gov.uk

Vote by Proxy If you have a proxy vote already, you will receive a poll card confirming this. If you do not have a proxy vote and cannot get to the polling station and do not wish to vote by post, you may be able to vote by proxy. This means allowing somebody that you trust to vote on your behalf.

To vote by proxy, you will need to complete an application form and send it to the Electoral Registration Officer at Lewes District Council, Southover House, Southover Road, Lewes, BN7 1AB……. to arrive by 5pm on Wednesday 19th October 2016

Proxy vote application forms are available from the LDC Helpline on 01273 471600 or by emailing electoral@lewes.gov.uk

To read more above Voting Information please use the following link to the LDC website…. http://www.lewes.gov.uk/planning/24337.asp and go to the Voting Information section.

** IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN WILL NOT BE IMPLEMENTED UNLESS YOU VOTE “YES” **

Wivelsfield Neighbourhood Plan Examination Regulation Stage 18

The Wivelsfield Neighbourhood Plan was submitted by Lewes District Council to the independent examiner, Mr Jeremy Edge, to determine whether the neighbourhood plan met the Basic Conditions. As stated in the Examiner's Report which is attached, Mr Edge has decided that the Wivelsfield Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions subject to modifications and should proceed to a referendum. Lewes District Council will consider the recommendations made and a Decision Statement will be published in due course.

The Examiner’s Report was excellent and is at the very top of our expectations. The Examiner did recommend that one location be designated as a Local Green Space.

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group is delighted with the outcome of the Examiner’s Report and that we are preparing to work towards the Referendum.

Lewes District Council and Wivelsfield Parish Council have accepted and implemented the recommendations made by the Examiner in his Final Report. A copy of the Final Neighbourhood Plan incorporating the Examiner’s Recommendations is shown below for your information.

The Wivelsfield Neighbourhood Plan will now proceed to Referendum

The examiner who conducted the examination into the Wivelsfield Neighbourhood Plan held a hearing at 10am on 9 May 2016 at the Church Hall, Wivelsfield. The Examiner wished clarification on several subjects where objections or comments had been made under the Consultation Period

The hearing was an open meeting for all to attend, although participation was limited to those who had specifically been invited to attend by the examiner.

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Election Result

The Referendum for the Wivelsfield Neighbourhood Plan took place on Thursday 27th October 2016. A decisive result in support of the Neighbourhood Plan was delivered.

Effective Electorate ………………………………1,709
Votes cast at the Polling Station………….........…..407
Postal Votes Submitted……………………..………171
Total Votes…………………………………………...578
Turnout………………………………………………34%

“YES” Votes cast………………………555
“NO” Votes cast………………………...23
Yes Vote Majority…………………...... .96%

The Neighbourhood Plan will now go to the LDC Cabinet Meeting on 16th November where it will hopefully be recommended to proceed to the Full Council Meeting on 7th December where it should be formally adopted by LDC.

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