Update to Buxton with Lamas Parish Council – July 12th 2021
1 Since the last formal update to BWLPC the following has taken place:
- Revisions to wording within the draft Neighbourhood Plan have been made on the advice of Planning staff at Broadland District Council. This was chiefly to make language less ambiguous and to ensure proposals were in lockstep with existing district planning policy (a requirement of the Neighbourhood Plan)
- A considerable amount of work has been undertaken to assess the extent of green space within the parish and note the individual attributes of each space and their benefit to the wider parish. Much of this green space is privately owned but it remains in one form or another an important aspect of where we live.
- Further considerable work has been undertaken to examine flooding issues which particularly affect Buxton and Lammas , with an aim to propose support for nature-based solutions. This should lead to proposals within the Neighbourhood Plan for conditions upon development which will not exacerbate flood risk.
- The character of the built environment throughout the four villages of the parish has been assessed, following several ‘walk-through’ days held by members of the steering group. These descriptions are intended to guide development (for example, that it should be sympathetic to and not detrimental to the existing character of a local area within a village).
- Data tables, graphs and maps have been produced and photos have been collated, so that evidence for proposals and policies can be easily understood by anyone reading the document. We want it to be accessible for all.
- The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group met on Monday June 28th to consider progress. It will reconvene on Monday 26th July to continue the finessing of the Plan and its wording. The group agreed to progress with the appointment of a Consultant to lead us towards conclusion, subject to agreement and participation of the Parish Council.
2 Next steps:
- Appointment of a Consultant whose task will be to review our work to date, identify gaps and help fill them; to undertake statutory assessments regarding habitat and environmental impact (should full assessment be required, it is proposed we ask the national body, Locality, to provide the resources for these). The Consultant would be paid using money from Locality and from Broadland District Council.
- A possible further engagement exercise with residents in the parish to gather evidence and opinions on outstanding issues (to include housing needs and green space issues).
- Formal consultation with statutory bodies such as the Environment Agency and Norfolk County Council.
- Final consultation with residents of the parish.
- Submission of the Plan for assessment to a Planning Examiner.
The Steering Group stresses that there is still much work to do before our Neighbourhood Plan will be finished but we have made great strides. It is the wish of the Steering Group that the steps identified above can commence by early autumn. It would be unwise to predict when the Plan might be finished as there are so many variables but early 2022 should be a reasonable target to aim for.
3 Appointment of a Consultant