Present: Tim Curtis (Chair), Karen Laurence, Tony Shaw, Thea Charmley, Rosemary Roth, Ron Colman, John Nield, Rachel Hogger (Modicum Consulting)
Apologies: Vereen Mercer.
- Presentation of content for forthcoming engagement events.
There will be two community conversation events: Buxton Village Hall on Saturday 18th June from 10 am to 1 pm and Lammas Village Hall on Saturday 25th June from 10 am to 1 pm, plus all material and an electronic survey on our website.
Each event will be split up into a series of zones:
- Welcome/ Framework / Summary of what we have proposed so far
- Green space protection
- Proposed protected and iconic views
- Sustainability
- Non designated Heritage Assets
- Lammas Business Centre
Tim and Karen ran through the proposed content, and amendments were made following comments and challenges by members of the steering group, including:
- Thea noted that her planning permission was a development outside the development zone which may have an implication for what we are trying to achieve strategically.
- John asked that noise pollution should be included as a question in the sustainability zone.
- The question of what we mean by protecting views was raised. Rachel and Karen explained that if a planning application for development was made, the importance of those views would need to be taken into account. If a parcel of land has a protected view it should not constrain the landowner from managing their property as before – it is simply a tool to help manage building development.
Staffing of the events:
Buxton – John/Tony/Rosemary/Vereen/Karen/Laura/Tim
Lammas – Tony/Thea/possibly John/Karen/Laura/Tim
Fliers have been printed and will be distributed along with The Round. We shall also use existing social media channels to promote the events.
- Next Steps
Rachel introduced her ‘next steps’ document setting out the timescale for our Neighbourhood Plan to being Made. This would be in July 2023. The Next Steps document is attached at the end of these minutes.
Rachel emphasised the importance of the NP steering group meeting regularly (fortnightly) in the autumn of 2022 to review and respond to comments made during the Regulation 14 consultation period, when members of the community and stakeholders/organisations may ask for modifications to the draft plan.
- Design Code
We have been awarded further £5,651.00 funding by Locality to pay for NP development costs. This brings our total award from Locality up to the maximum of £10,000.
We have also applied for Technical Support to produce a Design Code which would be separate to our NP but would be linked to it and become an important planning tool. This would be a careful character assessment of our parish and contain proposals for good spatial and building design, to help us achieve our key objective of ensuring our village identities are preserved and enhanced. Good design could cover anything from the look for buildings in one street to issues of sustainability and parking.
A kick off meeting was planned for 3.30pm Friday May 20th.
Tony, Thea, Karen, Laura and Tim will join the kick-off meeting hosted by AECOM, the company which would be commissioned to produce our Design Code.
Close of meeting.
Buxton with Lamas Neighbourhood Plan – next steps
A note on this engagement and what comes next
why are we engaging with residents and stakeholders on our emerging proposals and ideas for the Buxton with Lamas Neighbourhood plan?
1. The NP group is undertaking community and stakeholder engagement prior to publishing the Regulation 14 version of the plan, due later this summer. The Regulation 14 version of the plan will be drafted in the coming months and will be informed by community feedback at this engagement stage as well as the design code document due to be drafted by AECOM. The Regulation 14 stage of plan making is a statutory consultation stage. At this stage the plan should not include options but instead an advanced set of planning policies.
2. The purpose of this engagement is to help the NP group get the best possible plan prepared. We are checking-in with residents and other stakeholders regarding the overall vision for the neighbourhood plan, the plan objectives and emerging policy approaches.
3. Following the statutory consultation on the plan later this summer, we will update the plan in light of feedback and prepare a submission version of the plan. At that stage, the plan will be submitted to Broadland District Council who will publish the document for a further round of engagement and appoint an independent examiner.
4. Subject to a successful examination, Broadland District Council will organise a parish-wide referendum where residents will be given an opportunity to support or oppose the plan. Subject to a successful referendum, the plan will then be adopted and become part of the statutory development plan for our parish. This means that the neighbourhood plan must be used to help Broadland District Council decide planning applications in our parish.
5. A summary of the next tasks in the neighbourhood plan journey is provided here. A more detailed schedule of tasks and proposed timings is provided overleaf.
| Milestone in the NP journey | Approximate timings |
| Mid-way community engagement | June to July 2022 |
| Regulation 14 consultation (lead by Buxton with Lamas Parish Council) | September and October 2022 |
| Submission to Broadland District Council | March 2023 |
| Publication (a further engagement led by Broadland District Council) | April 2023 |
| Examination | June and July 2023 |
| Referendum | Tbc |