At a Parish Meeting held last year, your parish council unanimously agreed to apply to Newark and Sherwood District Council for the establishment of a Neighbourhood Development Area in order to facilitate a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP). This is considered the best way forward to provide for the future needs of the parish and its three villages of Kneesall, Kersall and Ompton.
It has now been confirmed that we may proceed to establish a NDP for our parish.
This document is primarily for information to explain what the NDP is and what will be happening with its development. The most important point is that it is your plan. It is open to everyone to have an input that helps to determine the sort of area we want to live in.
It will form part of the statutory development plan for the area. This statutory status gives Neighbourhood Plans far more weight than some other local documents, such as parish plans, community plans and village design statements.
What is a Neighbourhood Plan?
It is a community led framework for guiding the future development, regeneration and conservation of an area.
Its prime purpose is to help achieve sustainable development and to guide rather than prevent it. The plan may influence the type, design, location and mix of any development. It also gives protection to features valued by the community such as the villages green spaces.
It may contain a vision, aims, planning policies, proposals for improving the area or providing new facilities or allocation of key sites for specific kinds of development.
It may also deal with a wide range of social, economic and environmental issues. It could be detailed and set out the general principles for development or it may focus on one or two issues.
The Neighbourhood Plan may also identify key sites for specific kinds of development, such as housing, retail, employment or mixed use.
How will the Neighbourhood Plan progress?
A small sub committee of parish councillors has been set up to progress the plan. This consists of:
- Liz Fidler
- Brian Allebon
- Peter Davies
- Alan Corlett
The role of the NDP committee will primarily be to determine what goes into the plan and to prepare a draft proposal.
Once that has been done, it will be published, so that residents can see what has been included.
However, the plan will be yours to approve and it will not be introduced without that approval. It will therefore be beneficial if residents would let us know what you would like us to include in the Plan.
There are many issues that need to be considered. We would welcome your comments and suggestions so that your idea and any concerns can be incorporated in the plan.
The sub committee will then prepare a proposed NDP and submit it via the Parish Council to the local planning authority, which will check that proper procedures have been followed in its preparation. It also ensures that any necessary assessments accompany the plan.
Following a period of publicity, the local planning authority will arrange for an independent examination and organize a public referendum, subject to the plan meeting legal requirements.
How can you have an input?
Very simply, we need as much comment as possible so that your views and opinions can be considered.
Most of the above information has been distributed to all known community leaders within the parish, so you may have already been made aware of what is happening. Now that approval has been granted, it is time for the NDP to be progressed.
Please make your views or suggestions to any parish councillor so that we can consider them.
Many thanks
Alan Corlett – on behalf of the NDP sub committee.