Windlesham Neighbourhood Plan

Published: 17 April 2019

Introduced under the Localism Act in 2011, neighbourhood planning enables communities to play a much stronger role in shaping the areas in which they live and work and in supporting new development proposals. It provides the opportunity for communities to set out a positive vision for how they want their community/Neighbourhood Plan area to develop over a period of time. An adopted plan can give greater control of the spatial development of your community including (if it is so wished) where development occurs and the type/style of development. An adopted plan carries legal weight and becomes part of the statutory planning process. A further benefit is the increase in Community Infrastructure Levy that becomes payable.

In 2014, the Parish Council voted to start the Neighbourhood Plan process for Windlesham. Willing volunteers (Windlesham residents) put themselves forward to form a Steering Group and over the last 5 years a huge amount of work has been undertaken to produce a Neighbourhood Plan. There is a strict process to follow – including a record of all consultation that has taken place – this report formed part of a number of documents that have to be submitted alongside a Neighbourhood Plan for independent examination. The consultation statement can be found here: https://www.surreyheath.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/residents/planning/planning-policy/wnpconsultstatement.pdf

The plan has been through two independent “health-check” processes prior to examination and the independent examiner found it entirely fit to proceed to referendum. The examination looks not only at the plan document but also the process that has been followed to produce the plan.

The referendum question posed is the standard question in relation to Neighbourhood Plans – and a majority vote will mean it is adopted into the legal planning framework and must be taken into account by all planning applicants in the Plan area. If the plan fails to achieve a majority vote, then planning applications in the neighbourhood plan area will simply carry on in the current fashion and need only regard the current planning framework ie. Surrey Heath and the National Planning Policy Framework.

The Windlesham Neighbourhood Plan does not identify specific development sites – but did investigate potential brownfield sites as part of the research into the Plan.  In conduction their research, the Steering group concluded that the likelihood of brownfield sites becoming available was limited and due to the requirement for costly additional assessments of any sites that are named in a Neighbourhood Plan, the decision was taken not to specify any potential development sites. The mention of brownfield sites is in no way binding or giving a “green light” for development.

All the relevant documents can be found on the Parish Council website - www.windleshampc.gov.uk/Neighbourhood_Plan_24422.aspx  Surrey Heath website - www.surreyheath.gov.uk/residents/planning/planning-policy/neighbourhood-planning/windlesham-neighbourhood-plan and the Neighbourhood Plan website - www.windleshamplan.co.uk

Hard copies can also be accessed as below:

Surrey Heath Borough Council, Surrey Heath House, Knoll Road, Camberley, GU15 3HD (8.30am to 5:00pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am to 4.30pm Friday);

Windlesham Parish Council, The Council Offices, The Avenue, Lightwater, Surrey, GU18 5RG (9.00am to 4:00pm Monday to Thursday and 9.00am to 2.00pm Friday);

Hillview Post Office, 2 Chertsey Road, Windlesham, GU20 6ET (6:00am to 7.30pm Monday to Saturday and 6.00am to 12:00pm Sunday);

Lightwater Library, 83a Guildford Road, Lightwater, GU18 (10:00am to 1:00pm and 2:00pm to 5:00pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and 10:00am to 1:00pm Saturday).