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).