Hackleton Parish Council Neighbourhood Development Plan
Meeting: 5th March 2018
Present: Roy Hawkesford and Maz Woolley
Maz contacted me to arrange a meeting in which we could explore issues arising from the Steering Group meeting with Michael Wellock last week. We were in agreement that we needed greater clarity and focus. Subsequently, he sent me a (very helpful!) document to form the basis of our discussion. We agreed that we would circulate the fruits of our deliberation to the group and hope to come up with concrete ideas for the meeting on the 19th.
There were several items on the list, all of which we discussed, but the overriding concern was what will we present to the community and how will we do it. Unless we have at least considered all aspects of what the NP can (and can’t) achieve, we would feel inadequately prepared.
Maz’s list consisted of the following headings:
What is the end plan to look like? (Will it reflect our local view? How do our tasks fit into it?)
Traffic (How it will impact on planning applications, parking, etc.)
Wildlife corridor (We need someone with appropriate knowledge to do this on a map)
Preservation (How do the non-listed buildings fit in? Why are they relevant to us?)
Views and groupings (What photographic evidence do we need – and who will do this?)
Village separation and green wedges (On-going, important work, but we need to agree wedges and green spaces and put them on a map.)
Additional housing units (What kind of housing? Within village confines? If so, where? Need for a survey?)
Agriculture and associated use development (As we are a very rural parish, should we make more of this in the plan?)
Tightening Up (We have a need to define what is to be delivered, who will do it, and by when. To be clear and recorded in notes from the meetings.)
Explaining what a plan can do to the public and getting Feedback (See below)
Communication with the community
We have to take a step back from where we, the steering group, are in order to seek the views, opinions and needs of people in the parish before firming up our thoughts. We don’t want it to appear like a done deal; at the same time we don’t want to come across as having no ideas!
So, what do we need to do? Clearly this is the purpose of the meeting on the 19th, but it will help if we have something to develop.
- We will communicate in three ways: through a leaflet, at public gatherings and through the website (social media).
- We have to agree the content of the leaflet such that it will get people to come to the meeting, provide information and invite responses.
- This will include What is a Neighbourhood Plan and why do we need one? It will contain a summary of the public responses to the questionnaire sent out in 2011 as part of the Local Plan. It will ask if those findings are still ok or if they need updating. We will mention areas that the NP will cover – housing needs, the environment, etc. (We can base this on the policy areas of the NP itself). It will state when and where the public will be able to attend the presentations and have their say.
- This will require professional lay-out and printing
- Distribution
- We also have to consider the public presentations – what we will present and how we will do it? We presume there will be maps showing the parish boundary, village confines, possible wedges and green/open spaces, a wildlife corridor. What we won’t put on a map are sites for new housing – the reason being that, at this stage, we do not know what the demand is. Photographs of views and styles of building, etc. A computer linked to a screen for slide presentation, etc.
- At the meetings we should capture responses in an orderly way and ask for help in areas where we do not currently have sufficient expertise, such as wildlife and conservation. (We have had the experience of having had a small-scale presentation at the Horton Cricket Club, which will help.)
- Tasks to achieve all of the above will be set, at the meeting on the 19th
- Dates and locations for the public meetings will have to be arranged before we can complete the leaflet.
Please get back to me (chair@hackletonparishcouncil.gov.uk) if I’ve missed anything out.
I will try to put material together for the leaflet and circulate it before the meeting. This will not be the definitive job, but literally a collection of documents already produced – for instance, my initial presentation last Easter. I will also try to summarise what was produced for the Local Plan in 2011.
Finally, Maz and I are aware that we probably have more time to devote to this than most of you, but that should not in any way exclude you. On the contrary, if you feel you have the time to meet up with me and/or Maz before the 19th, just let me know.
Roy Hawkesford
5th March 2018