Update November 2014

The latest meeting took place on 6^th November, after having to be postponed from the planned date of 3/11/14, and was attended by 11 committee members.  There were also 11 members of the public present.   A new vice chair was appointed and a 4^th member from Pease Pottage was co-opted to the committee.  Due to one member having to step down, there is now one VACANCY for a member from HANDCROSS.

Work has actively been ongoing regarding the Scoping Report for the SustainabilityAppraisal, which will soon be passed to MSDC for their input. It was discussed, and is recognised, how important it is for the Parish to ‘push on’ with the process, in order to get our NH Plan ‘made’.  Without a NH Plan in place, there is very little defence against development in the Parish, as the recent Pease Pottage Golf Range appeal has shown – the appeal has been allowed and now 95 houses are due to be built on that site.

To register for news emails regarding the Neighbourhood Plan, go to the Slaugham Parish Council Website's home page (www.slaughampc.co.uk), click on the green 'Subscriptions Services' button.
You are then presented with three options, the page will display two blue buttons and at the bottom of the page a form to enter your name and email address. Then select the appropriate blue button and on the page presented to you enter your name and email details in the form which asks for the same information as previously noted.

The date for the last meeting of 2014, which is held at The Pavillion, Handcross at 7:30pm is 1^st December.  Members of the public are always welcome to attend.

    

Debra Logan Neighbourhood Planning Committee

Sue Hance Chair, Slaugham Parish Council

Update October 2014

The NP Committee met on 29th Sept to go through an update of the work that is being carried out regarding the Sustainability Appraisal, as well as the Vision and Objectives for the Slaugham Neighbourhood Plan.  It is important that the views of the Parish lead this and so careful work has been done to ensure that the comments that were collected at the start of the previous plan have been used as the basis of the documents. 

A discussion took place regarding the exhibitions which took place on 5^th and 6^th Sept run by The Hyde regarding a proposal they brought forward to increase the size of recreation land by using land at Warren Cottage Field in Handcross.  Both dates were attended by SPC Councillors to listen to the comments.  Overall it was commented that there seemed to be a lack of ‘younger’ people giving their views.

As mentioned previously, In order to improve communication, there is now a link to the Neighbourhood Plan information from the Slaugham Parish Council website – so take a look at www.slaughampc.co.uk and follow the link.

The dates for the next 2 meetings, which are held at The Pavillion, Handcross at 7:30pm are 3^rd November and 1^st December.  Members of the public are always welcome to attend.

    

Debra Logan Neighbourhood Planning Committee

Sue Hance Chair, Slaugham Parish Council

Update September 2014

In order to improve communication, there is now a link to the Neighbourhood Plan information from the Slaugham Parish Council website – so take a look at www.slaughampc.co.uk and follow the link.

The September meeting of the NP Committee took place on 1/9/14 and was attended by 10 members. The members have been actively discussing and planning writing the Vision and Objectives for the NP, as well as undertaking research into the Sustainability Appraisal.

There has been an option brought forward by The Hyde to increase the size of recreation land by using land at Warren Cottage Field in Handcross. The Hyde opted to hold 2 exhibitions for the Parish (5^th & 6^th Sept) to view this option. Councillors were present at both exhibitions to listen to the views being expressed. The website for the proposal is www.warrencottagefields.co.uk

The dates for the next 2 meetings, which are held at The Pavillion, Handcross at 7:30pm are 29^th September and 3^rd November.  Members of the public are always welcome to attend.

    

Debra Logan Neighbourhood Planning Committee

Sue Hance Chair, Slaugham Parish Council

Update August 2014

In 2012/2013, Slaugham Parish Council (SPC) produced a Neighbourhood plan (NHP) for the four villages comprising the Parish (Handcross, Pease Pottage, Slaugham and Warninglid).  The Plan, although described by the Independent Examiner in September 2013 to be “a good example of positive planning”, did not meet all the requirements of EU legislation and needed further work.

Whilst this was a setback, the Parish needs a Neighbourhood plan to control development.  SPC has therefore taken advice from the District Council and the Department of Communities and Local Government, and debated the issue at a public meeting.  This has resulted in a decision that work should begin again.  The NHP Committee has therefore been tasked to produce that NHP, take it to Examination and a referendum of the Parish.

A new Committee has been formed with a new Chairman (Debra Logan), and revised terms of reference.  To make it more representative of the Parish population it now has 6 members from Handcross, 4 from Pease Pottage and 2 each from Warninglid and Slaugham. 

Currently all of the parishes in Mid Sussex are working on NHPs   and to assist Parishes with these Mid Sussex has appointed a Neighbourhood Planning Officer. The current advice from MSDC is that all Parishes within MSDC need an NHP in place as soon as possible as  MSDC will not be able to demonstrate an overall five year land supply until their new District Plan is in place (mid 2015 at the earliest).  As a result without a NHP our Parish remains vulnerable to any development. 

All planning applications that have been approved for the Parish, including the Hyde/Hallam proposal in Handcross and the Redrow development at Pease Pottage, will figure in the plan.  All previous proposals for sites in the published plan are therefore no longer current, and all sites will be re-examined.

The aim of the plan is to set a development strategy for housing, tackle important environmental, social and economic issues, traffic calming, preservation of green space and the countryside, provision of necessary facilities including a replacement for the Parish Hall etc. for the whole Parish    Just because any proposed development is not in your back yard does not mean it will not affect you. 

Public consultations on the revised plan will take place later this year and early next year. The committee meets regularly on the first Monday of each month in the Handcross Pavilion, at 7.30pm. All residents are welcome to attend.  You will soon see banners advertising the NHP, and all relevant information will be posted on the SPC website (www.slaughampc.co.uk).  Regular updates on progress will appear in the Parish Magazine.

The NHP will affect us all and you have an opportunity to be involved and make your voices heard.

Unless you make your wants and needs known, that cannot happen.  So please help us create the plan that you, the residents of the parish, want.

Debra Logan                                                                   Sue Hance

Chair, Neighbourhood Planning Committee                   Chair, Slaugham Parish Council