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published plan are therefore no longer current, and all sites will be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.
Chair,
Neighbourhood Planning Committee Chair, Slaugham Parish
Council
