Neighbourhood Plan
What’s next? | What is it? | Why do we need it? | Aims, Vision and Objectives | The process | What’s been done so far? | Drop-In Day June 2018 | Drop-in Day July 2020 | Policies | Meeting Dates & Documents | Get involved & Comment | Closed- Household Survey – 2021 | Contacts
What’s Next?
Walsham le Willows Neighbourhood Plan Group – The work continues
Following two very successful drop-in days where the views of individual parishioners were collected, the Neighbourhood Plan Group have published the results of the Household Survey. Thank you to all who took part.
The group continue to meet regularly, either face to face to or by Zoom, and with consultants (Andrea Long of CompassPoint Planning working with Rachel Leggett & Associates) where appropriate. Key milestones against the timetable are being met.
Walsham le Willows has met its housing allocation, as set out in the Mid- Suffolk Local Plan, of 90 new houses as a result of the two current developments being undertaken on Wattisfield Road and 8 other individual planning permissions granted. This does not preclude further development but having fulfilled the currently required housing allocation, an adopted neighbourhood plan will put the parish in a stronger position to have influence over further development in Walsham le Willows. See also BMSDC Land Supply Position Statements November 2021
A data profile (pretty much everything anyone would want to know about our Parish) is largely complete and the first draft, once reviewed, will be published here. Character appraisals of different areas of the village are a,ost completed thanks to a lot of hard work by Sally Johnston. These will form the basis of work on a Design Code. Publicly funded technical support has been accessed (through the Parish Council) and initial meetings with an external body (AECOM) have taken place and a site meeting is due to be held. The group will continue to work with AECOM and the Consultants on the development of a Design Code and a Housing Needs Assessment.
Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group – January 2022
What is it?
Our Neighbourhood Plan will help determine how the parish of Walsham le Willows develops to meet the needs of present and future generations. It will give the parish some influence over the type and design of the housing that is built and crucially, where it is built to best serve the needs of parishioners whilst also preserving the character of the village as much as possible.
It is a detailed plan about what matters most to the people of the parish of Walsham le Willows and sits alongside the Local Plan that is developed by the District Council which in turn sits alongside national planning policies as set by the government of the day.
Once accepted by the planning authority and the independent examiner, any modifications required are made and the plan is then put to the people of the parish in a referendum, and if passed, is then adopted by the District Council planning authority. Once adopted it has to be taken into account by the planning authorities when considering planning applications affecting the parish.
Why do we need it?
The biggest planning issue raised by most people in Walsham le Willows was concern about inappropriate development and over development.
This concern has been very well illustrated by the development of a 66 home housing estate currenty in progress outside the village envelope at the top of Wattisfield Road. Planners granted permission despite vehement Parish Council and local objections and in the face of strong evidence from traffic surveys demonstrating the location’s unsuitability for development at this scale. Because the District Council had failed to adopt an updated Local Plan and in the absence of an adopted neighbourhood plan for Walsham le Willows, the planning authority was vulnerable to pressure from central government and developers seeking to have applications for planning permission granted.
The good news however, is that the Wattisfield Road development along with the smaller one for 22 houses opposite it and yet to be started (Broadmeadow), have been included as contributing towards the current housing requirement in the Local Plan for Walsham as a core village. The remaining requirement for 8 units has since been more than fulfilled by individual builds that have been granted planing permission.
The adoption of the revised Local Plan was further delayed due to Coronavirus as well as other issues but is soon due to be adopted by the local authority (Mid-Suffolk District Council). Local plans are revised every five years and with each revision it is possible that more housing could be required by the local authority. This makes a Neighbourhood Plan an urgent priority so that the people in Walsham can influence and manage any future growth requirement to the long term benefit of the village.
Aims, Vision and Objectives
A Neighbourhood Plan strengthens our community voice in the planning process.
Draft Aims
By undertaking a Neighbourhood Plan, the steering group aim to:
- Enable residents to influence and shape new development
- Establish what is special about Walsham le Willows
- Allow the village and surrounding area to develop sensitively, in terms of design, character, heritage, amenities, and enhance wildlife and the environment
- Identify community needs for the use of developer contributions and other possible funds
Draft Vision to 2037 (15 years)
Walsham le Willows will continue to be a well-loved, historic Suffolk parish with a unique character and identity.
The natural environment, biodiversity and heritage will be enhanced and protected. Future development will be environmentally sustainable, well designed, and suitably located, integrated, and connected. The Parish will have a range of housing types and tenures to suit all ages and incomes, supported by appropriate infrastructure.
The area will continue to be a desirable place for current and future generations.
Objectives
September 2021
The Process
Community engagement is an essential part of the process.
What’s Been Done So Far?
The objectives of the Walsham Neighbourhood Plan were based on themes proposed by group members, refined and widely endorsed by the community at the first drop-in day held 27th June 2018. With assistance from consultants, these have now been refined into aims, vision and objectives.
The the group is currently working on:
- Policies to address the concerns raised by parishioners
- Character appraisals to inform a Design Code
- A Housing Needs Assessment.
- A Household Survey
Household Survey – 2021
The Neighbourhood Plan Household Survey has results are in.
The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group and the Parish Council would like to thank all who took the time to complete the survey. These responses will be enormously helpful.
A special thanks goes to Walsham le Willows Primary School children and teachers for their contributions to the under 18s section.
Good progress is being made
Policies
The Steering Group, facilitated by our consultants (Andrea Long of CompassPoint Planning working with Rachel Leggett & Associates) and with ongoing community engagement, will produce the policies which will be part of the Walsham le Willows Neighbourhood Plan.
Once the group has drafted policies based on their work so far, the policies will be published here prior to a statutory six week consultation on the final proposed plan following which it will be submitted (with any amendments arising from consultation) to the local planning authority (MSDC). MSDC will publicise the plan for a period of six weeks before submitting it for independent examination.
Further modifications may proposed and made before submitting the plan to a local referendum of the people of the parish of Walsham le Willows. The outcome of the the referendum willthen hopefully lead to adoption of the plan by MSDC as part of their planning policy for the parish of Walsham le Willows.
| # | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|
These policies are being worked up now.
Meeting Dates & Documents
From September 2021 the Steering Group are working with consultants engaged by the Parish Council as a ‘qualifying body’ that can access funding for this purpose.
The group will meet monthly, working to a timetable set by the consultants to the end of the current financial year. Meetings will take place either face to face or and sometimes by Zoom on the first Wednesday of each month (this will be noted at the end of the minutes of each meeting). Extra meetings may be added where needed.
The steering group includes two Parish Councillors and the group will report back to the Parish Council on a monthly basis.
Documents, meeting notes, resources are listed below as work on the plan proceeds. Find future meeting dates and an idea of what is going to be discussed and when (although all subject to change). NB the search box here returns results based on document titles and dates, not content. To search the whole site, including this content use the search box on the homepage.
| Index | Date | Document / Planned Discussion |
|---|---|---|
| 46 | December 2nd 2021 | Draft Minutes |
| 45 | November 5th | Babergh & Mid_Suffolk Land Supply Statements The MSDC position is that they have a 9.54 year supply - they are required to have 5 as a minimum. This along with the fuflilled housing allocation for Walsham takes off the pressure for more development and gives time to get a neighbourhood plan adopted that will then allow the village to have more control over future developemt in terms of location, density and design. |
| 44 | November 4th 2021 | Draft Minutes |
| 43 | October 7th 2021 | Minutes |
| 42 | September 14th 2021 | Sally, Ian, Gordon Alison's Walks Walk Your Way Around The Parish - Introduction Hartshall Lane The Nether Regions Wind in the Willows |
| 41 | September 13th 2021 | Minutes Draft Aims and Vision Statements Outline Proposal & Timetable Project Plan Skills Audit Template Download-Report to Parish Council Template Declaration of Interests Form Communications Plan |
| 40 | July 14th 2021 | Parish Council appoint consultants to work with Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group: Andrea Long of compasspoint planning workiing in partnership with Rachel Legget and Associates |
| 39 | March 4th - May 13th 2021 | Various agendas, minutes extracted from emails |
| 38 | January 21st 2021 | Draft Agenda |
| 37 | January 7th 2021 | Meeting cancelled due to the impact of family committments of lockdown. Local Plan Online Meeting - notes by Suzi Martineau |
| 36 | November 26th & December 10th 2020 | Both these meetings were cancelled the latter due to technical issues. |
| 35 | November 12th 2020 | Minutes |
| 34 | October 29th 2020 | Cancelled |
| 33 | October 15th 2020 | Minutes |
| 32 | September 17th 2020 | Memorial Hall 7pm | Notes from meeting Due to Covid restrictions places are limited to 15 but this is an opportunity for anyone who was involved prior to Covid to find out what the core group have been doing over lockdown and to hear about the latest twists and turns in thinking, both the group’s and the government’s. Outline agenda • Feedback from housing consultation event • Update on incoming changes in planning law and neighbourhood plans • What we need to do going forwards |
| 31 | September 3rd 2020 | Agenda - First sift of sites and process for future development to be agreed beginning with the suggestions which emerged from exhibition day on 23rd. Opportunity to get ahead of the game as the government has indicated a desire for a more truncated approach to Neighbourhood Planning. To focus on development and agreeing a way ahead. |
| 30 | 13th August 2020 | Core group Meeting 7pm | Notes | discussion was about the first proposals coming out of the consultation day plus the implications of the new planning proposals from Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick Due to increasing work commitments and the fact that more progress has made during lockdown than previously the group agreed to a fortnightly format to keep momentum. |
| 29 | 8th August 2020 | Walsham Neighbourhood Plan makes the Bury Free Press |
| 28 | July 30th 2020 | Core group Meeting 5.30pm | Notes | reflection on outcomes of exhibition day and to formulate plans for next steps |
| 27 | July 23rd 2020 | An open air (barn door open), socially distanced, exhibition day to engage the community on the housing proposal for the plan. The large master plan for sites location worked extremely well and has revealed some useful leads as well as some patterns about where and where not people want to see development happen. Focus now on housing policies and planning the next drop in day for Environment (possibly Sept 10th In Church Farm Barn) Documents will be added to this timeline soon. |
| 26 | July 8th 2020 | Core group Meeting - planning and preparation for exhibition day |
| 25 | July 1st 2020 | Core group Meeting - planning and preparation for exhibition day |
| 24 | June 25th 2020 | Core group Meeting - planning and preparation for exhibition day |
| 23 | June 18th 2020 | Meeting Notes Housing Needs Survey - 2015 |
| 22 | June 11th 2020 | Meeting notes |
| 21 | June 4th 2020 | Meeting notes |
| 20 | March 12th 2020 | Notes from Meeting |
| 19 | February 13th 2020 | Notes from Meeting |
| 18 | August 5th 2019 | Draft Local Plan - Notice of Consultation View the consultation document online, and to submit your comments Drop in Session dates and Submit your Comments |
| 17 | July 11th 2019 | Historical development of the village ‘in a nutshell’ Housing update |
| 16 | 6th June 2019 | To look at some likely potential (preferred and reserved) sites for discussion |
| 15 | 2nd May 2019 | Minutes |
| 14 | 28th February 2019 | Agenda |
| 13 | 25th February 2019 | Community Infrastructure Levy and how to access it. Includes the the link to the publicly available developer contributions database so you can see what is available. |
| 12 | 24th February 2019 | Steps towards adoption of a Neighbourhood Plan Neighbourhood Plan Website |
| 11 | 22nd February 2019 | Draft Masterplan for proposed development of Shepherd's Grove site, Stanton More information can be found at: http://www.shepherdsgrovestanton-masterplan.co.uk |
| 10 | 27th January 2019 | BMSDC Draft Housing Land Supply Position Statement & Consultation timelines |
| 9 | 29th November 2018 | Notes from Meeting |
| 8 | 4th October 2018 | Minutes |
| 7 | 31 July 2018 | WleW NP Area Designation Notice Plan Boundary |
| 6 | 26th July 2018 | Minutes |
| 5 | 27th June 2018 | News item 'all day' drop in session - Plan Boundary Views collected on proposed strands of the Neighbourhood Plan... Design | Environment | Flood Risk | Green Issues | Heritage | Housing | Jobs & Shops | | School & Early YearsSports & Lesiure | Traffic | Transport | Anything Else |
| 4 | 31 May 2018 | Minutes |
| 3 | 25th April 2018 | Minutes |
| 2 | 28th March 2018 | Minutes |
| 1 | 27th February 2018 | Draft Mission Statement |
You can also leave your comments the Walsham le Willows Facebook Forum .
Get Involved & Comment
Contacts
This table shows group members and current areas of interest. These people may be taking an area forward at the moment but this will evolve as the plan progresses. The role of scribe for noting action points from each meeting will be taken on a rotating basis by all members.| Members and areas of interest with contact details where available |
|---|
| Jimmy Bailey Mapping & Strategy |
| Maggie Barber Local Information |
| Richard Belson Parish Councillor |
| Ian Campbell Sports & Leisure |
| Sally Johnston Design |
| Phil Newby Chair Housing |
| Alison Martin Housing |
| Nick Mecrow Parish Councillor |
| Gordon Murray |
| Suzi Steer Environment |
