Arne's Neighbourhood Plan passes its Examination

The Examiner's report on Arne's Neighbourhood Plan has now been published.  The Examiner, Jill Kingaby, carefully considered the changing policy background, with the Purbeck Local Plan's own small site policy having been amended as part of that Local Plan's examination, and yet to be adopted.

The draft Neighbourhood Plan had included a housing target of 3 and 4 new dwellings per annum (ie 48 - 64 dwellings).  The Inspector did consider raising this to 4 - 5 dwellings (which was more in line with the 'strategy off' housing need based on the latest housing projections) but on closer examination agreed that the upper end of this range could be potentially unsustainable in such an environmentally sensitive place.  Her solution was to use 4 dwellings per annum (64 dwellings) as a minimum, but agreed with the Parish Council that, because of the highly constrained nature of the parish, this need not be made policy and would simply be contained in the supporting text.

The Plan (as modified) can now proceed to referendum - at the current time this will be just over a year away (May 2021) unless the Government revise its regulations in light of progress in the Covid-19 fight.  However, the Plan should be given significant weight in planning decisions during the interim period.

Government update on Neighbourhood Plans and the current Covid19 restrictions

Update to the National Planning Policy Guidance confirms that examined plans who will now wait til May 2021 for their referendum can be given significant weight in decision-making.  The legislation could change to bring the date forward if this is possible and appropriate - but who knows where we will be in a month or so.

No clear guidance yet on consultations during the lockdown, other than being aware of the current restrictions and social distancing requirements.  Wareham Town Council (who were half way through their Regulation 14 consultation) are one such group affected.  A couple of groups in Dorset are just starting their examinations having finished their Regulation 16 consultations just before the lockdown (Milton Abbas and Shaftesbury) - the gorups are waiting to see how these proceed or whether they too get delayed, which will be down to the appointed examiners. 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/neighbourhood-planning--2#covid-19.

And the results are in for Bridport

Bridport area's neighbourhood plan is now official. 87% of votes in support, and whilst the turnout was comparatively low (17%) that is not unusual for larger communities. Not helped by the weather! Congratulations to all involved.

What has been happening lately on the Neighbourhood Plan front?

About time I got everyone back up to speed on Neighbourhood Plan progress in the Dorset area... so what has happened since my last post?  Looking at the most recent first (and just concentrating on the plans I have been involved with):

Upper Marshwood Vale - big "yay" - passed its referendum on 13 February, 79 voting "yes" (25 "no") on what was a rainy day.  Turnout around 22%, so lower than the Dorset average, but perhaps not surprising given the weather and the very rural (and dispersed) nature of that area.  Big congratulations to all the team.

Bridport area (which I was involved in helping with in the early stages) passed its examination, so will be going to referendum next week.  This is a very good example where a number of Parish Councils have worked together - Allington, Bradpole, Bridport, Bothenhampton & Walditch and Symondsbury.  Certainly shows that joint working is possible, and I wonder if this is the biggest collaborative effort on Neighbourhood Planning yet?

Milton Abbas and Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plans were both submitted for their examinations in January, and Dorset Council are running the pre-examination consultations as I type.

Motcombe Neighbourhood Plan - was formally 'made' on 10 December following its successful referendum on 7 November.  This was a result of a lot of effort from a small but very determined Parish Council team - and not easy with the planning application pending on Shorts Green Farm (which could not have been allocated in the plan due to the flood risks associated with that site).

Puddletown and Chickerell Neighbourhood Plans - have been through their pre-submission consultation and we are busy analysing all the feedback

And keep an eye out for Wareham, who are about to go through their second pre-submission consultation, having withdrawn their plan (which was at examination) in order to make some changes as they no longer needed to revise the Green Belt boundary and have found enough brownfield sites to meet their identified housing need.

Lots of other activity too - Sutton Poyntz, Portland, Blandford plus news see https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildings-land/planning-policy/neighbourhood-plans-in-dorset.aspx.  And quite a few new areas being designated to start their journeys.  

Two more Neighbourhood Plans through

Milborne St Andrew and Broadwindsor Neighbourhood Plans went to the polls yesterday.  Summer holidays and drizzly weather and may have slightly dampened turnouts but still very respectable. 
Both plans passed with good majorities.

	electorate	turnout	YES	NO	In favour
Milborne St Andrew	894	34.7%	281	29	90.6%
Broadwindsor	1287	31.2%	301	100	75.1%

Final results in for the 2 May in Dorset - and Bere Regis

The new Dorset Council have a slim Conservative majority, with many of the towns being Lib Dem strongholds for this term.  If my maths is right the Conservatives party managed to get just over 39% of all the votes cast, and won 52% of the seats on the new Council.

A very different picture in the other major vote that took place on the 2 May, which was of course the Bere Regis Neighbourhood Plan referendum.  With 447 votes in favour of the Plan (92 votes against) this was a ringing endorsement made by 83% of those voting.  Congratulations to all those involved.

No resting on laurels

Couple of news items of interest in the planning journals this week...

It would seem that Friends of the Earth, who challenged the sustainability credentials of the NPPF in the High Court and failed (see my earlier blogs) are not going to lay down without a fight.  According to their Barrister, Nina Pindham, they have applied to leapfrog the appeal system to take their case straight to the Supreme Court.

Also a timely reminder for Neighbourhood Plan Groups, with Middlewich having the dubious honour of being the third plan to fail at referendum.   A modest turnout (just under 20%) and a very narrow margin. 

Reading between the lines, the main angst seems to have been about the level of development proposed in the adopted Local Plan and that the Neighbourhood Plan did not argue against it (not that they could), together with the lack of a bypass to cater with the proposed growth, which although mooted has no funding.  There were also political divisions over the plan, with one party campaigning against it.  Will the town have an appetite to have a second go?

Shout out today for two Neighbourhood Plans:

Sturminster Newton, where the Neighbourhood Plan referendum showed clear support for the plan (89% in favour) despite changes made by the Examiner to remove the 'reserve' status of two sites to allow them to come forward sooner - countering the point made by some developers that Neighbourhood Plans are a NIMBY's charter.  Interestingly the Examiner had deleted the Bull Tavern site (as the Local Planning Authority had objected to it on heritage grounds) but the Committee overturned the officer's recommendation to refuse permission, on the basis that the community benefits outweighed the heritage concerns.  It rather begs the question whether the Committee should have be more involved in responding to the Neighbourhood Plan consultations!

Holwell, whose plan was officially 'made' at Full Council this week.  But I am sure the volunteers will not rest for long - there is a certain Village Hall project that no doubt will take up the slack!

Double referendum

Nearly neighbours, Holwell and Hazelbury Bryan parishes both went to the polls last week for their respective Neighbourhood Plans.  Both plans tackled this issue of how much housing should be built and where it should go.

Despite the rather wintry conditions both had a good turnout of around 45% of the electorate, and a solid 'yes' vote (82% in Holwell and an impressive 92% in Hazelbury Bryan). 

Hazelbury Bryan in particular has been besieged by planning applications for housing outside the settlement boundary.  These have been vying for approval in the light of North Dorset's housing shortfall, trying to get in before the Neighbourhood Plan plugs the gap.  Just a week before the referendum an application for up to 35 dwellings had been recommended for approval, but members decided to go against their officer's advice to give great weight to the emerging plan.  The Neighbourhood Plan should now hopefully get the attention it deserves in future officer decisions.

Congratulations to both groups for all their work, which was clearly supported by local residents.

Pimperne votes YES

The results are in for yesterday's referendum on the Pimperne Neighbourhood Plan: 
   321 votes cast in favour,
   46 against. 
So I make that 87% in favour of the plan, with a very respectable (40%) turnout.

The plan allocates three sites for housing as well as a host of other policies to protect the historic and rural nature of the village and surrounding countryside.

Congratulations to all those involved in the plan's preparation.

Askerswell's polling day results announced

And another successful referendum result, this time for Askerswell in West Dorset. Certainly the smallest Neighbourhood Plan population in Dorset with a total electorate of 138, managed a 46% turnout and a sold 'yes' vote of 83%. Congratulations to the team there, whose plan now defines a settlement boundary for development purposes for the first time.

So much happening!

There has been a lot going on over the summer - so there are really no excuses for such a long blog drought.  I think the drought has been because I'm generally an up-beat optimist, and I was really disappointed in the NPPF's treatment of Neighbourhood Plans (the revisions could have been much more supportive of the localism concept and got rid of the prematurity loophole) - so I just couldn't bring myself to blog about that news! 

However last night's Neighbourhood Plan referendum result in Fontmell Magna is sufficient to turn things around and get me bouncing right back -

Turnout:    47.8%

Percentage in favour:   91.5%

This is a quite impressive result - in my experience only plans that avoid the whole question of allocating sites for development get over 90% approval rating.  The turnout is a really excellent too (higher than the other North Dorset Neighbourhood Plans).  And it certainly sets the benchmark for Pimperne in North Dorset, who will be next to the vote following their successful examination, although quite likely to be followed shortly by two more as the Examiners' reports are due any minute for Sturminster Newton and Hazelbury Bryan.

Well done to all the volunteers who put effort into the Fontmell Magna Neighbourhood Plan - a great result and here's hoping that it will be as influential as it should be in future planning decisions.

Lots of Local Plan activity around Dorset too - so that may well be my next blog post...

Over 90% support for Gillingham's Neighbourhood Plan

Big congratulations to the Gillingham, for the latest Neighbourhood Plan in Dorset to pass its referendum milestone.  It has taken a lot of commitment by the Neighbourhood Plan Group, who started as one of the front runners some 6 years ago.  I know the Neighbourhood Plan Group has put in considerable effort to prepare and consult on the plan, and also to ensure people were informed at this referendum stage - and I hope they are very proud of their achievement.

The votes were: 
Yes 1,919 (90.5%)
No 201 (9.5%)

This is a clear majority and means that the plan will go before North Dorset District Council on 27th July 2018 to agree the results of the referendum and agree to 'make' the plan part of the statutory development plan.    



Gillingham Neighbourhood Plan Group in action (2016)

Broadstone Neighbourhood Plan - 95% vote 'yes'

Broadstone Neighbourhood Plan Referendum results are now in – 31% turnout (with over 2,600 people voting) and a resounding ‘yes’ from 95% of the voters.  Congratulations to all involved!

Dorset Neighbourhood Plans - update

A few notable Neighbourhood Plan milestones achieved so far this month

• Piddle Valley Neighbourhood Plan's referendum took place yesterday (19 April) - the results have been declared with 75% in favour of the plan
• Gillingham's examination has now concluded, and the examiner's report has been published, signalling that this too can progress to referendum subject to some relatively modest amendments.
• Sturminster Newton's plan is now going through its pre-examination consultation
• The pre-examination consultation on the plan for Askerswell parish, created by their Neighbourhood Forum, ends on Monday.
• The plans for Fontmell Magna and Pimperne have also been submitted for their examination. 
• Hazelbury Bryan has published its pre-submission draft plan for consultation

A fantastic amount of effort by local volunteers representing their communities, so that local people can have more of a voice on the future of their area!

Loders Plan through with 83% of the votes

Very pleased to see the results of the 5 May referendum on Loders' neighbourhood plan. 

146 people voted yes to having the plan used to help decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area - this represented 83% of the votes
29 people voted no.

The turnout for the vote was a respectable 40% of the electorate.

Big congratulations to all those volunteers who have worked hard to reflect the community’s wishes and produce their plan. 
The next Full Council meeting is 21 July – which should be when the plan is officially ‘made’.

Loders Neighbourhood Plan - next step Referendum

Loders' Neighbourhood Plan has passed its Examination.  Congratulations to all involved!  The next step will be a local referendum.  As long as enough local residents vote 'yes', the Neighbourhood Plan should then become the second 'made' plan in Dorset.

Claire Wright undertook the examination over the Christmas period, and commended the extent to which the group had reached out to its community and was an inherently community-driven document, and the fact that the plan was clear, concise (at just under 30 pages) and easy to understand.  She has suggested some very minor modifications, none of which fundamentally change the Plan's contents or direction.  The District Council will formally consider her report in March.

It is likely that the referendum will be held on 5 May, to combine with the Police and Crime Commissioner elections on that date.