A Neighbourhood Plan (NP or Plan) is an opportunity for local people to create a framework for delivering a sustainable future for the benefit of all who live, work or visit our area.
The right for communities to prepare Neighbourhood Plans was established through the Localism Act 2011 and the rules governing their preparation were published in 2012. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that a Neighbourhood Plan gives the community “direct power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and deliver the sustainable development they need” (NPPF para 183). It enables us to ensure we get the right types of development in the right locations; and to set planning policies that will be used in determining decisions on planning applications.
A Neighbourhood Plan is part of the statutory Development Plan for the area and this statutory status gives NPs far more weight than other local documents such as parish plans or village design statements. But a Plan must also comply with European and national legislation and be in conformity with existing strategic planning policy. While every effort has been made to make the main body of this Plan easy to read and understand, the wording of the actual policies is necessarily more formal.
Robust evidence is the foundation on which a Neighbourhood Plan has to be based. This includes evidence of community engagement and consultation and how the views, aspirations, wants and needs of local people have been taken into account. A detailed Statement of Consultation and a comprehensive Evidence Pack have been produced to support this NP.
Our area still retains much of its village feel and green and leafy surroundings, making it an attractive and enjoyable place to live and work. We also have the added convenience of being just 30 miles from the centre of London, under 20 miles from Heathrow airport, with easy access onto the M3, M4 and M25 motorways and a good rail service to London and Reading.
There is recognition that sustainable development is not only necessary but desirable, as without it our villages and economies will stagnate, but we want to influence and direct the shape and nature of the development and where within our NP area it takes place.
In recent years our area has seen considerable development. According to the recent 2011 census, population growth in our area has been 9.8% relative to a Borough average of 8.2% and the national figure of 7.9%.
Feedback from the local community shows serious concern about the nature of some of this development, that it is harming the character of our area and our environment and putting the social fabric of our villages at risk. It is creating pressure on infrastructure through significantly increased levels of car and HGV traffic congestion on our Victorian village roads and a lack of parking, all of which in turn impact on the viability of our village high street economies, already facing challenging conditions.
A Neighbourhood Plan cannot be used to prevent development but it gives us the opportunity to identify the best ways to deliver it, directing development towards what the local community needs and wants, while protecting our natural environment and cultural assets and ensuring a more sustainable future for ourselves and future generations.
This Plan has been prepared by members of the community with these goals in mind.
We have embraced the NPPF’s core principle of “a presumption in favour of sustainable development” and have approached our task as a “creative exercise in finding ways to enhance and improve the places in which we live our lives” (NPPF para 17).
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