Neighbourhood Development Plan
At the end of June we held a Forum meeting at which we started to discuss our ambitions for the Village and the issues which needed to be addressed in our Neighbourhood Plan arising from the Village Survey. There was a good discussion, a balance of views and, most importantly some suggestions on what was important to the village over the next 10 – 15 years.
The NDP is a framework document which will set out policies which we wish to adopt for the village which define what and how any changes can take place. It must be in line with National and District Planning Policies but sets these in a local context. If development or changes for the village are proposed in the future they will be judged against the policies in our NDP, and, if not compliant, will not be allowed to proceed.
When completed, the Neighbourhood Development Plan will need to be widely circulated, consulted upon, and ultimately voted on by the residents of the village.
There is, however, a lot of preparatory work, data gathering, and drafting to do before then; something as far reaching as this will not happen as a result of the practical application of a couple of people. The Forum needs volunteers who are committed to supporting the process and who will commit the time to do things. Without this, the initiative is likely to fizzle away to nothing.
There are four main areas which the NDP will focus on.
Housing Development: There are two important things to note here. Firstly, any housing development can only take place within the village boundaries- no development, with the exception of development for agricultural or leisure purposes, is permitted in the Green Belt. Secondly, the vast majority of sites which are likely to come forward in the future will be small and limited to individual domestic properties, greatly restricting the size of any proposed development.
The majority of residents said in the Village Survey that they wanted to see:
· primarily small developments of 1 or 2 houses,
· consisting of smaller properties (1-4 bedroom flats/houses) to meet primarily the demands from within the village of those wanting to move up or down the housing market.
· Any new housing should in addition to buying, provide rented, shared ownership and affordable options.
(Please refer to the Village Forum web site for a summary of these statistics).
Social and Leisure Facilities: Whilst the majority of residents felt that the three main facilities in the village (The Reading Room, The Hut and Village Club, and St John’s) provided adequately for the needs of the village, there were numerous comments about the need to improve the quality of those facilities. Each has its own immediate challenges, but in the longer term the prospect of major work or even replacement is inevitable.
At the Forum meeting the suggestion that the village should consider how it might create one or two modern, accessible buildings with good parking which might provide for a wide range of needs was discussed.
Specifically mentioned were a permanent dedicated home for Little Doves, a modern stage for amateur dramatic groups, meeting room and function halls of varying size which were flexible and able to meet demand from small to medium sized events, through to the possibility of including a more central doctor’s surgery and pharmacy and a Parish Church office.
Car Parking: Probably the single biggest issue we face as a village, and the one which elicited the greatest number and range of suggestions in the Village Survey.
There are some 750 vehicles in the village with a sizable proportion being parked on the road. This is a particular problem in the North-east corner of the village where virtually none of the houses has any off street parking available, and which, on occasions, causes social tensions.
We therefore need to identify land on which to build parking areas to alleviate a growing problem (which will not go away) both for our residents and also visitors to the village.
Commercial use: 37% of residents did not want to see any growth in commercial properties (primarily shops) in the village. However attracting a greater diversity of shops, and improving access to them, was requested by 40% of residents; 34% suggested they would like to see small office developments which would allow for people both living and working in the village. The key to all of this will be whether new retail facilities can be made to be commercially viable in a relatively small village with limited demand.
Village Ambitions
Having a vision for the future of this village is important if the community is going to thrive. That means change, which many people are reluctant to embrace – for all sorts of personal reasons. What is important to the village of Westcott- and the reason why the Forum was set up and the reason why I agreed to Chair it - is that we recognise that change is inevitable, but that we work together for the good of the whole community, not just sections of it, to achieve that goal.
Based on the Survey results and the input from the Forum meeting we will now start to draft the NDP.
If you have any constructive comments on the above I would welcome these from across the village and therefore invite you to email me –
More importantly I reiterate the need for people to step forward and actively participate in this work.
The next Forum meeting will be Monday 22 September 2014. All are welcome.
Tim Way
Chairman, Westcott Village Forum
Further information can be found at www.westcottvillageforum.com