There was an entire section dedicated to Neighbourhood Planning at the recent Town and Parish Council Summit.
There was a reminder of the Coalition Government's initiative called Community Rights and the opportunity to access £60m of public money to fund development projects. An example of these rights, without money attached though, is Grampound with Creed's registering its Right to Bid for community assets including The Dolphin Inn. Other Rights include local mechanisms for
There are very few that have been formally completed and the first, in Cumbria, was adopted in May this year. One of the staff at the planning desk said that a total of five have been adopted so far - none in Cornwall.
The principle advantages of doing so were explained - the 25% share of Community Infrastructure Levy, and the fact that Cornwall Council must refer to the Neighbourhood Plan in its planning decisions.
The basic task is about colouring maps for "what can be developed where", we were told.
Neighbourhood planning is not without its difficulties though and other Town and Parish councils talked about the same challenge that we have had at Grampound with Creed. Many are at the same place having to go back and start again with talking to the community. I met one parish councillor who had stood for election because there seemed to be lack of enthusiasm for planning in the parish. With a lack of community engagement how could a parish council be confident that its proposal could win a referendum?
One suggestion for Community Engagement was to hold a rave with a questionnaire to be completed by children and young adults attending. (My teenage children have already given this the thumbs down).
At the last Parish Council meeting Mark Taylor suggested getting a stall at the village markets. This was productive in the past and could be used again.
The experience of Rame Peninsular - coordinating a plan between five parish councils - was given as a case study. They started by looking at the broad aims of economy, environment, safety, and quality of life. After that they conducted a housing needs survey and gathered economic data. Consultation was key,
There was a reminder of the Coalition Government's initiative called Community Rights and the opportunity to access £60m of public money to fund development projects. An example of these rights, without money attached though, is Grampound with Creed's registering its Right to Bid for community assets including The Dolphin Inn. Other Rights include local mechanisms for
There are very few that have been formally completed and the first, in Cumbria, was adopted in May this year. One of the staff at the planning desk said that a total of five have been adopted so far - none in Cornwall.
The principle advantages of doing so were explained - the 25% share of Community Infrastructure Levy, and the fact that Cornwall Council must refer to the Neighbourhood Plan in its planning decisions.
Neighbourhood planning is not without its difficulties though and other Town and Parish councils talked about the same challenge that we have had at Grampound with Creed. Many are at the same place having to go back and start again with talking to the community. I met one parish councillor who had stood for election because there seemed to be lack of enthusiasm for planning in the parish. With a lack of community engagement how could a parish council be confident that its proposal could win a referendum?
One suggestion for Community Engagement was to hold a rave with a questionnaire to be completed by children and young adults attending. (My teenage children have already given this the thumbs down).
At the last Parish Council meeting Mark Taylor suggested getting a stall at the village markets. This was productive in the past and could be used again.
The experience of Rame Peninsular - coordinating a plan between five parish councils - was given as a case study. They started by looking at the broad aims of economy, environment, safety, and quality of life. After that they conducted a housing needs survey and gathered economic data. Consultation was key,
"voters who have not been involved are more likely to vote 'no' which wastes the cost of the referendum and the time spent by volunteers developing the plan", said Councillor George Trubody. He went on to say, "we're still a long way off completing the work".
