FROM NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL
Appleby and Brigg have both put
their Neighbourhood Plans forward that set out how local people in their areas
want to see the communities developed over the next 10 to 15 years.
The Neighbourhood Plans could include setting out where new homes are built or which areas of
open space are protected and enhanced, or what local facilities are needed in
the future. The first part of the process is to decide exactly what area the Neighbourhood Plans should cover.
Appleby Parish Council and Brigg Town Council have submitted their applications to North Lincolnshire Council to have their specified area officially designated as a ‘Neighbourhood Area’.
Before a decision can be made on
the applications consultations will take place to get the views of local people,
businesses and agencies with an interest in the communities of Appleby and
Brigg. The consultations will run from 15 September to 27 October 2014.
To have your say on the proposed
‘Neighbourhood Areas’ complete the surveys online, which can be found on the
council's current consultations page: www.northlincs.gov.uk/your-council/have-your-say/consultations-and-petitions/consultations/current-consultations/
You can also comment by email
spatial.planning@northlincs.gov.uk or in writing to Spatial
Planning, Planning and Regeneration, Civic Centre, Ashby Road, Scunthorpe, DN16
1AB.
Copies of the applications can be
viewed on the Neighbourhood Planning page on the council’s website: www.northlincs.gov.uk/planning-and-environment/planning-policy/evidence-monitoring-info/neighbourhood-planning/ as well as the Civic Centre. The
Appleby application can be viewed at Local Links in Brigg, Scunthorpe and
Winterton as well as Broughton Jubilee Library, whilst the Brigg application can
be viewed at Brigg and Scunthorpe Local Links as well as Brigg
Library.When the consultations have ended all comments will be looked at and a decision will be made on whether or not to designate the Neighbourhood Areas to Appleby and Brigg. If they are designated, work can then begin on putting together the final plan.
If you are interested in the
Appleby or Brigg Neighbourhood Plans, or would like to get involved, contact
Appleby Parish Council or Brigg Town Council.
Neighbourhood Plans are part of
the Government’s ambitions to give communities greater say on how their areas
should be developed and changed. It is led by communities themselves not the
council. In North Lincolnshire they can be led by Town or Parish Councils, or by
Neighbourhood Forums.
Neighbourhood Plans must go
through different stages before they can be finalised. Once it has been
finalised the council must adopt them as part of the overall development plan
for North Lincolnshire. This means that they will be used to make planning
decisions.
Coun Liz Redfern, Leader
of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “I welcome Appleby Parish
Council’s and Brigg Town Council’s proposals to prepare Neighbourhood Plans for
their areas. This is a great example of more communities in our area taking
advantage of the opportunity that Neighbourhood Planning presents to local
people to help shape the development of their towns and villages. Designating
the neighbourhood areas is the first step towards this. We want as many people
in Appleby and Brigg to get involved to help put the plans together.”Cllr Derek Hall, Chair of the Appleby Neighbourhood Plan group said:
“The Neighbourhood Plan will allow residents to have a say on matters such as future development and growth of our area, and will contain our vision, our aims, and our proposals for Appleby."
Cllr Alec Depledge, Chairman of the Brigg Town Council Neighbourhood Plan Committee said:
“The future of Brigg is too important to leave to chance, which is why Brigg Town Council has made a commitment to this Neighbourhood Planning process, with an eye on shaping that future.”
Communities interested in a
Neighbourhood Plan should contact the council’s Spatial Planning team on 01724
297485 or 297573 or email spatial.planning@northlincs.gov.uk
For more information about
Neighbourhood Planning visit www.northlincs.gov.uk/planning-and-environment/planning-policy/evidence-monitoring-info/neighbourhood-planning/
One basic erroneous assumption that has been made by Brigg Town Council is that a Neighbourhood Plan has to be confined by the parish/town boundary.
ReplyDeleteThe Council employed the argument that only those on the Brigg electoral register were allowed to vote during the acceptance/rejection stage of the process.
This assumption is wrong as a Neighbourhood Plan can and often is a cross/multi-parish document proposing community-preferred future developments.
It is the responsibility of the appointed Examination Officer, not Brigg TC to decide who is qualified to vote at the acceptance stage - and, as such, voters may stem from various electoral registers.
For future development, Brigg is basically an area of isolated brown-field sites and, while, obviously, some limited new developments will occur within the parish (ie housing behind P&B and the Ancholme pub, significant town developments will have to evolve in adjoining areas located in other parishes.
Probable medium and long-term factors that have to considered when considering Brigg Town's 20 year plan has to include the potential impact of the proposed South Bank Enterprise Zone, as well as the Siemen's Humberside Offshore Wind-Farm development - both potentially within 30 minutes of Brigg and therefore, well within the respective zones' sphere of influence in respect of associated/related industries - retail and housing needs.
Indeed, the new University Technical College, presently being constructed in Scunthorpe supports the assumption that the South Bank and the Off-shore Wind Farm developments will have a discernible population, expertise, education, industrial character/infrastructural-change on the area in the not too-distant future.
Brigg has already acquired a number of attractive features; it reputation an excellent retail centre; an town that meets many social needs, while it schools achieve the best results in North Lincs are all positives that influence those moving to the area...
In conclusion, if the Neighbourhood Plan does not take into account massive planned developments within the town's sphere of influence, then any NP will become a inward-looking, protectionist and insular document that could, indeed, act against Brigg's potential expansion.
There is a danger that any restrictive assessment could be, for example, more concerned with the siting of dog-poo bins, than the much-wider perspective of how and where a NEIGHBOURHOOD should be allowed to evolve over the next generation.