Neighbourhood Plan - notice of referendum
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February 2024 Update
The Regulation 15 Consultation of the Eglingham Parish Neighbourhood Plan, conducted by Northumberland County Council (‘NCC”) Opened at 9am on the 5th February 2024 and Closes at 5pm on 18 th March 2024.
This follows closure of the Regulation 14 Consultation; consideration by the Parish Council of representations received during it; and, on advice from the Parish Council’s retained planning consultants, amendments made to the draft policies.
The Neighbourhood Plan having now been submitted to NCC by the PC, responsibility for taking the process forward lies with NCC which has publicised the plan (Regulation 15) and will arrange for an independent examination by a Government Planning Inspector. This will consider whether the Neighbourhood Plan meets the basic conditions and other legal requirements. If successful at the examination stage, with modifications if necessary, then NCC will arrange for a neighbourhood plan referendum. If there is a majority yes vote, then the neighbourhood plan is made and becomes part of the statutory development plan for the area, so any decisions about whether or not to grant planning permission in the neighbourhood area in the future must be made by taking our neighbourhood plan into consideration.
NCC’s notice of the Regulation 15 Consultation, which has been posted in Eglingham, South Charlton and North Charlton, (click here to view) and explains how representations in response may be made:
APRIL 2023 Update
The Regulation 14 Consultation of the Eglingham Parish Neighbourhood Plan Opens 9am on the 25th of April 2023 and Closes at 5pm on June 7th 2023.
The relevant documentation can be downloaded via the specific consultation page
https://www.eglingham.info/enp-reg-14-consultation
The Proposed Eglingham Parish Neighbourhood Plan (Update September 2021)
On 1st May 2019, Eglingham Parish Council resolved to pursue the adoption of a Neighbourhood Plan, following which the County Council ‘designated’ the Parish area as a Neighbourhood Planning Area. A Steering Group, comprising Parish Councillors and other Parish residents, was established to oversee the production of the Neighbourhood plan[1].
With assistance from the County Council’s appointed liaison officer, the Steering Group assimilated substantial background information in relation to the Parish area and, based on that information, consulted local opinion concerning the issues that might be covered by or omitted from the Neighbourhood plan (the Steering Group involved the County Council liaison officer in the preparation of the consultation questionnaire).
Informed by the results of that consultation, the Steering Group has evolved a focused set of proposals, supported by evidence and avoiding overlap and conflict with the County Council’s strategic policies. It applied for and received grant funding for a professional evaluation of the Parish’s landscapes and those surrounding them, by Alison Farmer Associates (‘AFA’)[2] and obtained technical assistance in relation to the production of a Design Code by AECOM[3].
On 26th August 2020, the Parish Council resolved to adopt the Design Code, pending formal adoption of this Neighbourhood plan[4].
On 24th February 2021 as affirmed on 7th July 2021, the Parish Council resolved to support and adopt ‘The Northumberland Sandstone Ridges & Vales – a Valued Landscape’ – Alison Farmer Associates January 2021 (‘the Study’)[5].
The Study, commissioned, by the Northumberland and Newcastle Society but to the preparation of which Parish residents contributed substantially, applying their extensive and valuable local knowledge, informs, in turn, the report that AFA has also prepared specifically to inform the policies of this Neighbourhood plan: ‘Eglingham Parish Neighbourhood Plan Landscape Assessment Final Report’ - Alison Farmer Associates May 2021 (‘the ENP Study’). The ENP Study was considered in detail by the Parish Council so that members, reflecting the views of the community, had the further opportunity to contribute to it.
On 7th July 2021, the Parish Council resolved to adopt the ENP Study and its recommendations, pending formal adoption of the ENP.
Applying the evidence and the outcomes of community engagement, the Steering Group has developed the vision, aims and policies of the ENP of which this is the pre-submission draft.
The Steering Group is now discussing a pre-submission draft of the ENP with the County Council and will shortly present the draft ENP to the Parish Council for consideration. It is then anticipated that, before it is formally submitted to the County Council under Regulation 14 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, the Parish Council will again consult the Parish to establish ongoing support for the ENP’s proposed policies.
Following a minimum six-week period of publicity, the County Council will arrange for an independent examination. It will also organise a public referendum, subject to the plan meeting the basic conditions at the examination stage.
Subject to successful completion of that process, the Neighbourhood plan’s policies will, along with the County Council’s strategic policies, become part of the ‘Development Plan’ in accordance with which planning decisions are required to be made unless material considerations otherwise indicate.
As before, the Parish Council’s principal motivations for seeking to adopt a Neighbourhood plan for the Parish remain:
(1) with the benefit of the and the Study and the ENP Study, to recognise and protect the value of the landscapes comprising and abutting the Parish;
(2) through the Design Code, to ensure that (principally residential) development within the Parish is of a scale, design and quality in keeping with the existing character of our villages and their settings (while allowing for appropriate innovation and originality).
Other areas proposed to be covered by the Neighbourhood plan are:
The reintroduction of settlement boundaries for Eglingham and South Charlton and the creation of one, for the first time, for North Charlton.
The designation of Local Green Spaces in each settlement.
The Parish’s biodiversity.
The Parish Council is very keen to maximise community engagement and to that end:
As well as the Background Information document and its supporting material (on which the original consultation was based), updates regarding the process will be published on the PC’s website: http://www.eglingham.info and in Hear Abouts;
When the next consultation begins, Parish residents, businesses and stakeholders are encouraged to complete and return the questionnaire which will be made available;
There will be meetings at Eglingham and South Charlton village halls, on dates to be confirmed. At these meetings, members of the Steering Group will be available to listen to the comments and views of constituents and to answer their questions;
As the Neighbourhood Plan proceeds to adoption, the Parish Council will keep local people informed of developments. The Parish Council hopes that the eventual document will serve our communities well and enhance their influence and input in terms of NCC’s decisions affecting us all.
[1] PC Chairman, Andy Gray; former PC Chairman David Alston; Parish Councillor, David Biesterfield; and Parish Resident Peter Ridgway.
[2] AFA are leading experts in their field having conducted substantial work for National Park authorities and other specialist bodies requiring advice on landscape quality and related issues. AFA’s work conducted for the ENP was an adjunct to a much wider study of, broadly, an area west of the A1 up to the boundary of the Northumberland National Park and stretching from just north of Doddington to Alnwick and across to the west of Rothbury.
[3] AECOM is the body appointed by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (‘MHCLG’) to advise Neighbourhood planning bodies on the subject of Design Codes.
[4] The Design Code has already influenced the outcome of a number of planning applications for residential development.
[5] The resolution stated: ‘Eglingham Parish Council supports the findings of ‘The Northumberland Sandstone Ridges & Vales – a Valued Landscape’ – Alison Farmer Associates January 2021 (‘the Study’) and adopts its suggested designation of that part of the Parish Area (and the landscapes surrounding it) as advised by the Study, as an Area of High Landscape Value, subject to comments the Parish Council may wish to make on the exact extent of the designation’s boundaries. The Parish Council will endeavour to provide such comments to the Northumberland and Newcastle Society within 56 days of the date of this resolution.’ On the 7th July, the Parish Council passed the following resolution: ‘Following its resolution of 24th February 2021, ‘Eglingham Parish Council affirms, without further comment, its support of the findings of ‘The Northumberland Sandstone Ridges & Vales – a Valued Landscape’ – Alison Farmer Associates January 2021 (‘the Study’) and adopts its suggested designation of that part of the Parish Area (and the landscapes surrounding it) as advised by the Study, as an Area of High Landscape Value.’
Documentation
The AFA Report - Northumberland Wind Turbine Review - Final Report
Eglingham Parish Neighbourhood Plan Landscape Assessment Final Report
Eglingham Parish Council Design Code
Eglingham Parish Neighbourhood Plan - Background Info
Appendix 1 - Eglingham Parish Socio-Economic Data
Appendix 2 - Eglingham Conservation Area Appraisal
Appendix 4 - Registered Assets
Plan A - Eglingham Parish Boundary
