Lound, Somerleyton, Ashby and Herringfleet ...

Lound, Somerleyton, Ashby and HerringfleetNEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

Regulation 14PUBLIC CONSULTATION



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Lound with Ashby, Herringfleet

and Somerleyton

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

PUBLIC CONSULTATION



WHAT IS A NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN? and WHAT DOES IT DO?

A Neighbourhood Plan is a set of Policies and Guidelines, generated by the community, to help shape

future developments within the Plan’s area, in this case the parishes of Lound, Somerleyton, Ashby

and Herringfleet. The Localism Act of 2011 provides the right for all local communities to develop

their own Neighbourhood Plan,

Planning Policies are set at Central Government, County Council and District Council level. Obviously

these cover the larger areas that these administrations cover, and cannot by definition, be bespoke to

the exact place where we live. That’s where the Neighbourhood Plan comes in.

The Neighbourhood Plan can expand on and supplement those Policies already in place in order to

create a local community steer on future development proposals. For example, it can promote

specific architectural styles, the use and appearance of open spaces, encourage business and

highlight community aspirations.

Without a Neighbourhood Plan, all future developments would have to comply with the higher level

Policies only, which may not be sufficiently specific to align with local views.



HOW DID WE GET TO WRITE THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN?

In 2016 the Parish Councils of both Lound and Somerleyton with Ashby and Herringfleet decided to

embark on the creation of a Neighbourhood Plan for the combined parishes – the Plan Area.

A separate group of volunteers from all parishes formed the Neighbourhood Plan Committee. The

members were –

From Lound

Rita Flatt, Louis Smith, Paul Strowlger, Miles Thomas

From Somerleyton

Mike Brackenbury, David Cook, Maureen Gibbs, Paul Johnson (on behalf of Somerleyton Estate),

Jenni Livingstone (Chair), Chris Morris, Jason Wharton

The Committee commenced by having open days at Lound and Somerleyton Village Halls to

determine what ideas, aspirations and concerns exist within the community



THE OPEN DAYS REVISITED

The informal Open Days were held in November 2016 and a number of topics were offered up for

people to express their opinions about. They were –

HOUSING

LIVING IN THE AREA

ENVIRONMENT and HERITAGE

COMMUNITY FACILITIES

EDUCATION

EMPLOYMENT

HEALTH

from which 330 comments were gleaned, that helped form the basis of a Questionnaire that was

distributed to every household in the Plan Area. (The responses are available to view on the Lound

website)



THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN QUESTIONNAIRE

Developing the Questionnaire took a great deal of discussion to formulate, to ensure that the answers

would effectively direct the development of the Neighbourhood Plan policies. The Questionnaire was

distributed to every household in the Plan Area along with other stakeholders and businesses.

A response in excess of 50% was received, providing the Committee with sufficient data to sensibly

analyse. Software provided via Waveney District Council allowed the Committee, that was divided into

work groups, to effectively review and summarise the results. From this the first formulations of

policies commenced.

None of the Volunteers had experience in developing a Neighbourhood Plan, although some

experience existed in the Planning arena, so assistance was given by WDC Community and Planning

Officers, and professional help was sought to advise and guide its development. Hence an

independent Consultant was engaged, Graham Nourse, who attended key meetings and reviewed

drafts and third party feedback.



MASTERPLANNING AND DESIGN GUIDELINES

At around the same time as the development of the Neighbourhood Plan, Waveney District Council

was developing its (now adopted) Local Plan. This involved identifying sites within the whole

Waveney area for development, to assist in the UK’s strategy to build more homes. Rural areas were

included along with urban areas and WDC took a balanced view in allocating sites in smaller

communities, resulting in three sites being confirmed within our Plan Area, two in Somerleyton and

one in Lound.

Because these sites had been allocated, it was a requirement that the Neighbourhood Plan included

development principles for these and so, a Masterplanning and Design Gudelines report was

commissioned, which is issued as part of, and is referred to within, the Neighbourhood Plan.

The Masterplanning and Design Guidelines was developed by a specialist Consultancy firm (AECOM),

who visited the area and each site.



FUNDING

Although the Volunteers, by definition, are not paid, there were a number of costs involved in

developing the Neighbourhood Plan. The principal items were –

Professional Fees (Consultant)

Printing

Cost to develop the Masterplanning and Design Guidelines

Funding came from Department of Communities and Local Government, SCC Locality Budget and

WDC (now ESC) and was managed via Lound Parish Council



DEVELOPING THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

A great deal of discussion and drafting was carried out to finally craft the wording to meaningful and

effective Policies. It was sometimes extremely difficult to align aspirations with Policy statements that

neither duplicated nor contradicted existing WDC policies and remain purposeful.

This is a planning document which is fundamentally about the use of land. The document can

prescribe how that land is developed and reflect the aspirations and desires of the local community.

Once a first draft of the document had been completed it was distributed for review by the main

stakeholders, eg WDC, SCC, Broads Authority, English Heritage, etc., Comments from these were

reviewed and adjustments made and redistributed. Further comments received were considered and

a final review round with East Suffolk Council (formerly WDC) Planning Officers was undertaken.

This draft is now out for “Regulation 14” consultation with the community and stakeholders, from

which any comment will be considered prior to its final draft to be submitted formally to East Suffolk

Council.



NEXT STEPS

Following the formal submission to East Suffolk Council the work of the Neighbourhood Plan

Steering Group is largely complete.

Thereafter, East Suffolk Council will engage an Examiner, who is an independent Planning Officer,

who will review both the Neighbourhood Plan and compliance to the regulations in its development.

The Examiner has to be satisfied that the Neighbourhood Plan policies do not contradict higher level

policies, are not ambiguous and can be implemented. Subject to the Examiner’s findings the

Neighbourhood Plan will be offered up for referendum to the Community.

Final endorsement by referendum is necessary to enshrine the Neighbourhood Plan as law.



THE POLICIES

Policy 1 Housing Mix

Preference will be given to the provision of smaller scale 1, 2 and 3 bed dwellings within new developments.



THE POLICIES

Policy 2 Development of Allocated Sites

Development proposals for each of the allocated sites shall follow the AECOM Design Guidelines, specifically

-

WLP7.5* Land North of The Street, Somerleyton local plan allocation should be in conformity with the concept

masterplan in section 6.2 of the design guide and demonstrate how it has taken account of the design

features in part 6.3

WLP7.6* Mill Farm Field local plan allocation should be in conformity with the concept masterplan in section

6.4 of the design guide and demonstrate how it has taken account of the design features in part 6.5

WLP7.12* Land East of The Street, Lound local plan allocation should be in conformity with the concept

masterplan in section 5.2 of the design guide and demonstrate how it has taken account of the design

features in part 5.3

*Refers to Waveney Local Plan Site allocation identification number



THE POLICIES

Policy 3 Public Open Space in new Residential Developments

Where developments include areas of public open space these shall be designed in a manner which maintain

and enhance the existing villages’ character.

The provision of public open green space in any new development shall incorporate appropriate native trees

and planting to enhance biodiversity.

Planning applications for development which includes public open space should demonstrate how this open

space will be appropriately managed and maintained.



THE POLICIES

Policy 4 Design of new Residential Developments

New residential developments shall harmonise with and reflect the character of the existing housing stock and

any new dwellings shall be similar in scale, type, and use similar materials to existing traditional local houses.

All new development will be expected to comply with the requirements of the Masterplanning and Design

Guidelines.

The key design principles for new residential developments shall be those regarding street patterns and

layout, boundary treatment and built form. All proposals shall demonstrate that these principles have been

understood and incorporated into their design.



THE POLICIES

Policy 5 Provision of Footpaths

Any new development must preserve existing footpaths, bridleways and cycle paths and where appropriate,

include new provision on the site to connect to the existing network.



THE POLICIES

Policy 6 Parking Provision for new Residential Developments

For all new residential developments, in addition to any garages provided, the following minimum standards

shall apply for the provision of off road parking

1 bedroom dwelling = 1 off road car parking space

2 bedroom dwelling = 2 off road car parking spaces

3 or more bedroom dwelling = number of off road car parking spaces equal to number of bedrooms minus 1

Unallocated visitor parking shall be provided in configured locations within the development at the rate of 0.25

spaces per dwelling.



THE POLICIES

Policy 7 Provision of new Village Hall and Changing Rooms*

The proposal for a new community centre including changing facilities on the playing field will be supported

subject to the provisions of the Waveney Local Plan, including Policy WLP8.29 - Design, Policy WLP8.30 –

Design of Open Spaces and the general principles of the Masterplanning and Design Guide.

*Policy applies only to Somerleyton



THE POLICIES

Policy 8 Support of Local Community Facilities

Proposals that retain, enhance or provide local services and community facilities such as meeting places,

village halls, sports venues, public houses and places of worship will be supported.



THE POLICIES

Policy 9 Support of Local Businesses

Development proposals for small scale employment uses within the settlement boundaries or adjacent to the

settlement boundaries, and the expansion of existing employment premises will be supported provided that:

- any such development must be of an appropriate scale and sensitive to the character of the area.

- proposals for rural tourism and other businesses that will benefit the local economy shall be in locations

that are sustainable and do not harm the visual character or amenity of the Plan area.



ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group wish to give their appreciation for the inspiration and hard

work of Louis Smith.

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