Preview draft of the Neighbourhood Plan available for download
The formal consultation on the neighbourhood plan, starting in late October, is required to present the complete text of the plan which will then proceed through to examination by an independent inspector and a local referendum. We thought it important to give people and organisations the opportunity to review the draft plan before that text is finalised. In particular we’re interested to hear about issues within the plan that especially concern you, or which may have been omitted so far.
That’s the purpose of this preview (which lasts until Monday 24th September). The Relationship between the Neighbourhood Plan and Calderdale’s Draft Local Plan
The publication version of Calderdale’s Draft Local Plan is also out for consultation now and until 24th September. The timetable for your Neighbourhood Plan has deliberately been adjusted so that it could take account of the developing proposals of the Local Plan; for example the considerable reduction in housing allocations across Calderdale in this latest version. You can now compare them side by side, remembering that the Neighbourhood Plan should not duplicate what’s in the local plan.
Principal features of the Draft Neighbourhood Plan Like Calderdale’s local plan, the draft neighbourhood plan sometimes has to propose making a particular choice - to do X rather than Y, maybe at a particular location - because it has to balance and reconcile quite a range of factors, and on the basis of the evidence it has considered and the results of previous public consultations. These choices may be supported by some people, not supported by others, and the formal public consultation in October-December will give you the chance to express your views about them. The Neighbourhood Planning Committee will then reconsider its choices before producing a final plan it judges to be in the best interests of the area, and which is also lawful. The principal features of this draft for you to look out for are: - a new Masterplan for Mytholmroyd, setting out some exciting ideas to restore the heart to the village. That’s in a separate document, which can also be downloaded from this website. - proposals for around eight sites for new housing along the valley bottom - on brownfield land, and in sustainable locations; so not on Greenbelt land in the uplands - in the context where the criteria used for Calderdale’s Draft Local Plan have meant that it has allocated almost no new sites in our area to meet housing need. - A response to evidence of considerable forecast road traffic growth - that would mean existing problems of severance in Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd, and air pollution, could be made still worse - which therefore requires strong support to be given for other, more sustainable means of transport. At the same time the Neighbourhood Plan also contains policies to maximise the effectiveness of Hebden Bridge’s existing parking stock. - Support is given for a response to flooding which starts with effective stewardship in the uplands and on the valley slopes combined with flood alleviation schemes in Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd that respect their heritage; and also low carbon responses to the longer term problem of climate change. - Separate sections on landscape and historic heritage, accessibility, and the development of community facilities for recreation and environmental improvement. - Proposals for particular sites: to encourage their development and regeneration, or suggest how they might evolve over the future. And of course there’s lots more. So if there’s something you want to draw to our attention, or another policy area or issue you’d like to be included, please do let us know at emma.green@hebdenroydtowncouncil.gov.uk or speak to your local town or parish councillor. It would be helpful to receive any responses by Monday 24th September.
Please Note: This Preview of the Draft Neighbourhood Plan is not the formal public consultation. This is scheduled to run from late October to early December 2018 and will give all ‘key stakeholders’ and local residents the chance to formally comment on the document.
