The Neighbourhood Plan team has advised that the Neighbourhood Plan – Pre-Submission Draft is now published and available for you to examine in detail on the Felsted Neighbourhood Plan website.
The Plan has taken an incredible amount of work by the Steering Group and has been a long time in the making, but it’s here now! Non computer users can also borrow paper copies of the NP, and response forms, from the PC Office, Linsells, The Swan, The Chequers and Andersons Estate Agency.
The Plan, supported by your Parish Council at a formal vote this week, sets out how we believe you want to see development in Felsted over the coming 15 years, the Plan Period. The Plan is a substantial document comprising 70 pages with 36 draft policies covering our schools, our heritage, the rural economy, how we value the environment and, of course, housing development.
The NP Steering Committee are holding a number of ‘drop-in’ sessions:
- Memorial Hall on Friday 10 August 5-8pm;
- Primary School Hall on Saturday 8 September 10- 1pm;
- and finally in the URC Hall Committee Room in Stebbing Road from Monday 17 September to Friday 21 September (inclusive) from 4-8pm each day.
At all these sessions residents can discuss the policies and clarify any queries with Steering Group members.
Please take the time to look at the NP document and let us have your feedback either via the Survey Monkey on the NP website or using the paper response form available with the paper copies of the document.
The deadline for receiving your responses is 21st September 2018.
The value of a fully adopted Neighbourhood Plan was made clear at this month’s Uttlesford (UDC) Planning Meeting, where 2 proposed developments in Watchhouse Green, totalling some 60+ houses, were rejected by UDC, despite one being identified as a site for potential development in UDC’s draft Local Plan.
A significant factor in this decision was the existence of the draft Neighbourhood Plan, which rejected these sites.
There is huge pressure from developers seeking to be allowed build wherever they can make money, with no genuine community interest. They use the lack of a finalised UDC Local Plan, and UDC not currently being able to demonstrate the required pipeline of house building (5 years), in their arguments, and often win.
If we are to maintain some level of self determination in the house building and planning processes for Felsted for the coming years, It is essential that we all read, comment on as appropriate, and ultimately vote to adopt our Neighbourhood Plan.