NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING AND THE

LOCALISM BILL

The Localism bill is aimed at de-centralising power from Central Government and bringing it back to Communities and local government.“The Localism Act takes power from central government and hands it back to local authorities and communities – giving them the freedom and flexibility to achieve their own ambitions”

• There are 5 key areas the Localism Act covers:

Neighbourhood Planning

Enables local people to

influence and guide the future

of where they live

Community Rights

Community organisations

have a fair chance to bid to take over land and buildings

that are important to

them

Housing

Local Authority has flexibility on

how their housing stock meets their

need

Empowering Local Areas

Giving power to local council to improve local

services, develop their

area and increase their

competitiveness

General Power of

Competence

Councils will be able to work creatively to meet local

needs, without having to wait for agreement

from the central government to get things done

This is the one we are able to get involved with (primarily)“… local people will have genuine opportunities to influence the future of where they live.”

THE PURPOSE OF THE FORUMWe believe it will give us the opportunity to make sure that the right amount of homes are built, and when planning applications are put forward, they are in the locations which we, as a village have identified, consulted & agreed on. It will give us the ability to protect and enhance the village with it’s listed buildings, historic setting, green space, rural nature and diverse environment and to guide the future of what we consider to be a thriving community. We hope you’ll agree that it’s worth the effort – we’ll be working for the future generations!

To us, it’s not only about planning where the houses can goIt’s about finding out the factsThinking ecologically and protecting our wonderful countrysideWorking out how many houses we’ll really need, how we want the houses to look, to be sensitive to their surroundings and the impact they have on the environment Being realistic when weighing up the positives v negatives, and not ignoring things which are important to all of usEnsuring that we have enough spaces in the schools & doctors to accommodate village growthMaintaining our village identityEnsuring that we don’t have to drive for miles to access servicesProtecting our public transportEnsuring it’s possible to continue all the wonderful community groups we’re so lucky to have on offer in the village. Looking after people, and trying to make sure that needed services are available to them, somehow.

TIME LINE13/12/2010

• Introduction of Localism Bill to Parliament

• First Conference at MVDC to explain the process • First Meeting & formulation of WVF - Is this something we can achieve? Will this benefit Westcott?

15/11/2011• Localism Bill given Royal Assent turning into an Act

7/2/2012• MVDC Planning attend our meeting to help us understand the topic

23/3/2012• Response of our Village Short Survey to establish key issues

24/7/2012• Second MVDC conference on the requirements of the NP

Taking it forward12/9/2012

• Today’s presentation & some of the feedback from the village short survey

Early 2013• Village Full Survey to establish demographics, mix, future needs

• Formulate 2 Groups:- The Forum - 21 representatives from whole community - to receive & digest info, eventually making the policies:-Working Party - gathering info, preparing documents, and drafting the policies

• Write the Neighbourhood Development Plan which needs approval from MVDC

• Go to the ballot box for the whole village to vote on

• Depending on outcome, approval by national planner

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO MAKE OUR DECISIONS NOW

Three main reasons for getting involved in the Village Forum at this stage.

1. It is much easier to make decisions about how we want our village and our community to evolve, when we are working in a positive frame of mind. What we need, what we want, and what we’d like to happen.

2. There will inevitably be pressures from the outside, maybe county, maybe district council pressures in the future, about planning, education, transport, and other services. If we already have a template for the village, we can see not only whether any proposals actually fit what we want, but how we may be able to negotiate to build on the proposals so that in the end we get what we want.

3. Not every village is going to bother with a village forum. We have already shown how Westcott can work together, to oppose an unwelcome planning application. If you were a planner, or a council trying to force unwelcome change onto a community in Mole Valley, would you choose one which already had a detailed plan of what was acceptable, or would you opt for a village that hadn’t woken up to its danger? We must let the authorities know that we, the people living in our village, know what is best for its future.

MAP OF OUR WARD

SOME FACTS ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY:DID YOU KNOW 2,256 PEOPLE LIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY?

20% OF OUR COMMUNITY ARE 15 YEARS AND UNDER

10% OF OUR COMMUNITY ARE 75 YEARS AND OVER

CRIME RATE IS LOWER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

1.2% OF PEOPLE OF WORKING AGE ARE UNEMPLOYED

THERE ARE 955 HOMES IN OUR COMMUNITY

77% OF HOMES ARE OWNER-OCCUPIED

THERE ARE 44 LISTED HISTORIC BUILDINGS

MOLE VALLEY’S ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IS 3 TIMES HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

THE SHORT SURVEY REVEALED THAT YOU

LIKE:

EASY ACCESS TO THE COUNTRYSIDE

VILLAGE IDENTITY SEPARATE FROM DORKING

GOOD FACILITIES, SHOPS AND SERVICES

STRONG COMMUNITY SPIRIT

A SAFE PLACE TO RAISE CHILDREN

THE SHORT SURVEY REVEALED THAT YOU

DISLIKE:

LACK OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN THE EVENINGS AND ON SUNDAYS

FOOTPATH AND CYCLE PATH ISSUES TO DORKING

THREAT OF DEVELOPMENT INTO COUNTRYSIDE

LITTER

LACK OF PARKING SPACES AND CROWDED RESIDENTIAL ROADS

THE HEAVY FAST TRAFFIC RUNNING THROUGH THE VILLAGE

DOGS FOULING PAVEMENTS

INCONSIDERATE CYCLISTS

POOR MOBILE AND BROADBAND CONNECTION SPEEDS

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN

WESTCOTT?

TRAFFIC CALMING?

MORE OR LESS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT?

RESIDENTIAL ROAD CHANGES/IMPROVEMENTS?

MORE RECREATIONAL FACILITIES FOR ALL AGES?

MORE GRIT BOXES?

- IT’S YOUR VILLAGE- HAVE YOUR SAY- FILL IN YOUR FULL SURVEY IN 2013- SUPPORT THE SUCCESSFUL EVOLUTION OF WESTCOTT VILLAGE

BIKE RACKS?

PARKING MEASURES?

HELP

The Forum The Forum will be made up of 21 members, all of whom will be volunteers, who need to represent different sections of the Westcott community – this way, we can ensure everyone has a voice. The purpose is to receive and digest information on local community demographics, helping to establish village needs for the next 10 years and eventually make the policies which will guide Westcott forward well into the next decade, in a way we all agree on. Neighbourhood forums will lead the creation of neighbourhood plans, supported by the local planning authority. Once written the plan will be independently examined and put to a referendum of local people for approval. It will go to a vote, where depending on the outcome (50% approval by local voters) it will become an adopted policy which the local council have to use.

The Working PartyThere will be a need for another group – the ‘working party’ – who will be responsible for collecting the data which is needed, from all sorts of places – we’ve made a start with the village questionnaire (which 10% of the village population completed). This work will continue with the Village Survey. There will be lots of research, analysis, and report writing to be done all of which will be passed to the Neighbourhood Forum for them to digest! – volunteers at the ready - please – support your community to do something positive for it’s future generations.

We need to represent the whole community – otherwise it won’t be possible to take this forward. We will need at least 21 representatives from the community – including:

CommutersFamiliesElderlyRetiredBusinessesLand ownersHomeownersSocial Housing residentsPrivate residentsAnyone else

We are also looking for people who are Skill Based with potentially the following skills:

Data researchAnalysis of dataReport writingComputer inputProject planningExperience in planning processExperience in local government Experience in contract/policy writingMarketingCommunicationsConference co-ordination & deliveryAdministrationPublic speaking

Becoming a Forum VolunteerWe will need plenty of volunteers to achieve this goal

Would you like to take part?

Are you interested in taking part in:A - The Neighbourhood Forum?B - Working Party?If so fill in a form and hand to a volunteer.