Neighbourhood Plan consultation dates announced

24 March 2023

After more than 4 years of hard work and interruptions by COVID lockdowns, the Clapham cum Newby Neighbourhood Plan is ready for pre-submission consultation.

Every home in the village should have received a flyer detailing the consultation process and notification has been given on the Clapham website and local Facebook pages. There will be drop-in sessions to discuss the plan with the team in Clapham, Newby and Keasden.

• Keasden Church, Saturday 15th April 11 am until 1 pm

• Clapham Village Hall, Tuesday 18th April 5pm until 7pm

• Newby Chapel, Saturday 22nd April 11 am until 1pm

The formal consultation process will begin on Monday 27th March and end six weeks later, on Monday 8th May. The full document is available on https://www.claphamplan.net and hard copies are available to borrow from Ken Pearce in Clapham, Rob Klottrup in Newby, Anne-Marie Bond at Clapham Station, and Ann Sheridan at Keasden. If you want to borrow a copy, please email info@claphamplan.net or call 07866 096215. If you wish to comment please either email comments to info@claphamplan.net, or drop off written comments at the village store.

Focus Group Dates Announced

We have organised three focus groups which will take place in September. Please see the image below for dates, times and locations.

These focus groups will give you the chance to delve into the detail of the draft plan. They will be independently facilitated, ensuring you have the opportunity to understand and challenge the content if needed.

Spaces are limited. Book your place by emailing info@claphamplan.net or calling Ann Sheridan on 07866 096215

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DRAFT NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN PUBLISHED

The first draft of the Clapham-cum-Newby Neighbourhood Plan is now complete, and we would like you to read it and provide us with your initial comments.

We need to make sure it fits with your views and is a coherent, sensible plan for the Parish. We also need to hear your opinions on the sites allocated for potential development. The Plan can only progress with the support of parishioners.

You can read it online at www.claphamplan.net/draftplan. Alternatively, you can email Info@claphamplan.net and request a digital copy.

We recognise that some people may prefer a printed version and are awaiting a grant to pay for these, and to set up future focus groups. We intend to have printed copies available to review at the next draft stage, in early Autumn.

Why do we need a Plan?

When approved, the Neighbourhood Plan will give our community an early voice in planning decisions. With upcoming changes to the planning system, never has this been more important as it will help ensure that developments are relevant and appropriate both for their location and to help the parish flourish.

In short, our Neighbourhood Plan will provide clear direction on what the community believes is, and is not, appropriate development. This will act as a guide for the planning authorities and must be considered for any new planning applications.

Why read it?

This is your plan, so you need to check it at every stage of its development.

In 2019 we held a series of events and carried out a household survey to find out what you wanted included in the Plan. The draft Plan is based on these responses.

This is your first chance to check the policies reflect your views and are appropriate and realistic. Given the timeframe and “new normal” forced upon us by Covid, it is also a chance to add any new ideas.

You will see that some of the ideas raised by the survey do not fall within the remit of the Neighbourhood Plan. Rather than ignore these, we have developed a separate Community Action Plan to ensure these continue to be considered. This document can be found in the Plan’s Appendices.

What do you need to do?

For now, we would like you to comment on the draft Plan. You can do so by emailing us at info@claphamplan.net or calling Ann Sheridan on 07866 096215.

Once we have your comments, we will work on any areas of the draft that need updating.

In late summer/early autumn, we will launch an official 6-week statutory consultation period where you will be asked to comment on the second draft of the Plan. At this point we will also invite you to join a focus group to further refine the Plan and its policies.

Following this consultation period, the Plan will be submitted to the local authorities for review, assessed by an independent Inspector, and then be the subject of a community referendum. Once it has passed all of these stages it will be used to determine planning decisions.

We look forward to reading your opinions. Thank you – the Neighbourhood Planning team.