Have your say on the draft Neighbourhood Plan

Stonesfield Parish Council is pleased to announce the publication of the draft Neighbourhood Plan for our village. From Saturday 15 March you will be able to scrutinise the Plan and provide your feedback via the Stonesfield website, with printed copies available in the library and at the Neighbourhood Plan exhibitions. This consultation, known as Regulation 14, is the first step of the approval process for the Plan. Stonesfield Parish Council is now inviting all residents to:

1 Read the Neighbourhood Plan, click this link

2 Attend the Neighbourhood Plan exhibitions in the Village Hall on Saturday 15 March (10am-4pm) and/or at the St James’ Centre Tuesday 29 April (2-8pm)

3 Feedback in writing via the online survey, click this link or using a paper feedback form available at the exhibitions or in the library, but online is simple and preferred

4 The deadline for submitting feedback on the draft is 4pm on Saturday 4 May.

What is a Neighbourhood plan?

Neighbourhood planning is a way for communities to have a say about the future of where they live and work. It gives them the power to produce a plan with real legal weight, that regulates development in their local area. What is the Plan based on? Two years ago, we surveyed village residents, asking what you like (and don’t like) about living here, and what you would like to see improved. Some 612 residents (aged 16+) gave us their opinions about everything from the countryside to road safety; village facilities to housing. A Housing Needs Assessment analysed housing availability and use in the village based on the survey and data from other local and central government sources. Village Character and Landscape Assessments were commissioned from external technical experts. This research was used to draft the Plan in a way that helps ensure future village development is in line with your opinions.

What is in the Plan?

It is a thorough document, over 100 pages long, covering many aspects of life in Stonesfield. Importantly, and necessarily, it will become a document that the Parish and District Councils must have regard to when considering local planning applications. The draft Neighbourhood Plan aims to enhance the community of Stonesfield and encourage economic activity, while ensuring housing is sustainable and meets the needs of the village. It seeks to enhance and ensure accessibility for all ages to community facilities, and of course to protect our beautiful countryside, and village character. It also recognises the need to address climate change at a local level, where we can. To achieve this, the plan includes twenty-nine policies, focusing on housing and building design, landscape and environment, transport and road safety, economy and amenities and historic character. There are also seven ‘aspirations’, which reflect some of the areas of improvement you highlighted in the survey. These cannot be covered directly by policies but could be addressed by one or more community action groups – similar to the Save the White Horse team. And the Plan has been written to ensure that ideas like these, that are aimed at specific benefits for the village, can still thrive. Taken together, the Plan’s aims, objectives, policies, and aspirations form a framework for Stonesfield over the next 5 years.

What do I need to do?

So, now it’s over to you. From 15 March to 4 May you can tell us what you think of the draft Plan. Is this the way you want the village to develop? We have created a variety of opportunities for you to review the Stonesfield Neighbourhood Plan and provide us with your feedback. From the 15 March you can find the full document online here along with a feedback form to complete. In addition to the draft Neighbourhood Plan, we have also shared the research and supporting documents:

• Housing Needs Assessment

• Parish Landscape Assessment

• Stonesfield Local Green Spaces

• Village Character Assessment

• Village Survey Results

Or you can see printed versions of the Plan, supporting documents and the feedback form in the village library. There will also be two opportunities – Saturday 15 March (10am-4pm) at the Village Hall and Tuesday 29 April (2-8pm) at the St James’ Centre – to visit an exhibition, where you can see a large display of materials from the Plan and chat to members of the Steering Group which has put it together.

What happens next?

Your feedback from this consultation, known officially as Pre-Submission  (Regulation 14), will be collated and reviewed. Revisions to the Plan may be needed. It will then be submitted to West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) for a two-stage review process, including independent examination by an examiner, to ensure that the Stonesfield Neighbourhood Plan aligns with planning law and existing planning policies at district, county, AONB and national level. Once it’s been examined and approved, WODC will hold a Yes/No referendum to ask if Stonesfield residents wish to approve the final Plan. If there is a simple majority to approve the Plan, it will be adopted by WODC, and both Stonesfield Parish Council and WODC must then have regard to it when making planning decisions relating to Stonesfield.

Don’t miss your chance to shape the future of the village! Please read the draft Plan and complete the feedback survey by Saturday 4 May

Stonesfield Parish Council would like to take this opportunity to express its gratitude to the Stonesfield Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, and all of the additional volunteers, for the huge amount of work that has gone into producing the Stonesfield Neighbourhood Plan over the past three years. You have all done a great service to the community.