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COMMUNITY TRUST
PARISH COUNCIL
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CHURCHES
LOCAL
GROUPS
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Minutes
Monday 13th August 2012
Village Hall 7.00pm
Present
Chairperson Joan Angus.
Clerk
Helen Brewis.
Parish Council Members Joyce Shaw, Alan Punton, Bryn Owen, John
Gallon & Michael Craster.
In Attendance Mr Jonathan Nicholson – NCC Senior
Planner (LDF)
Members of the public Mrs & Mrs M Taylor & Mrs P Owen.
1496. Apologies for absence. Pauline Baird, Margaret Brooks, Elizabeth
Pearson & Michael Robson.
1497. Local Development
Plan – Core Strategy Issues & Options discussion.
Mr Jonathan Nicholson outlined the need for updating the Local
Development Plan for NCC, the current policy was created by Alnwick
District Council & differs to the other 6 former district council
policies created before Northumberland became Unitary. The Core
Strategy needs to be a long term plan of approximately 20 years &
the documents are available to view online.
One of the main issues is windfarms as there is no minimum distance for
turbines from homes in England but there is in Scotland.
Neighbourhood Plans when adopted can become part of the Development
Plan.
The new core strategy will cover Housing, Transport & the Economy
and this consultation will give an opportunity to help shape future
planning policies for Northumberland.
The eventual new policy will Guide future development and planning
decisions through to 2030 & decide how to protect and enhance
Northumberland’s unique environment.
The Consultation ends 15th August 2012 – but there is some flexibility
on getting comments in.
Proposed objectives
1) To place sustainable development & positive
future growth at the heart of planning decisions in Northumberland.
2) To meet Northumberland’s objectively assessed
development needs including new homes, employment space, services &
infrastructure.
3) To maintain & create sustainable communities
throughout Northumberland’s urban areas to support health, social &
cultural well-being for all.
4) To rebalance & encourage a strong,
competitive & diverse Northumberland economy.
5) To make climate change work to Northumberland’s
advantage adapting to, and mitigating change whilst capitalising on
economic opportunities.
6) To protect & enhance Northumberland’s
natural historic & built environment.
7) To manage the prudent use of Northumberland’s
natural resources including minerals, energy, land & water while
reducing waste & minimising adverse impacts on communities &
the environment.
8) To ensure all development maximises the use of
and safeguards Northumberland’s infrastructure securing necessary
up-grades and also reducing the need to travel where appropriate.
Settlement Tiers
Craster is in Tier 4:-
Small scale infill, change of use or conversions to meet defined needs
and contribute to maintaining & enhancing the viability of services
& facilities in that and adjoining settlements.
Dunstan is not listed
therefore they will be in Tier 5:-
Priority is the re-use of existing buildings or conversions with
emphasis on uses which generate employment. Development permitted which
demonstrates the need for such a location, for example outdoor
recreation, leisure & tourism, equine uses or economic development
(specific policies to be developed elsewhere in the core strategy or
subsequent DPDs).
Questions
Mr M Taylor – can
individuals send in feedback as well as Parish Councils? Yes.
Mrs J Shaw – what
happens if no land is available for affordable housing?
NCC are compiling a list of potential affordable home sites within
Northumberland, they are looking at sites which may be suitable in
Craster & Dunstan.
Mr B Owen - no
mention in the settlement criteria of significant employment, where
employees cant live near to their work because of lack of housing
created by second homes & holiday homes. Within the Craster
area there are approximately 50 jobs, but only about 160 residents.
The Parish Council thanked Mr Nicholson for attending the Meeting.
Bryn Owen formerly proposed the following three recommendations be made
to NCC concerning the policy:-
Question 7
Is the approach to
identifying the settlement tiers the right one?
The approach to identifying settlement tiers is an effective method of
concentrating development in locations where there are significant
communities. It seeks to minimise travel, and hence its environmental
impact, by restricting development to self contained communities.
Question 8
Do you agree with the
‘development principles’ set out in table 5.1, if not what should the
principles be?
The development principles are considered to be sound, but the
selection criteria, a topic on which there is no separate question, are
limited. In paragraph 5.1 the document states: This has considered the
provision of education, healthcare, employment, retail, community
facilities, sport and leisure facilities and transport linkages. The
selection criteria used subsequently omit employment at all but level 1.
While it is accepted that a first school is an important facility that
does benefit the wider community, and its presence in a settlement does
reduce travel for children of a very limited age range, it is felt that
this should not be the only criteria to enable a community to be
classified at tier 3. It is considered that the presence of significant
employment in a location is as significant as employees who cannot find
homes close to their work have a significant impact on travel, and
hence on the community. One “job” in a village places a transport
requirement for that employee throughout his/her working life, probably
for ten times the duration of attendance at first school.
Where a community such as Craster/Dunstan has employment opportunities
for 60 people in fishing, fish processing, catering and tourism, but
because of a severe shortage of affordable housing created by the
transfer of residential property to holiday homes, consideration should
be given to reclassification of such communities into tier 3. This
would enable the communities to develop more easily, and hence reduce
travel and its associated impact on the environment.
Question 9
Do you agree with the
settlements included in each tier as set out in table 5.2, table 5.3
and table 5.4?
It is noted that Dunstan is not listed as a separate community and it
is the opinion of the Parish Council that to avoid any confusion in the
future the listing should be changed to Craster/Dunstan as the two
communities are part of the same settlement separated only by a field.
All Councillors were in favour.
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