Notice of Statutory Consultations for the Burcot and Clifton Hampden Neighbourhood Plan (Regulation 14) and Neighbourhood Development Order (Regulation 21)

The Parish Council announce the launch of the 1st round of statutory consultations (pre-submission) of the Neighbourhood Plan (Regulation 14) and Neighbourhood Development Order (Regulation 21) which will open for 6 weeks from 17 August 2022 date, and close on 29 September 2022.

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Dear Residents

I am writing to you to announce the launch of the 1st round of statutory consultations of the Neighbourhood Plan and Neighbourhood Development Order which opens on 17 August 2022.

Many residents will be aware or even familiar with the work undertaken over the past 9 years, and others will be new to it. So I wanted to take this opportunity to explain for some, and remind for others, why your Parish Council has embarked on such a significant undertaking’…

Please read full letter here (pdf)

Why are we doing this?

The Neighbourhood Plan (NP) is a planning policy document which explains the vision, objectives, land use policy and how we plan to implement these for the parish.

The Neighbourhood Development Order (NDO) is a planning application submitted by the Parish Council. Together, these will secure the future of our community and our amenities in the face of the direct threat posed by the massive developments at Culham (3500 houses) and Berinsfield (1700 houses).

You are invited to watch a short film explaining the proposed development and the what the community will gain from it [here]

How did we get here?

In our first survey in 2014 you told us the most important things to you are to grow the village, sustain the shop and post office, provide a new surgery, additional assembly space for the school, improvements for the village hall, additional parking, and some new homes for existing residents to downsize and to welcome newcomers. These results were published in the Village Plan in 2015.

In 2018, following a long period of consultation with SODC, the Parish Council determined that the best chance of success to achieve these objectives would be to develop, in parallel, an NP and an NDO. In late 2019, following a process of identifying potential sites, work on preparing initial proposals for development commenced.

Community Benefit

The NDO will deliver public benefit to the community, falling onto two categories.

Benefit directly generated through the NDO scheme.

  • A new, modern surgery fit for the 21st century, to replace the existing facility located in a pair of cottages which were converted in 1978.
  • 17 new homes to meet local demand, including 4 Affordable Homes.
  • An extension to and refurbishment of the Village Hall
  • A new burial ground
  • New allotments
  • Improved public access to community land, creation of new footpaths and a new orchard
  • The building housing the village shop and post office building will pass into community ownership
  • The undeveloped land on both sites will pass into community ownership, together with a £10,000 grant
  • Improved village parking
  • Capital Projects Grants:
    • Clifton Hampden Primary School (£150,000), for infrastructure improvements
    • Improvement grants for amenities on the Recreation Ground (£50,000)
  • Safety Improvements on the bridge improving access to the Barley Mow and the car park, which is also the village carpark, to be funded from Community Infrastructure Levy

Benefit generated via enabling agreements with the landowner: 

  • Secured rights for residents and visitors to use the Barley Mow car park. 
  • Land for a new footpath and cycle path between Clifton Hampden and Long Wittenham 

The Neighbourhood Plan (NP)

The NP is a planning policy document explaining the vision, objectives, land use policy and how we plan to implement all of that for the village.

Between November 2020 and March 2021, we published our first draft of the NP, and we asked you to tell us what you thought of it.

In this consultation, support for the draft policies in the NP was almost universal, with only a few residents offering comments or expressing concerns. Those expressing concerns generally did so on the basis that they did not support the development proposals, or that there was insufficient information upon which to express an opinion.

SODC have also commented on the draft NP. In their opinion, policies for the new surgery and new housing should not be included in a Neighbourhood Plan for a parish in the Green Belt, and that the cases for these need to be made through the NDO. These policies have therefore been deleted. Other comments were minor and technical in nature.

The draft NP has been updated to reflect residents and SODC comments where appropriate and is the subject of this consultation.

Regulation 14 Consultation

The pre-submission draft of the Neighbourhood Plan and supporting documents can now be viewed here.

Paper copies are available for viewing at the Clifton Hampden Stores, which is open at the following times:

Monday to Friday: 0700 to 1700
Saturday: 0700 to 1230
Sunday: 0800 to 1100

The consultation is now closed

Comments on the Neighbourhood Plan can be found here.

The Neighbourhood Development Order (NDO)

Between November 2020 and March 2021, our initial development proposals were published, and we asked you to tell us what you thought of them. The initial proposals included 25 new houses, 5 on the Paddock Site and 20 on the Allotment Site, together with a new GP surgery building.

Support for the proposals was strong: 59% supported the proposals, 33% were against, 8% were neutral.

Support for retaining a GP surgery within the parish on a new site was overwhelming. Those who agreed that a new surgery was needed outnumbered those who didn’t agree by a ratio of more than 7:1.

Support for new housing was also strong, with those agreeing that new housing is required outnumbered those who disagree by a ratio of more than 4:1.

  • A number of residents expressed concerns that the proposed development was against national Green Belt policy. However most respondents’ comments were about housing, the main themes being:
  • Housing Numbers and Types. More 1, 2 & 3 bedroom houses, and for accommodation on a single floor such as apartments or bungalows.
    The Allotments Site. Concerns about proximity to existing properties, risk of being overlooked, loss of views, loss of rural feel, risk of flooding, traffic and access.
  • The Paddock Site. Many supportive of the layout, look and feel of the scheme. Some concerns such as proximity; risk of being overlooked; loss of views; flooding; access off the A415.
  • Style. There were mixed views on the style of the surgery and housing. Some felt the designs shown were too modern, others not modern enough.

In response a revised scheme was prepared, reducing the number (to 20) and size (mostly 1-3 bed) of new housing, and a complete redesign of the Allotments site.

A request for pre-application advice on the revised scheme was made to SODC in September 2021. SODC’s advice was that the impact on the Green Belt should be further mitigated by reducing the amount of space under development, and the impact on Conservation Area reduced by aligning the set back of the houses on the Paddock site with the existing housing to the east and west.

In response to this advice, the scheme was further adjusted, the number of houses reduced to 17, and further adjustments made to site layout.

Village Hall

Cemetery

Following these adjustments SODC officers indicated that they were now broadly supportive of the scheme.

Following the pre-application process, a draft NDO has been prepared for this scheme, the subject of this statutory consultation.

Regulation 21 Consultation

The pre-submission draft of the Neighbourhood Development Order and supporting documents can now be viewed on the here.

Paper copies are available for viewing at the Clifton Hampden Stores, which is open at the following times:

Monday to Friday: 0700 to 1700
Saturday: 0700 to 1230
Sunday: 0800 to 1100

The consultation is now closed

Comments on the Neighbourhood Development Order can be found here.

Additional Information

Two consultation events will be held in the Village Hall. Members of the development team will be on hand to explain the proposals and take questions, and at each event there will be an opportunity for a discussion with other attendees in a public forum.

The date/time of the consultation events are:

  • Wednesday 31st August from 1930 to 2130, public forum 2030 to 2115
  • Saturday 3rd September from 1000 to 1200, public forum 1100 to 1145

The Parish Council’s privacy statement relating to both consultations can be viewed on the website here.

What Happens Next?

  • Subject to amendments, the Neighbourhood Plan (NP) and NDO will be submitted to SODC, who will then conduct a further 6 week statutory consultation under Regulation 16 (NP) and Regulation 23 (NDO).
  • Subject to any further amendments, the NP and NDO will be presented for Public Examination by an Inspector in early 2023
  • Following the Public Examination, the NP and NDO will be put to Referendum settled by a simple majority of those who vote.
  • If passed, the NP and NDO will then be adopted.