Why did we want to become a front runner council

What did we hope to get out of it

How have we got on so far

Costs and sources of funding we have used

Good practice and experience we would wish to pass on to other councils and communities

Questions asked for today

Neighbourhood plans• provision made in the Localism Bill• must not conflict with Local Plan• must conform to general principles of new National Planning Policy Framework • must be approved by a majority vote in a referendum

Neighbourhood plans• Plans will have statutory status to enable determination of planning applications• make allocations of land use and protect and safeguard land from development• establish policies on affordable housing etc• basis for securing planning-related funds to invest in supporting infrastructure

Neighbourhood plans•Plan can include Neighbourhood Development Order and/or Community Right to Build Order•can identify ‘Assets of Community Value’•adopted by WODC as the local planning authority

Background and Conditions from DCLG

SUMMARY of AIMS, GOVERNANCE and MANAGEMENT (DCLG)

“Neighbourhood planning is a new way for communities to decide the future of the places where they live and work”.

AIMS of Neighbourhood Planning

With a neighbourhood plan, communities will be able to establish general planning policies for the development and use of land in a neighbourhood. They will be able to say, for example, where new homes and offices should be built, and what they should look like. The neighbourhood plan will set a vision for the future. It can be detailed, or general, depending on what local people want•With a neighbourhood development order, the community can grant planning permission for new buildings they want to see go ahead. Neighbourhood development orders will allow new homes and offices to be built without the developers having to apply for separate planning permission.Local people can choose to draw up either a plan, or a development order, or both. It is entirely up to them. Both must follow some ground rules:•They must generally be in line with local and national planning policies•They must be in line with other laws•If the local planning authority says that an area needs to grow, then communities cannot use neighbourhood planning to block the building of new homes and businesses. They can, however, use neighbourhood planning to influence the type, design, location and mix of new development.

Front Runner Governance, Management & Resources (from the Chipping Norton bid document full version on WODC site)

GovernanceThe Neighbourhood Planning Front Runner will be governed by a new Project Boardcomprising the elected members for Chipping Norton of the West OxfordshireDistrict Council and the Oxfordshire County Council and of the Chipping NortonTown Council. The precise composition of the Board and its Chair will bedetermined in due course but its intent will be to ensure a properly democraticaccountability for decision-making.

The Project Board will be accountable to each of the three Councils and/or theirrelevant committees. In the case of the District Council as local planning authority,the Project Board will report the Neighbourhood Development Plan (and Orders asnecessary) to its Cabinet for approval, examination, referendum and adoption.The Project Board will meet at the beginning of each project stage to commencethat stage of work and it will meet to sign off any material for subsequent publicconsultation before the completion of that stage.

Management

The project will be managed by a small team comprising Planning Officers of the District Council, the Town Clerk of the Town Council and relevant local community experts nominated by the Town Council. The County Council will also be invited to nominate a representative on to this team.

The team will manage the project activities, programme, resources and events within the agreed project plan and budget. It will report on progress to the Project Board in timely way. It will delegate to the Editorial and Research & Intelligence support groups relevant tasks to each

Resources

The resources available to the project will comprise:• The Neighbourhood Planning Front Runner grant of £20,000•The in-house planning and document publishing resources of the District Council•A cash contribution from the Town Council•Co-opted local community experts (paid expenses only)•Voluntary Task Group, Focus Group and Support Group participants •The ‘Supporting Communities & Neighbourhoods in Planning’ service•District, County and Town Councillors for project governance

The likely cash expenses will be in relation to meetings, exhibitions, events and communications (online and offline). There will also be expenses in undertaking the independent examination and referendum, although these are not yet known. There may be a need to pay for the engagement of external specialist support to address gaps in coverage or detail of the evidence base (although this is not anticipated to any great extent).

Terms of Reference (February 2012)Chipping Norton Neighbourhood Plan (CNNP) Front Runner Scheme

IntroductionThis statement outlines the key roles and responsibilities of the main partners involved in the in the development of the Chipping Norton Neighbourhood Plan (CNNP).Chipping Norton Town Council, with the support of West Oxfordshire District Council, is committed to working with the community to produce a Neighbourhood Plan which provides a planning and land use policy framework for the future development of the Town, giving a clear structure for addressing locally identified issues. The document will build on the work of the successful (1993 and 2003) Chipping Norton Town Appraisals. The objective is to complete a Neighbourhood Plan for the town by 2013.Context of CNNPThe 2003 Town Appraisal identified the following vision for the town based on community consultation:‘ … working Cotswold town thriving economically and socially as a rural hub – but keeping the strong community spirit and local services and facilities’ (pp 3 ‘A vision for a working Cotswold town – the report of the Chipping Norton Town Appraisal 2003)The Government is implementing major reforms to the planning system with the aim of ensuring the local community has a greater say in their community. Neighbourhood Plans is an opportunity for the Chipping Norton community to build on the previous Town Appraisals to assess progress to date, confirm that the vision remains relevant, and consider how land use planning may address the issues identified within the 2003 Town Appraisal and through subsequent consultation. Structure, Roles and Responsibilities The preparation of a Neighbourhood Plan for Chipping Norton will require a clear governance structure which defines various duties and responsibilities. At this early stage of the Plan, it is proposed that two groups with clear remits are established:-•CNNP Project BoardGroup of democratically elected representatives at Town, District and County levels to function as decision making body – involving consideration and sign off of specific tasks/papers relating to the Plan. •CNNP Project Steering GroupGroup of members of the community, with the support of CNTC Clerk and District Council Officers, who work to steer the plan process and deliver identified activities for progressing the Plan. After the direction of the Neighbourhood Plan is established consideration will be given to the set up of the support teams and task groups

Chipping Norton Neighbourhood Planning Management Structure

PROJECT STEERING

GROUP

Health Wellbeing Education and Community

TASK GROUP

Housing and Enterprise

TASK GROUP

OCC

Sustainabilityand Transport

TASK GROUP

Editorial Team

WODC

CNTC

YOUTH, WORKING and OLDER PEOPLEFOCUS GROUPS

PROJECT BOARD

R and I Team

Next steps taken or to be taken

• arrange first Project Board meeting to agree governance structure etc.• establish Project Steering Group• publish information leaflet for all households, organisations and landowners• recruit to Task and Support Groups (Orientation and Task Group meeting 2nd April)• agree project management support• produce our “VISION FOR 2026”

THE TWO MANAGEMENT GROUPS

The Steering Group  and Project Board  composition .

 The Project Board (A Group of democratically elected representatives of the community with the task of signing off specific tasks/papers relating to the Plan)Consisting of : A WODC Project Development Planning Officer, 3 Town Councillors, [CNTC Mayor as Chair and ex officio], 3 District Councillors and 1 County Councillor.

The Steering Group (A Group to steer and manage the plan process, make recommendations to the Project board and deliver particular activities for progressing the plan) Consisting of: A WODC Project Planning Officer, 1 Town Councillor who also sits on the Project Board, the CNTC Clerk and 5 or 6 other members including Task Group leaders, Town Council members community and business representatives.

THE PROPOSED PROCESS

A process of around 18 months has been designed in outline to blend together thebest of the current planning system with the new system following the Localism Bill.It ensures that the Neighbourhood Plan will be well-informed by a sound evidencebase from the outset supplied, interpreted and refreshed by the District Council asnecessary. But it also places the local community in the driving seat throughencouragement and enabling them to debate the issues and come to views thatrepresent a significant majority of the population.

Stage One: Evidence (3 months)

This stage begins with a validation of the evidence base of the West OxfordshireLocal Development Framework for the purposes of this project, together with otherrelevant evidence, and ends with the publication of a ‘Vision for 2026’ report onwhich to engage the local community. The Task and Focus groups, with supportfrom the Research & Intelligence Team, will be deployed to validate the evidence forsubsequent stages.• 2003 Town Appraisal proposal & evidence base review • 2011 West Oxfordshire Core Strategy policy & evidence base review• New bespoke Neighbourhood Plan evidence gathering• Commence Sustainability Appraisal• Publish ‘VISION for 2026’ Report (inc. Sustainability Appraisal objectives)• Public Consultation

Stage Two: Scenarios (2 months)

This stage revisits the three scenarios of the 2003 Town Appraisal to determine ifthey remain plausible and valuable to develop. Each scenario is developed in sufficient detail, as before, using the Task and Focus groups, to enable comparison and then evaluation in the most important community engagement phase of the whole project.At the end of this stage, a preferred scenario will emerge that will be the focus ofthe Plan.• Refresh & develop three 2003 Town Appraisal scenarios with outline visions,functions/services, spatial growth, infrastructure and investment• Public Consultation

Stage Three: Draft Neighbourhood Plan (3 months)

In this stage, the preferred scenario is developed in more detail in terms of its(measurable) objectives, spatial plan, planning proposals, non-planning proposals and delivery features. The Task and Focus groups will develop each component of the plan. The District Council will facilitate translating the planning proposals into theNeighbourhood Development Plan section, comprising specific land-use relatedpolicies and allocations to complement the Local Plan/Core Strategy (and perhaps aNeighbourhood Development Order and/or Community Right to Build Order). Adraft Plan will be published for consultation with the local community usingexhibitions, meetings and online/offline surveys.•Vision & Objectives•Spatial Approach•Neighbourhood Development Plan policies, Orders and Proposals•Non-Neighbourhood Development Plan proposals•Delivery Strategy•Initial Sustainability Appraisal•Public Consultation

Stage Four: Final Neighbourhood Plan (3 months)

In this stage, the final draft Plan is prepared using the outcomes of the publicconsultation in the previous stage. The Plan will be published in ‘submission’equivalent form in readiness for Examination. Final text & plans Publication of Submission Document and Sustainability Appraisal

Stage Five: Examination (3 months)

The full and final details of this stage are not yet known but it is expected that theexamination process will be a scaled-down version of that used for otherDevelopment Plan Documents. We intend to invite a suitably qualified andexperienced senior staff member of the School of Planning at Oxford BrookesUniversity to act as independent examiner.•Pre-Examination Meeting•Examination• Examiners Report

Stage Six: Referendum (1 month)

Again, the final details of this stage are not yet known but we expect a publicreferendum to be arranged by the District Council with the support of the TownCouncil in a way that was timed and managed to encourage an above-averageturnout of voters.

Stage Seven: Adoption (2 months)

Finally, if given a majority vote in favour, the Plan will be produced for approval and adoption by the District Council and then published online and offline.•Final text & plan production•West Oxfordshire District Council adoption• Document Publication

The 2003 Town Appraisal

In 2003, the Town Council oversaw the completion of a town appraisal for Chipping Norton. The report followed a previous ‘parish plan’ in 1990/1 and sought to reestablish a shared vision for the town to 2013.The process took 18 months to complete almost entirely through voluntary effortfrom a wide cross-section of the community with some limited support from theDistrict and County councils.Specifically, it involved over 100 individuals in expert task groups and enabledcontributions from over 1,700 local residents and villagers, over 70 local businesses and over 500 young people.

In her Foreword, the Mayor acknowledged that,

“Chipping Norton is a town that has always seemed able to sort itself. Therehas historically been an air of independence about the place and a pride in itsheritage. Always underpinning this, too, has been a great sense of community,thriving on the diverse nature of its people, businesses, facilities andbuildings.”

The Chipping Norton Set

Chipping Norton Now

Over the last eight years much has been achieved. The town’s hospital has beenrelocated into modern premises, its secondary school has a new science block, the lido is operated by a community enterprise, over 250 new dwellings have been built and a combined new Youth facility and Adult learning facility (Glyme Hall) is now open.All this has been achieved without undermining the historic character of the town,nor the quality of the surrounding Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

On the other hand, this period has seen the closure of the Parker Knoll furniturefactory (with the loss of hundreds of jobs over the preceding decade), increasingtraffic congestion in the town centre, the loss of half the town’s pubs and the gradual increase in vacant or short term let shop units.As in 2002/3, the town feels as if it is close to an important crossroads in its futuredirection. The following are all key drivers of future change, which may haveprofound beneficial and negative consequences for the town and its surroundingrural hinterland for the next generations:

Chipping Norton Neighbourhood Plan Front Runner bid July 2011

Social infrastructure – the town’s population is such that much of its school,health and leisure infrastructure could be ‘stuck between two stools’, in that thetown is already big enough to require key services, but not yet big enough to offerthese services as efficiently or effectively as modern consumers of them demand.The Draft Core Strategy indicates that primary school provision is reaching capacityand could be in effect a brake on future development in the town. And yet many ofthe smaller village schools in the Chipping Norton ‘family’ arguably are only survivingbecause of the demands for school places from the town’s families.

Retail infrastructure – the town is one of very few in the country of its small sizethat can boast a wide range of multiple and independent retailers and indeed it mayeven be unique. This is as a result of historic investment by some key multipleretailers – Boots, W H Smiths and Burtons/Top Shop – which despite major changes in their corporate ownership and commercial strategies continue to trade in a town whose catchment population falls significantly below the thresholds such businesseswould normally consider for locating outlets. It is also as a result of significant localinvestment by the Midcounties Co-operative (whose tradition in the town goes backto the Chipping Norton Co-op in 1866) and to other important retailers – Beales,Harpers – and a host of long standing local retailers. But for how long can all theseretailers continue to trade successfully and to what extent will this be driven byfuture population growth and by the economic bond between the town and itssurrounding villages? And how does the community judge whether or not a likelyapplication for a major new out of centre food store will have a net positive ornegative impact on the town centre?

Enterprise infrastructure – the town continues to provide a range ofemployment opportunities for its residents and a wide population in and beyondWest Oxfordshire. Its traditional services and agricultural businesses have over the years been supplemented by businesses in the creative sector. But with higher fuel prices in the longer term and the threat of inadequate broadband capacity in this rural area, will these businesses be able to stay and will it still be possible to attract new businesses if the labour pool is constrained?

Transport infrastructure – the town lies at the junction of the A44 and A361with larger centres of population – Witney, Banbury, Oxford, Cheltenham andStratford – at least ten miles away. As with other similar rural areas, private car dependence is relatively high with significant challenges (given the relative isolation and topography) of promoting public transport and cycling alternatives. The prospect of ‘peak oil’ will seriously harm the ability of the town’s residents to commute longer distances but its own businesses may struggle to be competitive. How can the town’s mix of transport types be more resilient to future demand?

Green infrastructure - the town’s 4,000 domestic and non-domestic buildings arethe main source of carbon emissions through energy demand with very few atpresent having installed renewable energy generation capacity (e.g. solar). Itssurrounding AONB status landscape is without doubt beautiful and much issuccessfully farmed. But how can the combination of this natural environmental assetand our ageing building stock become part of our green infrastructure that lowersour carbon footprint and increases our resilience to climate change and higherenergy costs?

The West Oxfordshire Draft Core Strategy 2011The strategy, published for consultation in January 2011, has been developed throughtwo key documents published for consultation – the Core Strategy So Far (February2009) and the Preferred Approach (February 2010). It also has foundations in thestrategy of the West Oxfordshire Local Plan adopted in June 2006.It adopts a settlement hierarchy (Policy CS2) which defines Chipping Norton as oneof three ‘main service centres’ in the District. In these centres, “the majority of newresidential and economic development, together with supporting services, will beaccommodated within and on the edge of these three service centres.The strategy for Chipping Norton is set out in Policy CS8.

Policy CS8 Strategy for Chipping Norton

“Proposals for development in Chipping Norton should be consistent with the strategy which includes:conservation and enhancement of the town’s landscape setting and heritage assets working with the highway authority, the town council and other partners to reduce the impact of through traffic, especially lorries, upon the town centre and its air qualityimproving conditions throughout the town for pedestrians and cyclists, including accessibility to bus services a stronger town centre with new opportunities for retail and community facilities on land between High Street and Albion Streetmanagement of public car parking areas to help support the town centreexpansion of employment opportunities to match local skillsprovision of new education and community facilitiesabout 400 new homes including affordable housing and homes for older people priority will be given to reuse/redevelopment of the former health and older people’s accommodation off Spring Street.any future development on the fringes of Chipping Norton should

o meet identified local needso protect and enhance the setting of the towno be of a type and scale which does not place unacceptable pressure on

local schoolso not set a precedent for further development which would result in an

unacceptable level of change to the character and environment of this historic town.”

StakeholdersFor the Plan to be meaningful and deliverable, it will be essential that key stakeholder groups participate, either through the Task Groups or through informing the evidence base and responding to consultation opportunities. Land and property owners (and developer interests with options thereon) will be encouraged to engage with the project and will likely do so given the proposed status of the Neighbourhood Development Plan element.

It is also expected that a wide range of specialist interest groups will participate, e.g.town traders, environmental/heritage groups, local charities, the NHS, the ThamesValley Police etc. The Town Council and District Council will both use their databases of local contacts to ensure that all such groups are aware of the project and are invited to participate in the Task Groups.

There will also be three Focus Groups: Young People (18 and under), Older People(retired) and Working Age (18 – 60). In each case a small number of people fromacross the community will be encouraged (or bribed!) to act as a focus group against which the evidence base and work of the Task Groups throughout the stages can be constantly tested from their specific perspective. This technique worked very well in the 2003 Town Appraisal as it gave non-technical, non-professional lay people an opportunityto discuss a range of ideas and proposals as they may affect them and people likethem in the community.

Support GroupsThere will also be two Support Groups: Editorial and Research & Intelligence. Theformer will take responsibility for authoring the content of the Plan; the latter willmanage the database of evidence throughout the project on behalf of all the groups.Again, both groups were used in the 2003 Town Appraisal to great effect.

Neighbouring ParishesAs the Plan will cover only the parish of Chipping Norton then the neighbouringparish councils will be consulted at every stage of the project and, where relevant,may be invited to nominate a representative onto one or more of the Task Groups.The Town Council acknowledges at the outset the importance of the surroundingvillages to its economic and social future and will therefore be especially mindful ofengaging its neighbours in this process.

Chipping Norton Neighbourhood Plan Front Runner bid July 2011

2003 Appraisal

The appraisal ‘Vision for 2013’ “would see a working Cotswold town thrivingeconomically and socially as a rural hub - but keeping the strong community spiritand local services and facilities”.The vision was the result of a major consultation exercise within the communitybased on three alternative but plausible scenarios for the town as:

1. “A sleepy Cotswold jewel - driven by demographics of retired people andhigh- income commuters moving into town2. A rural outpost - driven by economic drift and decline with investment goingto larger towns3. A thriving cultural gateway - driven by maintaining critical mass throughgrowth, with the risk of threats to environment and a quiet peacefulatmosphere”

The community overwhelmingly supported the third of these scenarios as that whichbest represented their aspirations for the town. This in turn enabled a series of keyissues to be addressed in the coming years.

Appendix A: Evidence BaseThe following studies and evidence documents are available to inform the ChippingNorton Neighbourhood Plan:o Affordable Housing Viability Study 2009 and 2011 Updateo Air Quality Management Plan - Horsefair and High Street Chipping Nortono Chipping Norton Landscape Assessment 2009o Chipping Norton Town Appraisal 2003o Cotswolds AONB Management Plano Demographic Projections (2010)o Draft Core Strategy January 2011 and Sustainability Appraisalo Employment Land Review 2007 and Update 2011o Green Infrastructure Study 2011oHousehold Survey of New Development 2009o Housing Needs Survey 2008 (currently being updated)o Local Transport Plan 3 2011- 2030 (incl. Chipping Norton Area Strategy)o Open Space Audit 2008o Renewable energy and Sustainable Construction Study 2009o Retail Needs Assessment 2007o Settlement Sustainability Reports 2010o Strategic Flood Risk Assessment 2009o Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (Draft 2011) West Oxfordshire Design GuideoWest Oxfordshire Health & Well-being Strategy 2009 – 2012o West Oxfordshire Sustainable Community Strategyo West Oxfordshire Tourism Strategy 2009 – 2012

Enter code 1-5 for each:

Code

  Strongly agree 1

  Agree 2

  Disagree 3

  Strongly disagree 4

  No opinion 5

Person A B C D E F

The community and its spirit

Pleasant physical environment

The Town's location

Local employment opportunities

Right housing available

Facilities for leisure and sport

Local services and shops

Good public transport

Good local education/schools

Local health and caring services

Lots of things going on

Peaceful and safe neighbourhood

Question : 19The following are major positive aspects of Chipping Norton that make you want to live here – do you agree?

THE 2003 APPRAISAL

Question : 20If you had to make choices about Chipping Norton’s future, which of the following would you put as most important?Please tick your top 3

Person A B C D E F

More local jobs and businesses

Preserving and improving local shops

Keeping excellent local schools

Providing more houses at reasonable prices

Keeping the community spirit

Providing more modern leisure facilities

Attracting more visitors to the town

Keeping a pleasant environment

Safety and security as a priority

CONCERNS ABOUT THE SCHEME

1. Effectiveness of Localism Bill ?2. Ownership of Plan by WODC 3. Is this process all too late for us to influence the three rather sensitive sites in the centre of Chipping Norton?(The old Hospital site has just been sold. The Care home site is up for sale as is the old Ambulance station.)4. Website - Dedicated Neighbourhood Planning Site for Advertising meetings, one vehicle for the Questionnaire and keeping the residents informed of the progress through the scheme. Needs to be up and running very soon.5. Editorial and Research groups– so far a weak link6. Questionnaire distributed by Newsagents, online possibility, via Guildhall, Doctors Surgeries, Supermarkets etc. Will this reach enough residents?7. Funding availability and help?RTPI (Some free advice) Good general website, CPRE (design Council CABE (Commision for Architecture and the Built Environment, Locality, Princes Foundation (suspended scheduling for collaborative events)8. Administrative/time cost to our part time staff

3 part time staff (9am-1pm 4 or 5 days per week)

RTPI

RTPI

DAWLISH

WARMINSTER http://www.warminster.uk.com

http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/places

DCLG website

Community groups and individuals may get free expert advice and guidance on all aspects of engaging with the planning system from four organisations who are supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government:The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment: Supporting communities and neighbourhoods in planning www.princes-foundation.org/our-work/supporting-communities-and-neighbourhoods-planningLocality www.buildingcommunity.org.ukCampaign to Protect Rural England: Planning Help  www.planninghelp.org.ukRoyal Town Planning Institute: Planning Aid www.rtpi.org.uk/planningaid/ (external links).

Prince's Foundation

Pending a decision by the DCLG for 2012/13 funding, the Prince's Foundation has suspended the scheduling of further collaborative planning events. Applications for the Supporting Communities and Neighbourhoods in Planning Scheme are still welcome, and will be put on a waiting list for future consideration in the order they are received. All applicants on the waiting list will be notified about DCLG's decision and future progression of the scheme before 31st March 2012.

Locality “Although our tailored planning support is currently closed, you can still use our training workshops and study tours, online resources and a creative planning camp to help you to get involved in neighbourhood planning.”

CPRE

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), in partnership with the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), are helping to deliver important advice and guidance on planning through the 'Supporting Communities and Neighbourhoods in Planning' project.

The project will run until the end of March 2012

RTPI