We are consulting to obtain your views. You can complete our survey in any of the ways noted below:

  • Download the attachment below, complete and return to rnp@ringmerparishcouncil.gov.uk
  • Via https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Ringmer1
  • Via QR code

What’s happening?
Ringmer Parish Council is reviewing its Neighbourhood Plan. This is an update to our existing Neighbourhood Plan, which was created some years ago. Since that previous Plan was published, national policy has changed as has that of Lewes District Council and the South Downs National Park Authority. The Ringmer Neighbourhood Plan Review will retain some existing policies and add in new ones where needed. These planning policies will be used to guide planning applications in the parish alongside the policies of the Lewes Local Plan and the South Downs Local Plan.

What is a Neighbourhood Plan?

It is a document that communities can put together to set out how they want their area to develop over the next 15 to 20 years or so. It covers just our parish. It contains planning policies to set out how land should be used and to inform decisions on planning applications within the parish. Once officially ‘made’ (i.e., adopted), it becomes part of the Development Plan for the district (Lewes), sitting alongside the Lewes Local Plan. It therefore carries significant weight in the planning system. Almost 2,000 places across England now have neighbourhood plans.

What does the plan cover?
We are proposing approximately 20 policies planning policies, which you can read more about on the other posters. The policies cover issues ranging from housing, design and local heritage to commercial development, tourism, the environment, community facilities and getting around. These are not set in stone, however, and your feedback will help us to understand if we have missed anything.

Will this mean more homes?
We are not planning to allocate sites for homes (or other types of development) in the parish as this is being undertaken through the Lewes Local Plan Review process. It is likely, however, that homes will be identified for Ringmer Parish and our Neighbourhood Plan will help to shape how that happens and ensure that we get the associated infrastructure we need. Will this mean more homes?

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

FAQ’s

  1. We already have a Neighbourhood Plan for Ringmer – why do we need a new one?
  • Our current plan was written quite a few years ago. Since then, national planning policy has changed and some of our policies need updating to be useful. There are also topics we can include that aren’t in the current one.
  1. Does this mean that we will have more housing here?
  • The government require all areas across the country to deliver housing. Here, Lewes District Council are preparing a new Local Plan, which covers the whole district. They will be allocating housing sites as part of that. This means that we will not be including new housing in our plan.
  • Our neighbourhood plan cannot ‘stop’ development taking place, but it can influence what it looks like. We can also protect areas that are special to us, such as green spaces, local views, historic buildings and so forth.
  • The Neighbourhood Plan can set out our priorities for the area, which in turn can help to attract funding to deliver new facilities and other infrastructure.
  1. What sort of issues could the neighbourhood plan include?
  • The plan is first and foremost a planning policy document. It will include topics that are important to us and where we want to have more influence over. The value of the neighbourhood plan will be to add extra local detail so that we can influence development taking place here as much as possible. Based on the feedback so far, our Neighbourhood Plan will likely include policies to do the following:
    • Setting out our housing needs – setting out the sorts of homes needed here in terms of their size, whether they are to buy or to rent and how affordable they are.
    • Making sure development is in keeping with local character and is sustainably designed – we are preparing an updated Design Guide for the parish, which will set out how development should look. This means that developments will contribute positively to the look and feel of our area. We are also including a policy to encourage people to develop sustainably to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.
    • Safeguarding the environment – We can identify and map out the important habitats and wildlife corridors here that should be protected and where possible enhanced. We will also protect special green spaces in the community from inappropriate development.
    • The village centre – We will include policies to help support local shops and other businesses.
    • Community facilities – we can identify where additional/expanded local facilities might be needed.
    • Getting around the area – we have limited influence on strategic transport like roads and traffic (that is responsibility of East Sussex County Council). But we can promote more walking and cycling opportunities.
  1. Are there things the neighbourhood plan cannot do?

Some issues fall outside our scope, such as health provision, education, and strategic transport issues. That’s because other organisations are responsible for planning for these. But we can do our best to influence them

  1. How does the Ringmer Neighbourhood Plan differ from the Lewes Local Plan?
  • The Local Plan covers the whole district while our plan is just for Ringmer parish. Our policies will add additional detail to the Local Plan ones, to make them more tailored to our particular circumstances.
  • A new Local Plan is being developed for Lewes and we will need to keep a close eye on what that says and how it impacts our area. It’s like to allocate more homes and we need to influence that.
  1. Can we use the plan to stop further housing development in our parish?
  • No, neighbourhood planning is not about stopping development, rather shaping it. If housing is allocated, for instance, within the emerging Lewes Local Plan, the neighbourhood plan could not be used to stop that. But we can use it to plan how that housing might look, where it should and what supporting infrastructure is needed.
  1. Who is responsible for preparing the neighbourhood plan?
  • The Parish Council is the official lead body; however, it is vital that the plan is prepared with the community. We have a Steering Group comprising local councillors and volunteers.
  1. How long will it take to write the plan?
  • We hope to have a draft of the plan to share by early summer. We will then consult local people on it to make sure the community is happy with it. It will be ‘examined’ to check that it meets legal requirements, and ultimately there will be a local referendum to decide if the community want to adopt it.
  1. How much will it cost to develop the neighbourhood plan?
  • The cost of preparing a plan varies widely depending on the size of the population, the complexity of the plan and any additional technical studies that might be required.  As we are not starting from scratch, we can keep costs to a minimum. Much of the work will be covered using government neighbourhood plan grants.

 

Attachments