Agenda item

To consider making the Ashchurch Rural Neighbourhood Development Plan part of the Development Plan for Tewkesbury Borough; and todelegate to the Head of Development Services, in agreement with the Parish Council acting as the Qualifying Body, the correction of any minor errors such as spelling, grammar, typographical or formatting errors that do not affect the substantive content of the plan. 

39.1           Attention was drawn to the report of the Senior Planning Officer, circulated at Pages No. 16-78, which provided the Ashchurch Rural Neighbourhood Plan and asked Members that it be ‘made’ part of the Development Plan for Tewkesbury.

39.2              In proposing that the Neighbourhood Plan be ‘made’, the Lead Member for Built Environment explained that Neighbourhood Planning was a powerful tool which empowered communities to prepare a development plan for their own area.  When adopted (or 'made') by the Local Planning Authority, a neighbourhood plan formed part of the overall development plan and held weight in planning decisions within the relevant neighbourhood area.In the case of Ashchurch Rural, the parish area was formally designated as a neighbourhood plan area in January 2014. Since that time, the Parish Council had progressed its Neighbourhood Plan through the statutory stages, including undertaking public consultation and commissioning relevant surveys /studies to ensure the proposed policies were underpinned by local aspirations and were evidence-based.  The Borough Council had supported the Parish in that difficult process. The Parish Council had submitted its Draft Plan to the Borough Council in July 2021, together with a Strategic Environmental Assessment report and a statement to demonstrate how the plan had met minimum technical requirements known as the “basic conditions”. Following submission of the plan, the Borough Council undertook its own consultation in relation to whether the basic conditions had been met.  An examiner was appointed, with the agreement of the Parish Council, to conduct an independent examination. Having considered the draft documents, evidence and responses, she completed her examination, issuing her final report in April 2022. The examiner concluded that, subject to a number of recommended modifications, the plan met the basic conditions and could proceed to referendum - the referendum area being the neighbourhood area as designated. Most of the examiner's recommendations related to minor re-wording with the most significant recommendation being to delete a draft policy which sought to allocate a major site that already had the benefit of planning permission (Fiddington 1).  The examiner concluded that, in making a 'strategic' allocation, it would conflict with the strategic policies of the Joint Core Strategy. Accordingly, at a meeting of the Executive Committee on 1 June 2022, it was resolved that the Ashchurch Rural NDP, amended according to the Examiner's recommended modifications, be approved to proceed to a community referendum, where a simple majority in favour of the plan would be needed. The Referendum was widely publicised by both the Parish Council and the Borough Council and the Parish Council also held a number of drop in sessions in the weeks prior to the vote. A turnout of 14.45% of the Ashchurch Rural electorate was achieved with 155 voting in favour (88.57%) and 20 voting against (11.43%). Planning legislation set out that, following a positive referendum result, a neighbourhood plan had full legal effect but still required the decision of the Local Planning Authority to be formally ‘made’. The only circumstance where the Council might not decide to make the Neighbourhood Plan would be where it was believed that the plan would breach, or be otherwise incompatible with, retained EU legislation or human rights obligations.  As this was not the case in this instance, there should be no good reason to decline to formally ‘make’ the Plan. It was therefore recommended that the Ashchurch Rural Neighbourhood Development Plan was made part of the Development Plan for Tewkesbury Borough; and that authority be delegated to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for the Built Environment, and in agreement with the Qualifying Body (Parish Council), to correct any minor errors such as spelling, grammar, typographical or formatting errors that did not materially affect the substantive content of the plan.

39.3              Referring to Page No. 45, paragraph 110, a Member noted that the reference to the Severn Ham Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) should read Tewkesbury and Severn Ham SSSI and also felt the sentence regarding the wildlife site did not make sense and needed to be reworded. The Lead Member for Built Environment thanked the Parish Council for the enormous amount of work that went into developing the Neighbourhood Development Plan – this area had been particularly difficult due to the Garden Town. Having been proposed and seconded, it was

                  RESOLVED          1. That the Ashchurch Rural Neighbourhood Development Plan                             be made part of the Development Plan for Tewkesbury                                           Borough.

                                                2. That authority be delegated to the Head of Development                                    Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built                                          Environment, and in agreement with the Qualifying Body                                       (Parish Council) to correct any minor errors such as spelling,                                    grammar, typographical or formatting errors that do not                                                 materially affect the substantive content of the Plan.