collingham neighbourhood plan minutes
Minutes of meeting 20
Memorial Hall Wednesday 27th November 2013
Attendees:
Andrew Jackson, Julian Holmes, Peter Costello, Angela Beaumont, , Mike Hodges, Louise Downie, William Sparling.
Residents of Wattle Syke – David Harper, Kevin Moore, Victoria Forbes
Paul Leeming of Carter Jonas attend part of the meeting.
Apologies:
Ken Campbell, John Groves, Paul Wills, Kay Lawton.
Memorial Hall Wednesday 27th November 2013
Attendees:
Andrew Jackson, Julian Holmes, Peter Costello, Angela Beaumont, , Mike Hodges, Louise Downie, William Sparling.
Residents of Wattle Syke – David Harper, Kevin Moore, Victoria Forbes
Paul Leeming of Carter Jonas attend part of the meeting.
Apologies:
Ken Campbell, John Groves, Paul Wills, Kay Lawton.
359
The committee members signed the declaration of no prejudicial interests.
316
The meeting reviewed the actions from the agreed minutes meeting 19. Actions have been completed or included in the current agenda with the exception of 307, 318,319, 323 which are copied below.
307
To track the involvement and communication with the Parish Council, Julian will pull out all the minutes recording progress and decisions made to date.
318
Julian handed Ian our strategic issues note. Ian agreed to forward this to others in Leeds for comment. Ian has asked Heather Suggate to respond to this.
343
Sufficiency of consultation. Peter to look at how Tattenhall Policies were presented for public consultation and advise whether we are following a similar path or not.
Minutes 352 to 354 are retained from the last meeting as they were not fully discussed at this meeting.
360
Paul Leeming from Carter Jonas, agents for Lady Elizabeth Hastings Trust provided the meeting an up date on the sites owned by the Trust.
All the large sites are being progressed simultaneously (Lilac Farm, Leeds Road South, Harewood Road).
Carter Jonas is also representing the Johnsons and Mr Kenny for Leeds Road South site.
Paul is up dating the Trust director’s 28th November. There is no intention at the moment to make a significant investment in additional surveys etc. (Carter Jonas are an agent not a developer). There may be topographical surveys and some flood risk analysis, to make sure the sites are potentially viable.
There is no intention to submit a planning application for these large sites ahead of the Leeds Site Allocation process. Paul confirmed that assessment of the sites would include a review of the Green Belt boundary. (Purpose of Green Belt – check unrestricted sprawl, prevent towns from merging, safeguard the countryside from encroachment, preserve setting and special character of historic towns, assist in urban regeneration)
Paul anticipates that the sites might be either allocated for housing in this 15 year plan period or might be safeguarded for the next plan period. This may be dependent on the planning decision for the 2000 home Strategic Site at Thorp Arch.
Paul advised that the application for 4 houses on land adjacent to Jewitt Lane was being considered by Leeds. It is likely to be discussed at the Plans Panel meeting in December.
The Committee advised Paul that it was on going with its preparation and general policies were being drafted. Advice is being sought on whether the Plan then needs to allocate any land for housing. As it stands at the moment it is not considered that any of the sites would be considered suitable for housing.
Amongst many things, the infrastructure in Collingham is not deemed appropriate to support any significant increase in housing numbers and there has still not been any indication from Leeds how this infrastructure might be improved in the future. The scale of investment required is likely to be beyond that feasible on the back of the proposed housing development.
361
Communication from Leeds
The Inspector’s report on the Core Strategy has probably been delayed. The Inspector has found that the Affordable Housing plans and the plans for Gypsy and Traveller sites are unsound. He has asked Leeds to address these and it is believed the process has been suspended until these are appropriately resolved.
Will agreed to contact planning for an accurate update.
362
Revised programme
It is hoped the first pass general policies will be completed by end of 2013. This is not been helped by a general shortage of feedback from the business community in Collingham in particular.
It is thought likely that additional evidence may be required in support of the General Policies. If we take the decision to allocate any sites for housing then the programme will have to be extended to allow full detailed assessment of the potential sites. This will be considered fully at the next Neighbourhood Planning meeting.
As it stands today, the intention is to hold the next public consultation in March 2014. This may be the Regulation 14 consultation required by law.
363
Update on the emerging Plan
A first pass policy document has been prepared for Sustainability, Local Character – Built Environment, Greenspace and Housing. Subheadings are Justification and Evidence, Community Feedback, Supporting Documents, Policies, Plans and Aspirations.
It was considered that it is useful to have something on paper to indicate the direction we are heading. This might point to further work required to populate the evidence database and to provide further more detailed policies for specific items such as housing.
Julian will attempt drafting Policies for Highway Safety and for Local Economy in the same format as above.
Angela and Louise volunteered to gain evidence of problems related to parking and traffic, and Kevin Moore volunteered to provide similar evidence in the vicinity of Wattle Syke.
364
Highway Safety
Julian circulated in November a sheet with highway safety issues and asked all to respond with possible solutions. 3 members of the public have responded and so have East Keswick. There has been no response from the police as yet.
Conclusions – hard to come by, but there appears little support for significant changes and definitely little support for increased signing and signalisation. Any measures need to be sensitive to the need to preserve the rural ambience of the village.
365
2011 Census data Angela has ploughed through the census data, and discovered the population of Collingham has increased by just 13 in the period 2001 to 2011.
The information will be tabulated for comparison with the Village Survey responses and for inclusion in the Neighbourhood Plan.
Collingham Sites
366
There was little to report about any of the possible sites that is not covered by minute 359 above.
367
Related to the PAS site, Leeds Road North, is a current application being heard concerning a site in Farsley. The site has gone to appeal and the Inspector has asked Leeds planners to attend. He has enquired about whether Leeds actually do have sufficient plots in place to deliver the 5 year housing need. Leeds have apparently confirmed that they do not.
Will volunteered to find out from the planning department how much of this is true as if it is true then the possibility of other planning applications on PAS land is very high.
Albert Hills has confirmed that Miller Homes still intend to submit a planning application for the Leeds Road North site before Christmas.
Consultation and Communication
368
The draft Newsletter was discussed and various amendments proposed. Julian to make these amendments and send to the printers for delivery week end 6th December.
Many thanks to those that have volunteered to deliver the Newsletter.
352
Kay updated the meeting on a neighbourhood planning exercise carried out by the Guides. The results are going to be displayed in the scout hut during the bonfire party and Kay is going to canvass further comments from youngster attending the bonfire.
353
Communication with businesses.
Ken has hand delivered leaflets to the local businesses. No response as yet.
Julian has written to the major corporations with interests in Collingham – no response yet. Ken is going to ask the businesses whether they would like a business meeting and lunch, and is also going to see if there is any interest in establishing a local business community.
It has been pointed out that the tenant farmers may wish to contribute to our Plan. Julian to investigate how to find the tenant’s contact details and engage where possible. Farmers already contacted include Kilby’s, Compton Grove Farm and farmer on Birdalefield Lane.
354
Communication with Clubs and Societies
Angela is well on the way to contacting the clubs and societies. Some have already responded.
Collingham Junior football club presented to the meeting. They described difficulties in securing playing fields on permanent basis and this always puts the future of the club at risk. It was accepted that not all members are residents of Collingham but a fair proportion are. The football club brings financial strength the whole of CALSA (squash, racketball and cricket). Ideally the club would like to have more pitches available in Collingham.
The meeting asked the football club to gather further evidence to support the need for pitches, and provide this to the committee. This evidence would be considered with all other back ground data and policies, projects and aspirations included in the Plan accordingly.
Julian has written to the management committee of CALSA asking them to advise how the club needs to develop over the next 15 years to remain a vibrant and sustainable community asset.
369
Photography Competition
To date there have been no entries onto the website.
370
Date of next meeting for the Neighbourhood Planning Group – Wednesday, 11th December, Mike Dando and Ian Mackay to attend to discuss Housing and to try and resolve whether we need to include allocation in our Plan. Next ordinary meeting Weds 8th January 2014.
The meeting was closed.
The committee members signed the declaration of no prejudicial interests.
316
The meeting reviewed the actions from the agreed minutes meeting 19. Actions have been completed or included in the current agenda with the exception of 307, 318,319, 323 which are copied below.
307
To track the involvement and communication with the Parish Council, Julian will pull out all the minutes recording progress and decisions made to date.
318
Julian handed Ian our strategic issues note. Ian agreed to forward this to others in Leeds for comment. Ian has asked Heather Suggate to respond to this.
343
Sufficiency of consultation. Peter to look at how Tattenhall Policies were presented for public consultation and advise whether we are following a similar path or not.
Minutes 352 to 354 are retained from the last meeting as they were not fully discussed at this meeting.
360
Paul Leeming from Carter Jonas, agents for Lady Elizabeth Hastings Trust provided the meeting an up date on the sites owned by the Trust.
All the large sites are being progressed simultaneously (Lilac Farm, Leeds Road South, Harewood Road).
Carter Jonas is also representing the Johnsons and Mr Kenny for Leeds Road South site.
Paul is up dating the Trust director’s 28th November. There is no intention at the moment to make a significant investment in additional surveys etc. (Carter Jonas are an agent not a developer). There may be topographical surveys and some flood risk analysis, to make sure the sites are potentially viable.
There is no intention to submit a planning application for these large sites ahead of the Leeds Site Allocation process. Paul confirmed that assessment of the sites would include a review of the Green Belt boundary. (Purpose of Green Belt – check unrestricted sprawl, prevent towns from merging, safeguard the countryside from encroachment, preserve setting and special character of historic towns, assist in urban regeneration)
Paul anticipates that the sites might be either allocated for housing in this 15 year plan period or might be safeguarded for the next plan period. This may be dependent on the planning decision for the 2000 home Strategic Site at Thorp Arch.
Paul advised that the application for 4 houses on land adjacent to Jewitt Lane was being considered by Leeds. It is likely to be discussed at the Plans Panel meeting in December.
The Committee advised Paul that it was on going with its preparation and general policies were being drafted. Advice is being sought on whether the Plan then needs to allocate any land for housing. As it stands at the moment it is not considered that any of the sites would be considered suitable for housing.
Amongst many things, the infrastructure in Collingham is not deemed appropriate to support any significant increase in housing numbers and there has still not been any indication from Leeds how this infrastructure might be improved in the future. The scale of investment required is likely to be beyond that feasible on the back of the proposed housing development.
361
Communication from Leeds
The Inspector’s report on the Core Strategy has probably been delayed. The Inspector has found that the Affordable Housing plans and the plans for Gypsy and Traveller sites are unsound. He has asked Leeds to address these and it is believed the process has been suspended until these are appropriately resolved.
Will agreed to contact planning for an accurate update.
362
Revised programme
It is hoped the first pass general policies will be completed by end of 2013. This is not been helped by a general shortage of feedback from the business community in Collingham in particular.
It is thought likely that additional evidence may be required in support of the General Policies. If we take the decision to allocate any sites for housing then the programme will have to be extended to allow full detailed assessment of the potential sites. This will be considered fully at the next Neighbourhood Planning meeting.
As it stands today, the intention is to hold the next public consultation in March 2014. This may be the Regulation 14 consultation required by law.
363
Update on the emerging Plan
A first pass policy document has been prepared for Sustainability, Local Character – Built Environment, Greenspace and Housing. Subheadings are Justification and Evidence, Community Feedback, Supporting Documents, Policies, Plans and Aspirations.
It was considered that it is useful to have something on paper to indicate the direction we are heading. This might point to further work required to populate the evidence database and to provide further more detailed policies for specific items such as housing.
Julian will attempt drafting Policies for Highway Safety and for Local Economy in the same format as above.
Angela and Louise volunteered to gain evidence of problems related to parking and traffic, and Kevin Moore volunteered to provide similar evidence in the vicinity of Wattle Syke.
364
Highway Safety
Julian circulated in November a sheet with highway safety issues and asked all to respond with possible solutions. 3 members of the public have responded and so have East Keswick. There has been no response from the police as yet.
Conclusions – hard to come by, but there appears little support for significant changes and definitely little support for increased signing and signalisation. Any measures need to be sensitive to the need to preserve the rural ambience of the village.
365
2011 Census data Angela has ploughed through the census data, and discovered the population of Collingham has increased by just 13 in the period 2001 to 2011.
The information will be tabulated for comparison with the Village Survey responses and for inclusion in the Neighbourhood Plan.
Collingham Sites
366
There was little to report about any of the possible sites that is not covered by minute 359 above.
367
Related to the PAS site, Leeds Road North, is a current application being heard concerning a site in Farsley. The site has gone to appeal and the Inspector has asked Leeds planners to attend. He has enquired about whether Leeds actually do have sufficient plots in place to deliver the 5 year housing need. Leeds have apparently confirmed that they do not.
Will volunteered to find out from the planning department how much of this is true as if it is true then the possibility of other planning applications on PAS land is very high.
Albert Hills has confirmed that Miller Homes still intend to submit a planning application for the Leeds Road North site before Christmas.
Consultation and Communication
368
The draft Newsletter was discussed and various amendments proposed. Julian to make these amendments and send to the printers for delivery week end 6th December.
Many thanks to those that have volunteered to deliver the Newsletter.
352
Kay updated the meeting on a neighbourhood planning exercise carried out by the Guides. The results are going to be displayed in the scout hut during the bonfire party and Kay is going to canvass further comments from youngster attending the bonfire.
353
Communication with businesses.
Ken has hand delivered leaflets to the local businesses. No response as yet.
Julian has written to the major corporations with interests in Collingham – no response yet. Ken is going to ask the businesses whether they would like a business meeting and lunch, and is also going to see if there is any interest in establishing a local business community.
It has been pointed out that the tenant farmers may wish to contribute to our Plan. Julian to investigate how to find the tenant’s contact details and engage where possible. Farmers already contacted include Kilby’s, Compton Grove Farm and farmer on Birdalefield Lane.
354
Communication with Clubs and Societies
Angela is well on the way to contacting the clubs and societies. Some have already responded.
Collingham Junior football club presented to the meeting. They described difficulties in securing playing fields on permanent basis and this always puts the future of the club at risk. It was accepted that not all members are residents of Collingham but a fair proportion are. The football club brings financial strength the whole of CALSA (squash, racketball and cricket). Ideally the club would like to have more pitches available in Collingham.
The meeting asked the football club to gather further evidence to support the need for pitches, and provide this to the committee. This evidence would be considered with all other back ground data and policies, projects and aspirations included in the Plan accordingly.
Julian has written to the management committee of CALSA asking them to advise how the club needs to develop over the next 15 years to remain a vibrant and sustainable community asset.
369
Photography Competition
To date there have been no entries onto the website.
370
Date of next meeting for the Neighbourhood Planning Group – Wednesday, 11th December, Mike Dando and Ian Mackay to attend to discuss Housing and to try and resolve whether we need to include allocation in our Plan. Next ordinary meeting Weds 8th January 2014.
The meeting was closed.
