Benefits From Dawlish Parish Neighbourhood Plan
An informal Neighbourhood Plan has given the Dawlish community a bigger voice and achieved much of what it set out to do, says an independent Examiner, despite a public examination finding it ‘unsound’ on technicalities.
Dawlish in South Devon was one of the first 17 places chosen for the national pilot scheme and has led the way by being the first community to put its plan to the test with a public examination. Now the examiner, Professor Christopher Balch from Plymouth University, has delivered his verdict on the plan.
He finds it ‘unsound’ on two main technicalities. Firstly, because there is not yet a district-wide Local Plan in place, this plan could not be judged as having used objectively assessed evidence of housing need. Secondly, the plan may not be ‘justified’ given there is no clear audit trail for judgements made by the Steering Group responsible for preparing the plan. The examiner was concerned at the potential unmet housing need and felt there was potential to meet more of Dawlish’s housing need within the town. However, he considered this was best dealt with through the district-wide Local Plan, known locally as Plan Teignbridge. The examiner also felt that the requirement for a coastal park, which is needed by law to protect the internationally important wildlife and habitat at Dawlish Warren and on the Exe Estuary, was still not certain and further work was needed to ensure that it was guaranteed.
Despite the verdict, which means the plan in its current form may not proceed to a non-binding public referendum, there were many benefits. These include more focus being put on the town’s future, a greater say for local people and organisations other than councils, and the inclusion of most of the plan’s ideas in Plan Teignbridge.
In his letter accompanying his report Professor Balch praises the process, underlining that his conclusions are not a criticism of the council or local Steering Group. He says that the main aim of the process was to give the community an opportunity to help shape Plan Teignbridge as it relates to Dawlish, and this has been achieved.
The Examiner’s report also praises the wide-reaching involvement of the community in the plan, finding that there have been good efforts to involve local people and reach some agreement over the future direction of the Parish.
Cllr Rosalind Prowse is a District and Town Councillor for Dawlish, and Chaired the Steering Group for the Neighbourhood Plan. She said:
“The Neighbourhood Planning process has achieved a lot of what it set out to do. It’s given local people more say about their future, it’s let the town come up with its own goals, and it’s directly influenced Plan Teignbridge.
“We knew we were pioneering the process, meaning Government guidance was changing as we went through it and there are no examples for anyone to follow.
“I’m thankful to everyone who has taken time to contribute to the plan and I remain grateful for the big public response to the process. The examiner has dealt very fairly with the concerns of residents and makes some valid comments which we can learn from.
“The fact remains that although the plan may not be binding it must be taken in to consideration as the formal Local Plan is created. This means that the Plan Teignbridge draft is much more likely to reflect local wishes than if we hadn’t done this work.”
Cllr Philip Vogel, Teignbridge Executive Spokesperson for Housing and Planning said:
“Dawlish spoke and we listened. A lot of the things in the draft Neighbourhood Plan are in Plan Teignbridge, and we don’t anticipate that changing. This has been the first Neighbourhood Plan and Informal Examination for Dawlish, Teignbridge and the entire country.
“We’re considering the Examiner’s report very carefully and are discussing it with the entire Steering Group for Dawlish, which includes members of the public, businesses, local organisations and councillors. Together we will think about the Examiner’s findings and decide how best to proceed. Officers are now looking more closely at how the coastal park can be achieved.
“A lot of people have put time and effort in to the process, and I’d like to thank them all for their work. It will not be wasted. I’d also like to thank Professor Balch, who faced the difficult position of judging something completely unprecedented and delivered a clear and helpful report. My thanks also go to the Teignbridge planning officers for their commitment and dedication to the people of Dawlish.”
ENDS
No comments:
Post a Comment