Ilmer Past

Parish Council Minutes

PRESENT

Cllr Mrs Valerie McPherson BEM (Chairman)

Cllrs Ian Walker, Jane Rogers, Rolf van Apeldoorn, Graham Walters, Sally Whitworth and Brian Richards

Deputy Clerk Jayne Mylchreest

6 members of the public

  1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

No apologies were received.

2. MINUTES

The Minutes of the previous meeting of the Parish Council on the 16th February 2016 having been circulated were approved by the Meeting and signed by the Chairman.

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were asked to declare any personal interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting. None were declared.

4. ACTION TO BE TAKEN FOLLOWING THE RECEIPT OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN EXAMINER'S REPORT AND A REPORT FROM WYCOMBE DISTRICT COUNCIL ON ITS IMPLICATIONS

The Examiner's Report has been received by the Wycombe District Council and The Parish Council. It was the Examiner's view that in order to meet the Basic Conditions alterations to the Neighbourhood Plan were required. It is Wycombe District Council's view that if those recommendations were accepted the Plan would not achieve sustainable development.

Under the regulatory powers there are four options for proceeding with the Neighbourhood Plan.

  1. Make the recommendations as set out by the Examiner's Report and proceed to referendum. W.D.C. considers the Plan no longer achieves its aims to provide for sustainable development and therefore would not recommend this option.

  2. W.D.C. refuse the Examiner's Report, setting out why it fails to meet the Basic Conditions. This is considered difficult. There would need to be very strong grounds to go against an Examiner's recommendations. Any decision could be subject to a legal challenge.

  3. Rewrite the policies, re-consult and submit the Plan for examination again. This would add further costs to an already expensive exercise. It would not be significantly in advance of the district wide Local Plan and therefore of questionable merit. This option is not recommended.

  4. The Parish Council to withdraw the plan. This would be the most appropriate option. This would mean the Examiner's Report would not hold any material weight in the decision process for assessing planning applications. Planning applications would continue to be assessed against Development Plan policies set out in the 2004 Local Plan and 2008 Core Strategy; and also against the National Planning Policy Framework, along with other material considerations in accordance with Section 38(b) of the 2004 Act. As policies evolve for the new Local Plan, policies from the Longwick Neighbourhood Plan can be incorporated as far as possible.

Cllr Brian Richards proposed to adopt option 4. Seconded by Cllr Sally Whiitworth. All present agreed. The Clerk is requested to write to W.D.C. JM

All present agreed to arrange an Open Forum public meeting before the next Parish Council meeting on the 15th March 2016 to explain the decision taken. Date to be confirmed. Cllr Graham Walters agreed to contact the W.D.C. officers to invite them to the meeting. Cllr Graham Walters agreed to write the text for a newsletter to be distributed to all the households of the Parish and to be published on the website to advertise the meeting. GW

5. COMMENTS TO SUBMIT TO WYCOMBE DISTRICT COUNCIL CONCERNING THE PLANNING APPLICATION 15/08455/OUT

Address: OS Parcels 6232 & 7428 Thame Road Longwick Buckinghamshire

Proposal: Outline application (Including details of access only) for erection of up to 43 dwellings with vehicular access from Thame Road, public open space and landscaping.

The Parish Council objects to this application for the following reasons:

(1) The proposed development would only have limited access by non-car modes of travel, in the absence of a co-ordinated approach to the provision of a peak-time bus service and cycle routes to Princes Risborough and its railway station. Residents would be likely to be reliant on the use of the private car.

(2) The development would fall outside of the existing settlement boundary and there is no planned approach to develop outside this at this time.

(3) Longwick is in danger of being overrun with planning applications, without a co-ordinated approach to develop other relevant infrastructure improvements such as new road junctions.

(4) Concerns for the effects on existing residents of flooding and for the capacity of waste water infrastructure.

(5) The Parish Council would prefer noise mitigation at source for the nearby pet hotel, to be funded by the developer, if the District Council is minded to approve the application. This is to support the existing business - the Parish Council considers it should not be put under any threat by any new housing scheme permitted.

6. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Parish Council will take place on Tuesday 15th March 2016 in Longwick Village Hall at 7.30 pm. There being no further business to discuss the Meeting closed at 8.35pm.

Chairman.................................................................. Date......................................