Wilsden Neighbourhood Plan 2020-2038
INTRODUCTION
Wilsden Neighbourhood Plan
The Wilsden Neighbourhood Plan (the Plan) is a new community led type of planning document for guiding the future development and growth of the parish.
It was decided to produce a Neighbourhood Plan as the community wanted to play a much stronger role in shaping how Wilsden Parish develops.
A Neighbourhood Plan provides the opportunity for the community to set out a vision and plan for how they want the Parish to develop until 2038 in ways that meet identified local need, make sense for local people and makes Wilsden an even better place.
It enables the community to put in place planning and other policies that will help deliver an agreed vision for Wilsden. It provides the opportunity to specify in more detail what we expect from development in the Parish. Furthermore, unlike parish plans or other kinds of documents that may be prepared by a community, a Neighbourhood Plan forms an integral part of the development plan for an area. This legal status means that it must be taken into account by CBMDC and other relevant bodies when considering planning decisions that may affect Wilsden Parish.
The Plan is informed by extensive research and influenced by robust community engagement. Furthermore, it builds on the existing Parish Plan for Wilsden, agreed in 2010. It provides a vision for how the community wish to see Wilsden develop, and objectives and policies as how they want to achieve this.
It is not intended to be a comprehensive plan for the development of the Parish. This means that it sometimes deals with issues that while important to the community and important to the development of the Parish are legally beyond the remit of the Neighbourhood Plan, for example, in relation to housing development in the Green Belt. Where it is considered that such measures are entirely legitimate aspirations for the community, but they cannot be included in the Plan as statutory neighbourhood plan policies they are identified as Wilsden Community Policies.
The Plan area corresponds to that of the Parish Council boundary and the time period 2020 – 2038 mirrors that of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (CBMDC) emerging Local Plan.
The Plan is a legal document and once 'made' will form part of the development plan for the Bradford District which includes the Wilsden Neighbourhood Plan area.
How the Plan fits within the planning system
The Localism Act 2011 provided new powers to allow local communities to shape the future development of their community by preparing a Neighbourhood Plan. This includes determining where they want new homes and other forms of development to be built, what those new buildings and other forms of development should look like, whilst at the same time protecting the landscape and character of the community.
Neighbourhood Plans must, however, meet the basic conditions set out in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended). These conditions state that a neighbourhood plan must:
- have regard to national policies and advice contained in guidance issued by the Secretary of State
- contribute to the achievement of sustainable development
- be in general conformity with the strategic policies contained in the development plan for the area
- not breach, and be otherwise compatible with EU obligations that remain in force until superseded by UK legislation
The Plan has been developed in accordance with these basic conditions. The Plan has been drafted in the context of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the policies in the adopted Core Strategy of the CBMDC Local Plan.
Subsequent to the adoption of the Core Strategy in July 2017 CBMDC decided to carry out a Partial Review in the light of changes to national guidelines. This Partial Review process commenced in December 2018 and identified the preferred options in 2019. In parallel with this review CBMDC has also been developing the Site Allocation DPD and carrying out a partial review of the Green Belt for the district. In 2020 CBMDC decided to move towards a single Local Plan that integrated policies with site allocations in one plan. The Draft Local Plan preferred options was issued for consultation in February 2021.
The housing supply policies in this document are informed by the published Core Strategy housing targets. The Plan, once adopted, forms part of the statutory development plan for the Bradford District. At this point, planning applications that affect Wilsden Parish ought to be determined in accordance with the policies in the Neighbourhood Plan and the CBMDC Local Plan. This means that the residents of the Parish will have a far greater influence over where development takes place, and what it looks like.
Consultation and the process of developing the plan
The Wilsden Neighbourhood Plan area was designated in December 2014.
The development of the Plan has been led and championed by a Steering Group made up of parish councillors and local residents working under the auspices of Wilsden Parish Council, the Plan's 'qualifying body'.
The Plan is based on strong evidence. The Steering Group has undertaken extensive consultation with the residents of Wilsden and other individuals and bodies with an interest in how the Parish develops.
Public events were held in September 2014, September 2016 and July 2017 informing the community about the neighbourhood planning process and providing an opportunity to identify key issues and potential opportunities under a number of broad themes. Household Surveys were conducted in December 2015 and July 2019 followed by a number of meetings with interested bodies.
In June 2017 a draft Neighbourhood Plan was submitted for the formal presubmission consultation process. In response to consultation responses along with changes to the powers available to neighbourhood planning groups in a revised NPPF it was decided to make fundamental changes to the housing site allocation policies. These changes mean that as the revised plan is significantly different to the 2017 draft Plan it is necessary to carry out a second presubmission consultation.
Further details regarding the consultation undertaken in developing the Plan are provided in the Consultation Statement.