Neighbourhood Plan

FAQs

This section aims to answer some of the common questions about neighbourhood plans in general, and about these apply to Chiseldon Parish. We’re grateful to our Consultant, Andrea Pellegram, for help with its construction. If your query isn’t answered here, please contact us.

1. About Neighbourhood Plans

A neighbourhood plan is:

  • A document that sets out planning policies for the neighbourhood area – planning policies are used to decide whether to approve planning applications.
  • Written by the local community, the people who know and love the area, rather than the Local Planning Authority.
  • A powerful tool to ensure the community gets the right types of development, in the right place.

2. The Scope of Neighbourhood Plans

A neighbourhood plan can:

  • Add detail to existing and emerging local plan policy.
  • Alert developers to the needs of the local community so that you negotiate more successfully.
  • Help your parish council prioritise its infrastructure spending.

A NHP has some limitations:

  • It cannot prevent allocated development (especially housing) from proceeding.
  • It cannot change or conflict with higher-tier policies.
  • It cannot deal with anything that is not material to the planning system.
  • It cannot override the powers of statutory undertakers.

3. Paying for an NHP

There is Government funding available to work through the NHP process.  Chiseldon Parish Council has received full funding for their NHP, minus any extra staffing costs that cannot be included.

4. NHPs and Chiseldon

The draft Swindon Local Plan review has a site named in Policy LA22, Land east of Hodson Road. The following is taken from the plan:

Land east of Hodson Road is allocated for residential development about 42 dwellings as shown on the policies map and should make provision for:

a. a single point of access from Hodson Road that combines the two existing accesses and access to the development site. A safe pedestrian connection to the existing footway provision on Hodson Road is also required;

b. a high quality entrance with no development near to the SW corner. At the more open NE corner any development must stay back from sensitive edge and manage impacts on adjacent widlife site. Additional perimeter vegetation to southern and eastern boundaries to respect Sustrans route should be considered;

c. at least 0.3 ha of useable public open space (in addition to landscaping areas). This should be provided adjacent to the Sustrans Route 45 which passes along the eastern edge of the site;

d. enhancement to the Sustrans route through a public art installation and provision of benches/a picnic area and interpretation board on the history of Chiseldon;

e. a local level equipped Play Space;

f. Ensure any contamination from historic landfill does not pollute groundwater and any required remediation is carried out to the required standard; and

g. pedestrian connectivity to the existing village and via the existing route through Home Close, with the opportunity taken to improve this route. A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment must be submitted with any application to identify ecologically and visually sensitive areas where there should be no development. Additionally, an archaeological assessment will be necessary.