MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE CRANBROOK & SISSINGHURST NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN STEERING GROUP HELD ON 23rd AUGUST 2021
PRESENT: Cllr. Warne (in the Chair), Cllrs. Hatcher and Pethurst, Marion Cranmer, June Bell, Liz Daley and Mathew Warne
APOLOGIES: Cllr. Fletcher, Anne Hopper
Cllr. Warne read out the following statement:
Members are required to declare any interests, dispensations, predetermination on items on this agenda in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct. Members are reminded that changes to the Register of Interests should be notified to the Clerk.
- Stakeholder Engagement:
The Chairman reported on a meeting regarding the Brick Kiln Farm site. In attendance were:
- Site owners/housebuilder – Hill Residential: Terry Gamble and Oliver Mealey
- Planning consultants – Barton Willmore: Greg Pitt (GP) and Sarah Cottingham
- Architects – Clague Architects: Paul Osbourne (PO) and Christopher Sherlock-Scougall
- Civil Engineer – Ardent Engineering: Edward Famberly
- C&S NDP – Nancy Warne, Lee Hatcher, Liz Daley
- C&S PC – Kevin Rampling
Cllr. Warne gave a summary of matters discussed. Barton Willmore were keen to consult properly with the local community and since April three meetings had been held with TWBC Planning Department. They were hoping to complete first houses by 2023 and finish the project by 2025.
The Planning Consultants went through the design process and new layout of the site which was a vast improvement on the previous application by Persimmon. Important issues had been addressed such as better connected green areas through the site, widening the main route in, with more planting, larger houses here, moving to denser layout as you move into the site. They were also ensuring good pedestrian connectivity within and beyond the site. There was a mix of house sizes, styles and types and the design details were varied, such as different types of windows, doors, porches etc.
Several questions were asked by Cranbrook and Sissinghurst NDP/PC., including the biodiversity enhancements, landscape management and surface treatments. They were pleased to hear that all homes were to be fitted with ground source heat pumps.
A further meeting would take place with the Parish Council and other key stakeholders, including CCAAC, CPRE and High Weald AONB Unit.
2. NDP Consultation Responses:
The Chairman reported that all the Chapters had now been revised, most of which have been and forwarded on to Richard Eastham. Outstanding work since the last meeting had been completed on the Introduction, Vision & Objective and Housing Chapters. The Chairman agreed to produce an updated Executive Summary.
An online meeting had been arranged for 3rd September with Richard Eastham to set a plan going forward. It was agreed that Cllr. Pethurst compile a list of items which the group would like Richard Eastham to check i.e. numbering/consistency. It was also agreed that any further minor changes would be undertaken by Cllr. Pethurst and Marion Cranmer, for circulation and approval via email by Friday 27th August 2021.
Questions were raised over which format the NDP wished to see for the Project List. It was agreed that the Projects List should only include those projects which are achievable and relate to the policies included in the plan. All the others which fall outside this category would be included on an Appendix of aspirational ideas put forward by the community.
- Regulation 16 Consultation
Richard Eastham had agreed to prepare one Chapter and then return it back to members for approval before forwarding it on to TWBC. Once approved, he will then format the rest of the document.
The Chairman reported that the Consultation Statement was now complete and she thanked Cllr. Pethurst for inserting all the consultation responses, statistical data, pie charts and filling in the tables showing the levels of support for each policy. It is hoped that Richard Eastham will insert photos from numerous public engagement events in the Consultation Statement.
Cllr. Warne drew attention to the fact that the NDP minutes from December 2015 – December 2016 were not available on the web site, which was part of the consultation statement. The Deputy Clerk agreed to put these on the web site which could then be accessed via a hyper-link. Cllr. Hatcher had checked which evidence documents and files were on the website and will ensure that all those mentioned in the Consultation Statement are made available to view.
Several other amendments were agreed on the submission version of the plan and members were asked to go through and check their chapters and get back to Cllr. Pethurst with any concerns.
The Clerk had been informed by Benenden Parish Council that they had used Intelligent Plans through Locality to undertake the accessibility work necessary on their Neighbourhood Plan which was free of charge. Cllr. Warne agreed to contact Locality to see if they were able to assist with our plans, to undertake a health check and make the documents compliant with the accessibility requirements.
- Timeline:
Deborah Dixon, TWBC Planning Officer had been given end of September as a guide, however this may change following the meeting with Richard Eastham.
- Items for Information:
The next meeting of the NDP Steering Group is scheduled to take place on 27th September 2021 at 7pm.
