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Neighbourhood Plan
Steering group: John Hall (Chairman), Will Roe, Gay Sealy and Steve Woodhead.
"Would you like to join the steering group? If so, please email John Hall - john@catprintdesign.com or give him a call on (01249) 750550."
Kington St Michael Parish Council is in the process of forming a Neighbourhood Plan.
The formal application for Designation of Kington St Michael Parish as a Neighbourhood Area was approved on the 2nd September 2015. The work of Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group can now proceed.
Neighbourhood planning is a right for communities introduced through the Localism Act 2011. Communities can shape development in their areas through the production of Neighbourhood Development Plans, Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders.
For further information please visit:
http://www.neighbourhoodplanning.org/
http://www.ourneighbourhoodplanning.org.uk/
www.wiltshire.gov.uk/planning-neighbourhood
Gov.uk
If you are interested in becoming involved with the formation of Kington St Michael’s Neighbourhood Plan, and/or would like to join the steering group, please contact Viv Vines, Clerk to KSM parish council, on (01249) 657695 or email ksmparishclerk@gmail.com. Visit http://www.neighbourhoodplanning.org/ for more information.
Please use the following Placecheck tool to identify features such as local footpaths, local heritage asses and landmarks, and add anything else that you feel the Neighbourhood Plan committee should be considering: www.placecheck.info/maps/kington2. You can also add comments and photos.
News
2023
April
After delays due to Covid, the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group is finalising the Draft Neighbourhood Plan. The Group works for the Parish Council and the Plan has been presented. The first formal consultation with the parish as a whole will be later this year.
Last year the Group invited local landowners to put forward any of their land for consideration for development. After careful consideration the Steering Group has decided not to further explore site allocations for inclusion in the Plan. This is in order to progress to an adopted plan as soon as possible and to avoid any further delay. Consequently the Group has not undertaken any assessment of any of the submitted sites.
The first consultation will be later this year when the full Plan will be available online and in hard copy. This is a formal procedure and at that time comments and observations from parishioners will be sought as part of the processes to Plan completion, when it will become a legal planning document.
2022
Protecting Green Spaces in Kington St Michael
The Kington St Michael Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group is continuing its progress on evidence collection and plan drafting. One topic of particular local interest is protecting green spaces in the parish. Through the Neighbourhood Plan, we can protect green spaces of particular importance to the local community through a designation called Local Green Space.
For a space to be eligible for designation as a Local Green Space, it has to be:
- small (not an 'extensive' area),
- in, or near to, the community which uses it,
- 'demonstrably' special to the community. This could be because of its beauty, historic significance,recreational value, tranquillity or richness in wildlife.
The Steering Group has been assessing spaces for potential suitability for designation, informed by suggestions made during our online consultation last year. So far, eight spaces have been considered for potential Local Green Space designation, including the QE2 recreation field, the Village Green in Stubbs Lane, the allotments, and land at Town Close, The Ridings, The Ham, Honeyknob Hill and by The Croft (opposite Rose Cottages).
We want to hear from you about your views on the potential Local Green Space designations. Do you value these spaces? If so, why are they special to you? Your comments will be added to the evidence base to inform which spaces will be included for potential designation in the draft Neighbourhood Plan.
Please email john@catprintdesign.com or post your comments to
67/68 Kington St Michael, to let us know what you think about the suggested Local Green Spaces. Please refer to the specific spaces shown on the map, and include information on if and why the space is special to you. Please also let us know if there are any potential Local Green Spaces that we've missed. Thank you!
Kington St Michael Neighbourhood Plan: A Call for Sites
What is the Kington St Michael Neighbourhood Plan?
On behalf of Kington St Michael Parish Council,
Kington St Michael Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group has been making progress
with our consultants in putting together the background information needed to
support a Neighbourhood Plan for the Parish of Kington St Michael.
A Neighbourhood Plan is a mechanism for helping
communities, including both local residents and businesses, influence the
planning of the area in which they live and work.
We have now reached a stage where there are a couple
of formal procedures that we must use to take forward our Neighbourhood Plan,
not just to ensure it proceeds and gets supported but also to avoid any
challenges that could delay or complicate the Plan.
The first of these processes is the ‘Call for Sites’.
What is the Call for Sites?
The Call for Sites is an invitation to any landowner,
developer or individual to make submissions proposing particular areas of land within
the parish for future development. We are interested to hear about potential
opportunities for any kind of development, for example for housing (market and
affordable), community uses, open space and land suitable for nature recovery.
The call for sites is open to any land within the
parish boundary.
The call for sites will not in itself decide whether a
site would be supported or allocated for development by the Neighbourhood Plan.
We are at an early, evidence gathering stage in the Neighbourhood Plan process.
The next steps involve robust site assessment and community consultation.
What will happen next?
The Neighbourhood Plan
Steering Group, with support from professional consultants, will be using
robust assessment criteria to assess each submission’s capability to achieve
sustainable development. This will produce the evidence to inform whether any
sites are suitable to be considered for potential allocation in the
Neighbourhood Plan, and which sites are not suitable for development.
The results of the
assessment process will be published later this year on the Parish Council website.
The community, including any individuals and landowners, will have the
opportunity to make further representation on the results of the assessment,
and on any potential allocations for development included in the draft
Neighbourhood Plan.
The draft Neighbourhood
Plan will be informed by this process to ensure that it reflects the
community’s aspirations.
How can I make a submission?
If you wish to put forward a submission for your land,
please use the ‘Sites Submission Form’. Printed copies of this form can be found on the notice board in the
village shop. This submission form is a local adaptation of the form used by
Wiltshire Council. The instructions for how to submit the proposal are on the
form.
Please note, if you have already submitted land to
Wiltshire Council’s SHELAA 2017 exercise, there is no need to submit it to this
process, unless you have extra detail or an update to add.
However, if you have already submitted land to
Wiltshire Council’s SHELAA 2017 exercise and you wish to withdraw your
submission, please let us know.
All submissions must be returned before 20th
May 2022. This gives those who wish to make a submission 8 weeks to do so.
Details on how to return submissions are included on the form.
Please see contact details for the Neighbourhood Plan
Steering Group chair and secretary below if you have any further questions or
would like to contribute a ‘Sites Submission Form’.
Mr John Hall
Chair, Kington St Michael Neighbourhood Plan Steering
Group
67-68 Kington St Michael, SN14 6JE
john@catprintdesigns.com
Mrs Emily Hocking
Secretary, Kington St Michael Neighbourhood Plan
Steering Group
Mayfield, 98 Stubbs Lane, Kington St Michael, SN14 6HY
em01.jo@gmail.com
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Neighbourhood Plan – Commercial activities, employment, and home working
Now that the impact of COVID is reducing somewhat, the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group is continuing work and would love to hear more from the community on their views on future development of the parish. During the coming months we will be sharing more of the draft evidence base and a draft Vision for the Neighbourhood Plan, and there will be further opportunities for everyone to add their comments and thoughts on the draft material.
Once formally in place, the Neighbourhood Plan will be used to guide the development of the parish through to the mid-2030s.
One area where we do need your input at this stage, relates to business activities and employment within the parish. Using publicly available information, the Steering Group has established that there is a significant and growing amount of economic activity within the parish. This ranges from the large centre of employment activity at the hotel and service area at Leigh Delamere West Services, down to a number of individuals working part time in their homes. In between, there is a very wide range of business activities of various sizes, across many sectors.
During the past 22 months, Covid has accelerated the adoption of flexible working, with time split between the office and home, and this has had a significant impact on the number of people now working from home, many of whom would normally be based in offices outside of the parish.
The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group would like to hear from you on your views on local business and employment. Please get in touch by Friday 11th February with your comments on the following:
- What do you like about the village from a business viewpoint?
- What could be improved in the village to better support your and other business activities (including working at home, if relevant)?
- If you did not work in the parish in the past, but have been flexible working during the last 22 months, do you expect to continue with flexible working once the impact of Covid has reduced?
If you could please send your response to Rick Squires on rsquires@pienergy.co.uk, so we can take your views into account.
The Parish Plan from 2007 did make a difference, and our objective is that the Neighbourhood Plan will make an impact through robust planning policies to guide future development in the parish, but also through practical projects. For example, a successful past practical project on the business front was that the village was selected to be one of the first in Wiltshire to be connected to high-speed broadband. You may also recall that the identification of the enthusiasm and size of the local business community prompted the running of a series of Business Breakfasts. This enabled an increase of activity between businesses with the Parish; and allowed those involved, to network and listen to presentations from visiting speakers about business issues. If you would like to support this activity in future, please highlight this in your reply to Rick.
2020
January: In May 2019 an open day was held in the village club to
publicise the group’s work and to seek the views of people on the village
generally, covering features which were considered important to the character of
the village, likes and dislikes, and how people felt about its future.
In addition, the Parish Council arranged for a detailed
Housing Needs survey of the village, which had a response rate of 51% - very high
for such surveys.
The Local Planning Policy as drafted by Wiltshire Council
does not require any significant development in the village up to 2026 and probably
up to 2036.
From the information received from the surveys, the
requirements of the Neighbourhood Plan are:
1. To retain the essential village character and the
surrounding green rural environment.
2. To maintain a clear separation between the village and
Chippenham.
3. From the Housing Needs Survey there is a need for 6
assisted homes and 4 private homes.
4. There is likely to be a further requirement for a small
number of private homes.
5. Any development should be limited, designed and
located so as to maintain the village scale, character and atmosphere.
6. The plan should seek to reduce the speed and volume of
traffic passing through the village and provide additional parking where possible.
The group can now look further into detailed
considerations and the preparation of a full report and plan progressing to an
approved Neighbourhood Plan which will be legally included in County planning policy.
We are still small in number and would welcome new
members. In particular we are in need of a secretary; if anyone is interested
please contact John Hall on (01249) 750550.
2019
Pre-vision Engagment Survey - If you haven't yet done so, please complete and return the Engagement Survey.
May: An open day was held in Kington Club, to discuss the result of the housing needs survey and any
other potential development in the parish. If there is any further
housing or any other development it is important for parishioners to have a say in
where and how it is done.
There was an incredible 51% response rate to the survey - many thanks to all those who took part.
2018
April
Are you under 50 years old and interested in joining our committee to represent that age group? Any decisions made now about the village will affect you in the future. Please contact John Hall - john@catprintdesigns.com.
March
Forthcoming changes will create a demand for more housing developments in this area; these include the electrification of the railway to Chippenham, the Dyson Campus at Hullavington airfield, the creation of a distribution centre at Junction 17 of the M4, and the further expansion of Swindon.It is important to try to ensure that the village develops as residents would like it to and so a neighbourhood plan is to be produced. This will become a statutory planning instrument, enabling the views of this community to be taken into account when future developments are considered.
Two aspects need to be considered - is there a need for new development in Kington St Michael, as there will be no requirement from Wiltshire Council until 2026? If there is a need or desire for such development what land might be available?
A steering group has been set up by the Parish Council to consider the issues and draw up a plan; however the group is small and mainly mature in years. If you would like to be involved please contact John Hall - john@catprintdesigns.com.
Parish Plan 2007
Publication of the Parish Plan was produced
over two years and was published on 15th March 2007. The Plan was
delivered to every household in the Parish and further copies can be
downloaded here. The
Plan shows the Actions, who is responsible for achieving them and the
timescales for their completion. The Steering Committee thank everyone
who worked on the Plan and the parishioners of Kington St Michael for
their enthusiastic support.
An up-to-date copy of the Action Plan (April 2009) can be viewed here.
The Steering Committee consisted of:
Maureen Hall
Jim Hamilton
Claire Marlow
John Newton (Chairman)
Margaret Pratley
Rick Squires (Vice-chairman)
David West (co-option)
2009
Parish Economy
The Parish
Economy within Kington St Michael continues to grow with an increasing
number of residents working from home or running their own business on a
full or part-time basis. We have identified over sixty separate
businesses within the Parish with annual turnovers ranging from under
£10,000 to over £25 million.
Roads & Transport
The detailed action plan for the Roads and Transport section of the Parish Plan is highlighted within the document (see above).
The major road and transport issues raised
within the Plan have been addressed by the Roads and Transport
group. There have been several meetings held with Wiltshire Council and
the Wiltshire police to discuss a number of issues. The major areas of
discussion have focused on traffic calming, pedestrian safety and road
signage. Speed surveys have been undertaken, proposals made for improved
pedestrian safety on Tor Hill and for revised traffic signage within
the village. Also new signage will be included at the Plough Crossroads,
highlighting the Village Shop and Post Point.
Letters were written to third parties who
impact on the road and transport situation within the village. For
example, to reduce the regular use of the village main street as a cut
through to and from the M4 by local haulage companies, coaches and
emergency vehicles. In addition, satellite navigation service providers
have been contacted to ensure that vehicles are not directed off the M4
at the local service area rather than via Junction 17 to gain access to
the village and Chippenham.
The lack of adequate parking facilities remains an issue and this will be examined further in future.
Environment
In answer to
the plan questionnaire, there was strong support for action on
environmental protection and against the threat of global warming. In
response we put on an ‘Environment Awareness Day’ in the village
hall. This included displays on waste reduction, recycling, local
electricity generation, cycling, local produce and children’s modelling
from junk. It turned into a very enjoyable and educational day.
We now enjoy kerb-side recycling in the village.
Since that time we have worked with CAVE
(Chippenham and Villages Environmentalists) on various projects
including a ‘plastic-bag-free day’ in Chippenham (our village shop is
now plastic-bag-free), Fair Trade status for Chippenham and a new
wood-pellet fuelled boiler for Stanton St Quintin School. We joined the
staff and pupils for an enjoyable official switch-on on 21st January
2009.
Other projects for the future include a
Thermal Imaging Camera to take images of houses in the village to show
people where they are loosing heat from their homes and then give
guidance on how to reduce these losses. We are currently trying to
locate grants to help with the cost of purchase of the camera.
We will continue to ensure we do all we can to help save the planet.