South Northamptonshire Settlements and Development
Management Local Plan
Issues Consultation Response Form
The Rural Areas: Villages
October 2013 – January 2014
Comments should be returned in writing using the form provided to
Andy D’Arcy
Lead Officer Planning Policy
South Northamptonshire Council
Springfields
Towcester
NN12 6AE
Alternatively e-mail planning.policy@southnorthants.gov.uk
Response forms should be returned by 5pm on Friday 24 January
2014 at the latest, and cannot be accepted after this time.
ISSUES FOR THE RURAL AREAS: DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY AND
SETTLEMENT HIERARCHY
1 What factors need to be taken into account in defining the hierarchy
of rural settlements within South Northamptonshire?
2
What ‘development strategy’ approach should the Local Plan adopt
in the rural areas?
a cluster approach grouping settlements together that can
share services and facilities and have good access to one
another?
a more ‘dispersed’ approach that considers individual
villages on their own merits in terms of the local availability
of services and facilities?
3 What approach should the Plan adopt on village confines?
Establish confine boundaries for all settlements
Establish confine boundaries for most settlements
Replace confine boundaries in favour of a criteria-based
policy so that new development is considered on its
individual merits.
4 If confines are to be retained then what detailed changes should be
made to the existing confine boundaries in order to provide for
strong defensible boundaries for the future?
5
What further changes to confines need to be made in order to
accommodate identified growth needs?
Should new development be situated on the edge of existing
villages or should there be further infill within villages?
For example, a single larger site is more likely to result in
community benefits whereas small infill sites, from which wider
community benefits are unlikely, may be easier to physically
integrate within a particular village.
ISSUES FOR THE RURAL AREAS: TYPE AND SCALE OF
DEVELOPMENT
1
How much development should be allocated to each village?
The minimum required to meet local affordable and market
housing needs?
Additional development required to provide or sustain
important local services and facilities or to meet the
aspirations of individual local communities?
2
What other types of new development should be permitted (e.g.
employment, retail, community facilities)?
3
How can we ensure that villages provide accommodation for a mix
of people including those on low incomes?
4
Apart from Affordable Housing, what mix and type of future housing
should there be within each village?
5
What type of employment including tourism should be permitted to
support the rural economy and create locally accessible jobs?
ISSUES FOR THE RURAL AREAS: SERVICES AND FACILITIES
1
How can services and facilities be safeguarded and provided to
meet the needs of rural communities? Should Parish Councils
prepare a list of assets of Community Value?
2
Should the Local Plan encourage the provision and use of shared
space in community facilities (such as local shops, meeting places,
cultural buildings, cemeteries, allotments, public houses and places
of worship) and in other buildings providing services and facilities?
3
How can the Local Plan seek to improve accessibility to local
facilities and larger centres through improved public transport
provision?
4
How can the Local Plan prevent the loss of existing infrastructure
or plan for the consequences of its loss and new infrastructure is
required to support new sites ie new housing and new sites for
mixed opportunities development?
ISSUES FOR THE RURAL AREAS: ENVIRONMENT
1
Are there important pockets of local green space, road verges,
important views within or around the village that need additional
protection because of their local significance in terms of their
beauty, historical importance, recreational value, tranquillity or
wildlife contribution?
OTHER ISSUES
1
Are there any other issues that the Local Plan needs to consider for
the rural areas within South Northamptonshire?