The Draft Regulation 15 Plan
Download the Regulation 15 Neighbourhood Plan document.
Supplementary maps showing Housing sites.
Supplementary maps showing Neighbourhood Centres.
Supplementary maps showing Built Up Area Boundary.
Background
In 2011 the Council began the process of making the Neighbourhood Plan. Farnham’s approach throughout has been a highly consultative and collaborative one with several rounds of informal and formal consultation. At its meeting on 23rd October 2014, the Town Council agreed the Regulation 14 draft of the Neighbourhood Plan. The next step in the process of making the Plan was a formal six week consultation. Once that consultation was concluded the comments received were uploaded on to the Town Council’s website and provided to members via Strategy and Finance and Full Council in March 2015.
The comments received were then considered in detail by the Infrastructure Planning Group (IPG) and amendments proposed are reflected in the Regulation 15 Plan which the Council is now asked to approve for submission to Waverley Borough Council, in accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012.
Following the Regulation 14 consultation and subsequent work, the Plan was delayed, whilst the Town Council liaised with Natural England (NE) and Waverley Borough Council (WBC), to investigate the possibility of facilitating Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG), to ensure legal compliance and compliance with the Thames Basin Heaths Avoidance Strategy 2009. At the conclusion of this work, Natural England advised that the mitigation being proposed would not be sufficient.
In early 2016, Waverley Borough Council advised that it would be reviewing the Thames Basin Heaths Avoidance Strategy. Following this review, WBC and NE have advised that the existing SANG at Farnham Park provide the SANG required to support the housing allocations in the Neighbourhood Plan.
The revised Avoidance Strategy was subject to public consultation in April 2016 and is currently recommended for adoption at Waverley Borough Council.
The impact of the revised strategy is that the Farnham Neighbourhood Development Plan can progress to the next stage, Regulation 15.
What’s changed?
All changes since the Regulation 14 Draft have been made based on the following:
Comments received in the Regulation 14 Consultation
- Updates to the Evidence Base
- Changes made to legislation
The Neighbourhood Plan covers a 15 year period up to 2031 and is the most significant document Farnham Town Council has produced to date. When the plan is “made”/adopted by Waverley Borough Council it will provide protection for the character and heritage of Farnham while also responding to the changing needs of its population. The Plan is divided into a number of sections, however no one section takes precedence and the Plan must be read as one document. The Council’s approach has been highly collaborative and this is set out in the Consultation Statement which is available in the supporting documents section.
