From the Chairman of the Parish Council, Peter Stutt

To mark the change the new system is called the Local Development Framework. Torridge District Council has announced the first stage of the process of making this plan. There are 4 stages:

1. Evidence gathering - collecting the evidence for what is needed or wanted.

2. Issues and Options - from the previous stage come various problems and possibilities.

3. Preferred Options - the District Council begins a process of choosing what it considers the most preferable of the various possible courses of action.

4. Submission of a Development Plan Document - the document that results from the Preferred Options stage and the consultation with the public leads to a formal document which becomes part of the Local Development Framework, and guides all decisions for land use and development control for the next 20 years!.

At every stage there is an opportunity for individuals and organizations to express views and comment on the ideas that come out of the work in each stage.

Torridge District Council has recently (8 November 07) announced the consultation stage in relation to the 'Core Strategy: Issues and Options'. This means that they have collected the evidence (stage 1 above) and have made their first analysis, identifying the issues that need to be considered and the alternative ways of dealing with them.

The papers can be accessed on the TDC website but it is not easy and there is a problem with downloading the main report. The background papers are easier. Those interested in housing and its implications for development land should read the Urban Capacity Housing Study which has some interesting things to say about rural housing.

You will find that most of the points made in the Core Strategy: Issues and Options report are very general and do not relate to specific communities. There are documents which make more concrete proposals for the towns but at this stage the rural communities are not dealt with.

You may find that using the consultation site to give your comments is quite difficult. But you can send an email or a simply post a letter giving your comments.

This consultation stage lasts until 20 December 2007, although I have heard that they may accept comments into January.

It is very important that during this consultation stage, communities (that's us!) look at what the Council's officers have said - not just their conclusions but what they think the issues are and behind that what they think is the evidence. Although the ideas are broad principles, they could affect us.

At the same time, as part of the making of the Local Development Framework, work is being done on behalf of the Winkleigh community to prepare a Development Brief, a document which will meet the criteria for becoming a Supplementary Planning Document. This will set out the needs and aspirations of our community with regard to development within the civil parish, including the airfield.

An important starting point for this was the Parish Plan based on the questionnaire which was circulated to all members of the community, and developed through two community consultation 'open days'.

A steering group of community members, including our District Councillor, two representatives of the Parish Council, the Parish Plan, the 'Winkleigh Project', the Community Planning Manager from Torridge DC and SWRDA(South West Regional Development Agency), who are providing important financial support has been meeting for the past 12 months. It is chaired by an external chairman. It is very important to stress that this group will not decide what is 'good for Winkleigh'. Their job is to make sure that the way the document is arrived at gives the best chance of us securing what is good for the community.

The document will be developed in the following way:

1. A statement has been prepared describing the work that needs to be done.

2. Because the Development Brief will be a formal planning document, it must be prepared by qualified planners. Therefore professional planning consultants will be employed to carry out this process.

3. Two elected Councillors will form part of the panel for the short listing of and interviewing for the final choice of consultants.

4. The planning consultants will be required to consult with the Parish Council and community at every stage.

5. They will need to collect evidence, explore possibilities and arrive at a document which has the support of all stakeholders including the community and the Planning Authority.

The process will take place over the coming months and we will provide regular updates of progress. The next step is the appointment of the consultants which should be completed by the end of January.

You can safely download a copy of the TDC Core Strategy:Issues and Options report by going to www.torridge.gov.uk/corestrategy. Then use the panel on the right marked 'Highlights'. Avoid the panel marked 'Downloads' as this has caused some computers to freeze.