January 16, 2017

Jonathan Wadsworth, Chair of the Parish Council explains…

 

There seems to be a little confusion with regard to the Cullompton developments, i.e. the Local Plan and the proposed Garden Village – so let me see if this helps.

The Local Plan Review

Some four years ago, Mid Devon District Council (MDDC) was instructed (by the Government) to identify suitable sites for 7,200 houses within Mid Devon – for building between now and 2033. Having received agreement from the landowners (and in some locations the landowners wouldn’t participate) MDDC identified some 2,800 suitable sites to the East of Cullompton.  This is now all within what is called “the Local Plan“. 

Over the past 12 months, there have been some minor changes to the Local Plan (land allocation for tourism, leisure and retail at Junction 27) so the plan has changed.

You/we/everyone now has one last chance to tell the Planning Authority (we have until next month – the 14th February) what we think. The final draft then goes to be examined and approved or amended by the Planning Inspector.

Culm Garden Village 5,000 Houses 

Following a recent request from the Government, last summer MDDC submitted an “Expression of Interest (EOI)” to a Government committee – it was a request to designate the proposed East Cullompton Development a Garden Village, to be called the Culm Garden Village, in order to attract funding for better infrastructure and design and to deliver the East Cullompton relief road sooner.  

Phase one of the plan was for the 2,800 houses already within the Local Plan, a further 2,200 were added outside the area of the Local Plan for illustration purposes within the Bid. This area can be changed will have to be agreed and consulted on separately before any plans go ahead. The EOI was acknowledged and giving Government approval to pursue further. To progress the Garden Village, plans need to be drawn up and planning sought in the usual way. This may take some time but the Government is funding the planning process.      

In summary, you need to address your comments/concerns about amendments to the Local Plan now – the Garden Village proposals will probably be addressed later. 

The meeting next Wednesday (25th) is to inform you of the above points. I would also mention that some people in our Parish want more houses built in Cullompton (for economic and transportation reasons) and there are other parishioners who don’t want any development.  This meeting is not an open debate on the pros and cons of building houses because that has already been done. The meeting is merely to inform the residents of Kentisbeare Parish that you have until February 14th to make representations/write letters/support etc. to the planning authorities.  You can do this by submitting a response on-line: localplanreview@middevon.gov.uk

Or writing a letter: Local Plan Consultation, Forward Planning, Mid Devon District Council, Phoenix House, Phoenix Lane, Tiverton, EX16 6PP. See:www.middevon.gov.uk/localplanreview

At the same time, the District Council is consulting on a revised Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Draft Charging Schedule, which covers the same area as the Local Plan Review and is a way of collecting contributions from local developments to fund local infrastructure and sets out the charges that will apply to new development.  Interested parties are invited to comment on the schedule.  This can be done by writing a letter or submitting a response on-line: cilconsultation@middevon.gov.uk

Jonathan Wadsworth jonathan@kentisbeare.net