Neighbourhood Plan
The 8-week consultation was completed and the plan and comments now go to a Planning Inspector for an examination. After their comments, if agreed, the plan will be tweaked (to reflect comments if necessary) and go to a referendum of all residents. Now that the Medway Local Plan appears to have been paused, this will be even more important to bring some control to future applications!
UPDATED 25/3/22 The Cliffe and Cliffe Woods Neighbourhood Plan was submitted to Medway Council in September 2021. They are now carrying out an 8-week consultation, then it will be submitted to an examination by a Planning Inspector, after the Cliffe and Cliffe Woods Neighbourhood Steering Group have analysed the responses and made any final adjustments, the plan will go to a Referendum of local residents and if a majority support the plan, it will become an addition to the Medway Council Planning Policies for this area.
Details of the consultation and a reply form are on Medway Council's Website.
The consultation runs until 6pm on Friday 20 May 2022 respond by:
email: planning.policy@medway.gov.uk
post: Planning Policy, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR.
or the form in their website.,
It has taken a lot of work and special thanks to our Planning Consultant Lorraine Hart and Neighbourhood Planning Consultant Jim Boot. A special mention to members of the Cliffe and Cliffe Woods Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group (past and present) who got this going in 2015 and have worked on it since and those residents who have taken part in consultation events and responded to consultations over the years. The set of documents submitted are on the Dropbox link below.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2imlr3h3gatuebt/AAADCuQEhdNqz9x892F3h-hTa?dl=0
The Cliffe and Cliffe Woods Neighbourhood Plan is working towards the final stages before seeking the support of local residents in a referendum. Before a Draft version is submitted to Medway Council and formal consultation, there will be two consultation meetings for you to comment in the work so far and make comments that can be considered before the Draft Plan finalised. On Saturday morning 13th July there will be an exhibition in the Memorial Hall, Church Street, Cliffe between 10:30am and 12:30pm. The exhibition will be repeated on Tuesday 16th July in the Emmanuel Centre, Parkside, Cliffe Woods (next to the shops) between 7:00pm and 9:00pm.
The Steering Group have been working hard and worked up series of policies that reflect the consultations that took place previously. Under the guidance and assistance of a Planning Consultant with financial and technical support from Locality UK a detailed look at Cliffe and Cliffe Woods and how it should treated in future planning policy has been drawn up. Now your views are wanted. A list of the draft policies and a comments for has been attached (see below) NOW UPDATED FOR A FORMAL REGULATION 14 (Draft Consultation 1/12/20 to 26/1/21
The C&CW Neighbourhood Plan is continuing we are speaking to our young residents at Cliffe St Helens, Cliffe Woods Schools and Hundred of Hoo to get their ideas and a series of workshops held with local residents (see reports below).
These were not presentations or exhibitions, but an opportunity to discuss and put your views about the development of Cliffe and Cliffe Woods over the next 20 or so years. Good information and ideas were collected to help inform the plan that will be drawn up in the summer/autumn.
Now the NHP Steering Group will be compiling a Draft Neighbourhood Plan with a further public consultation before submitting it to Medway Council and a Planning Inspector to review - if 'sound' it will go to a referendum in 2021.
The parish council have agreed to start the process of creating a Neighbourhood Plan for our parish area. This is an opportunity for local residents to influence planning policy for our area and this document will have to be taken into account by Medway Council in developing their plans (Local Development Framework) and Planning Decisions). The timing is important because Medway Council are developing their Local Development Framework (the Local Plan for the Medway Council area, including the parish) and we will start to see proposals for development sites across the area later this year.
A series of Workshop Meetings were held in 2016/2017 and that information will inform the draft Neighbourhood Plan now in preparation.
A public notice was placed in local papers announcing the start of the process and asked for comments, following this Medway Council approved our application for Neighbourhood Plan designation
The parish will help establish a Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group to create the plan :
1) Agree Scope of plan - this could cover areas such as (what we have and what we would like)
2) Develop plan in consultation with local residents, community groups, local businesses schools
3) Agree draft with Medway Council
4) Hold a Referendum - must be agreed by at least 50% of those voting.
5) Plan Adopted
- Environment, Housing, Historic aspects, Transport, Community Facilities (including shops), Health, Landscape,
There are no specific timescales yet, but it is likely to take the remainder of 2017-2020 before it can be submitted. and a referendum in the summer 2021.
More information will be available as the plan is developed.
National information about Neighbourhood Plans can be found here (external links) :
Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE)
What is Neighbourhood Planning
or Search for ‘Neighbourhod Plans’ - there are lots of resources available and links to plans already created around the country.
Sites for development have been suggested, but at this stage all have been rejected by the Medway Local Plan. The maps and Local Plan appraisal of the sites are included in three files (extracted from much larger Local Plan background papers).