Welcome again to our latest Sandleheath Neighbourhood Plan Blog post, the purpose of which is to keep residents informed and updated on this important village initiative. It has been a busy month as we started engaging with local residents to get their views on the key matters they want to see in our Neighbourhood Plan. This works continues into the New Year with an on-line survey now available for completion to further gather such views, comments and opinions. Let’s take a further look at the detail of how we’re involving Sandleheath residents in the production of their Neighbourhood Plan;
1. First, we have now completed the earlier Housing Needs survey and had a very good response with some 110 questionnaires returned. Similarly, we have almost completed our ‘call for sites’ survey letter to local landowners whose details we are aware of. The results have been passed on to our Planning Consultants and they will help summarise the findings so they can be fed into the first drafts of our Plan.
2. The second part of our ‘early engagement’ with residents took place at the Village Hall on December 16th. During this four-hour drop-in session, we were delighted to welcome 43 Sandleheath residents who, we felt, really enjoyed this informal opportunity to meet the planning Steering Group, ask questions, look at maps and discuss key Policy areas. We also invited visitors to leave comments on what services or local needs the village ought to try and improve. Again, these have been passed on to our consultants who will shape them into our emerging plans in partnership with the Steering Group of local volunteers and Parish Councillors. We very much want to thank all local residents who took part in these surveys and attended the open event.
3. The third part of this current phase of resident involvement is now underway with the launch of an on-line survey featured on this website. You will find it on the tab marked ‘Early Engagement’ which contains a brief description of 12 Policy Areas, which feature issues such as new housing mixture and location, Design criteria, Green spaces, Footpath and Dark Skies policies, etc. Each of these invites the reader to answer some simple ‘Yes/No’ responses to key questions and to add any further comments. Some questions also give the opportunity to download pictures of key sights/views/buildings that readers might want to submit, or to pinpoint locations on an inter-active map to further illustrate points of interest. All comments submitted will be confidential. The closing date for completion is Sunday, 12th January. We do hope you can find time to visit this page and complete the on-line survey.
It is also important to say that the above is only the ‘early engagement’ phase of our Plan. There will be other, more formal opportunities to have your say as the Draft Plan takes shape during 2025. The final adoption of the Sandleheath Neighbourhood Plan will depend on a formal Referendum which we anticipate being held early in 2026…but more of that in future Blogs!
Once again, many thanks for reading this Blog and look out for more to follow, your participation is particularly important. We wish you all a very happy 2025! If you have any questions or comments on matters raised above, please email them to clerk@sandleheathparish.co.uk
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