Update on the School Lane development

Update on planning application

Firstly Andy Strachan, who opposed the School Lane development, has an update on the current status of the planning application:

I looked at the SNC planning application status on the internet. It wasn’t clear.

Box 2 (status) states: (9) Pending- Awaiting Committee Meeting
Box 10 (Application Type) states: Outline Planning Application (Major)

I called the SNC Planning office this morning for some clarity as I was a little confused.

The situation is as follows:

There is a legal dispute between the SNC legal department and the developer. This is to be resolved by 28th January or it will go before the committee that day (next Thursday) for a decision.

If the committee vote in favour of the SNC, the application will be refused / objected.

If the committee vote in favour of the developer, then the application will move to the next stage for development. This will include a re-consultation regarding layout and the final plan. This again should involve a community input (Parish council open evening) as per the outline stage and again any letters to be sent to the planning officer.

It is unknown if the general public can attend the committee meeting (next Thursday).

Andy Strachan.

http://snc.planning-register.co.uk/PlanAppDisp.asp?RecNum=60775

Parish Council response

The Parish Council have also responded to a formal request made for them to give more information on their response to the School Lane development. Their response is posted on the forum, but here is an extract:

The time scale for this outline planning application from SNC has been very fast and the Parish Council has tried to ensure as much time as possible was available to both Councillors and Parishioners to view and comment/support or oppose the application.

As is now standard in any application over 4 houses, the Parish Council arranges an open meeting in the Community centre to make available the plans to residents (particularly those that do not have internet access). This consultation is in addition to requirements that SNC have to consult with only those who are near a proposed development. The Parish Council posted this on the website and on notice boards.

Hartwell Parish Council’s response to this application

Hartwell Parish Council is a consultee under Schedule 1, paragraph 8 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The Council makes observations based on material planning considerations which are then returned to South Northants Council (SNC), which is the Local Planning Authority for the area. SNC have an obligation to take in to account observations made by Hartwell Parish Council, but the final decision on the planning application is made
by SNC. - Northamptonshire County Association of Local Councils.

The Parish Council formulated a long list of Comments which were both positive and negative, and these have to be taken into account by SNC during the planning approval process. The Parish Council did not find any ‘material’ reasons (details that actually broke SNC planning rules, these are the only ones that we can use to object to an application), however the Council made a long list of Comments.

The list of comments are posted on this site - http://www.hartwellvillage.com/groups/Hartwell-Parish-Council/Planning

All Councillors have to abide by the Code of Conduct, as approved in 2007 (http://www.hartwellvillage.com/groups/Hartwell-Parish-Council/Parish-Council-Documents)

This means that any Councillor who has a ‘personnel interest’ in a company/land or who may benefit from a Parish Council decision, they must declare an ‘Interest’. This means that they cannot vote on this particular matter. The landowner is a Parish Councillor, and as such has declared a personnel interest in this matter at all meetings, and was not allow to vote or make any decisions related to this application. 

Parish Plan

Whether you are for or against future developments in the village, the one thing that is clear from this planning application, and the publication of the draft Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (which marks more potential development sites in Hartwell), is that there is a need for a village plan where the community can shape the future of Hartwell. The Parish Council are looking to support a community Parish Plan, a bit like a business plan for the Village. It’s a document that sets out the community’s issues, needs and aspirations. It sets out what you need (future) and what you value (present) based on the community’s opinions which will form an action plan to prioritise the issues.

To explain more, the Parish Council has arranged a brief presentation to explain how a ‘Parish Plan’ works (at the beginning of the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 2nd Feb 7:30pm at the Community Centre) - and you can also read more on the Parish Council forum post.

Related News Items

• Major Business/Industrial Development on Forest Road
• Planning website shows more developments in Hartwell around the corner
• Objectors speech regarding school lane development