Dozens of people took part in the special 'Plan B' workshop on Saturday 15th October to help shape guidelines which planners use to look after the parish's special qualities.
Revised guidelines, drawing upon things people have said so far, were on display and, if approved, will be used to up-date Buriton's well-established Village Design Statement.
Comments received from parishioners were generally very supportive and included remarks such as:
- ?a thorough and detailed update which takes into account the very special terrain of the countryside and its relevance to Buriton?
- ?an excellent and well-considered document that reflects the special character of the parish and its setting in the landscape?
- ?essential to all planners to help preserve the outstanding countryside in a rural world that is succumbing to large scale urbanisation.?
There were also a number of helpful comments on individual Guidelines within the draft document - but there is still time to have your say.
Village Design Statements provide guidance for any development proposals and can influence the way the planning system works locally. They provide a way of ensuring that any new developments are designed and located in a way that reflects local characteristics and qualities that people value in their village and its surroundings. The Statements are produced by the local community for use by planners, developers and local Councils. The Government encourages the use of Village Design Statements (VDS) because they can help applicants make successful planning applications.
Without a VDS, local residents may only hear about proposals for development when the design is finished. Although the Parish Council is asked by the Planning Authority for views on planning applications, it may not get the opportunity to offer as much positive input as it would like - particularly on the design of new development: 'how it looks'. Often, all that local people can do is react or protest. Once a VDS has been prepared, the Planning Authority knows, in advance, the sort of things that are acceptable to local communities.
Buriton has had a Village Design Statement since 1999/2000 (one of the first to be produced in the District) and it was updated as part of the community's Parish Plan exercise in 2008/9. The Parish Council has been advised by the Planning Authority that it now needs to be kept up to date again.
During the course of 2015 and 2016, as part of Buriton's ?Plan B? project, the guidelines in the Village Design Statement have been revisited again and, where necessary, refreshed, drawing upon things that people have told us so far and best practice in other places.
We are nearly there ... but we need your help one more time.
Most of the guidelines are still very similar to those which were originally produced by the community in 2000 and re-affirmed in 2008 - but they have been revisited from first principles, using the context of our landscapes to inform layout and design guidelines.
Now we want you to tell us if we have got things right before anything is sent to the Planning Authority.
In particular, is there anything missing?!
The pdf documents at the foot of this page provide the short Powerpoint presentation that visitors could study at the exhibition on 15th October, providing important context for the exercise, and the draft Guidelines produced so far. If you have any comments please let us know by contacting Doug Jones (doug.pam@btinternet.com) by Sunday 30th October.
Thanks again for all your help.
Plan B for Buriton Group
