A Parish Council meeting will take place on Tuesday 13th June at the Oriel Room, St Ricarius Church, Aberford, commencing 7:00 p.m, to discuss the draft Neighbourhood Development Plan before it is submitted for consultation.
The agenda is available for download here.
The draft plan can be downloaded by clicking here.
The Aberford Plan is now at an advanced stage and contains many policies and proposals relating to individual sites and buildings within and around the village. For this reason residents within the Plan area are now to be consulted on the draft provisions of the plan which may relate to their interests. The consultation will run from 23rd January until 19th February 2017 (previously stated as 12th Feb, the closing date has been extended by one week).
There are various categories on which the Parish Council would like your views. A public Drop In Event will be held at The Village Hall on Sunday 5th February 2017 from 11am until 3pm so please do come along and have your say. To view the event poster please click here.
Response forms can be completed at the event, emailed to clerk@aberford-pc.gov.uk or posted to:
Mrs N J Goonesinghe, Aberford & District Parish Council, 33 Lyndhurst Crescent, Scholes, Leeds, LS15 4BR.
Following this consultation the PC’s intention is to move to the statutory consultation on a final plan, after which it will be submitted to Leeds City Council for them to organise an independent examination.
Residents may already have seen reports of proposals put before LCC by the owners of the Parlington Estate, to develop a large area of land off Junction 47 primarily (but not exclusively) for housing from 2020 onwards.
The Parish Council received a letter from the Conservative Group Office a couple of days ago which briefly sets out the background and thinking behind these proposals. A copy of this letter is available for all to read, in our Neighbourhood Plan folder, here.
As mentioned, there will be fuller consultations towards the end of the year, assuming (as we do) that these proposals are taken forward. We shall, of course, keep you advised of developments.
Councillor Keith Dunwell, a member of the Neighbourhood Development Plan Management Group comments as follows:
Over the past few years communities throughout the Country have been involved in Neighbourhood Development Planning for their respective areas. Aberford’s planning group (an extension of the Parish Council itself) was initially put together by Parish Councillors, who managed to fire the enthusiasm of a number of local residents, during 2012 and continues to this day – although with a drastically reduced membership.
The present day Group is made up of Parish Councillors, members of the local community, others with a lasting affinity to the area and a paid consultant (sponsored through grant funding).
Considerable progress was being made last year until our valued Consultant, Mike Dando, became unwell and had to leave us. A replacement for Mike is currently being sought to guide us through to a satisfactory completion of the Plan.
The Group meets locally on the first Thursday of each month and more members are needed to help with the upcoming final stage of ‘The Plan’. You are very welcome to join us – please get in touch for more details.
We have been advised by LCC that the proposal to build a new village to the east of Bramham, on land owned by Leeds University, may not now go ahead. This leaves a shortfall in LCC’s housing allocation for the Outer North East Leeds Area of some 3000 dwellings which might have been built there over the next 12-15 years. Residents will be aware that. under current LCC proposals no land around Aberford is scheduled to be released from Greenbelt for housing.
From the information gained at the outset of the Neighbourhood Planning process it is evident that residents value the Greenbelt and see it as an essential element in protecting our “small community” status. To date, LCC have agreed. We will have to wait and see however what (if any) proposals LCC come forward with to replace the housing shortfall before considering a response. There is more than just the number of dwellings to consider though. The village school is currently full (and with a waiting list) and this is one infrastructure issue that can no longer be ignored.
More clarity is required regarding LCC’s strategic intent. We see no reason however to allow piecemeal development on Greenbelt, in the meantime, regardless of any “incentives” offered. In particular, it is important to us that, should LCC make an approach, full consultation take place with parishioners, so that all views and all options are explored.