Hinckley Borough have to deliver around 450-500 new houses each year during the plan period. If they deliver to target, the Local Plan carries significant weight. However if they fail to deliver (measured by a 5 year future housing supply) the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) says that there is a "presumption in favour of sustainable development" and this is when it can become open season and developers will start to pick off lucrative sites to make up the borough shortfall. Currently we understand HBBC can demonstrate a 5.5 year of housing but this is predicated on the delivery of significant housing through the Barwell and Earl Shilton SUEs (Sustainable Urban Extension) which are behind plan.Why won't Avery talk to the community?
Avery (or their agents) have made approaches through both the Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan to present to the village. However the Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan refused (rightly) to endorse these approaches as the Neighbourhood Plan is not far enough advanced to want to engage with developers yet. When they knew they didn't have this endorsement Avery withdrew. We now don't know their intentions. They could submit an application at any time or they could be playing a longer game seeking to influence either the new emerging Hinckley Local Plan or Stoke Goldings emerging Neighbourhood Plan.
Why doesn't the meeting on 11th Dec include the whole village?
We wanted to get the meeting underway quickly in case they make a speculative application over the Christmas period. We also wanted to initially focus on the most impacted residents as they are more likely to be active. We will involve the whole village in time and we want and need their support. We are very much of the mind that the village does not want a development of this scale anywhere in the village and it is contrary to the Local Plan.
What can I do to help?
We want you to remain engaged and ready to help. At the initial meeting we hope to identify further specific actions to take forward. We will want help with basic but important tasks such as taking notes or delivering leaflets. We are particularly interested to hear from people with particular specialist skills relating to planning such as ecology, traffic planning, design, legal - if you don;t have skills yourselves do you have contact? Good communication is going to be vital so people who are media savey or know about social networking will be very useful.
When an application is lodged the most important thing will be to write your own formal letter of objection (we can help with this). You should also lobby you borough councillor, county councillor and MP (we will provide contact details).
Why aren't the Parish Council taking a lead?
We aim to get the support of the Parish Council, however their processes and procedures make it difficult for them to react as quickly as an action group. We very much want an effective working relationship with the Parish Council.
How does this relate to the Neighbourhood Plan?
The Neighbourhood Plan is currently working to identify the future housing needs for the village up to 2036 and will identify preferred site(s) for development if required. It is unlikely that this plan will deliver until late 2020 or even 2021. This leads us with a void until the plan is place. We are seeking to protect ourselves during that void.
