CALL FOR ACTION : YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED TO THE NPPF REGULATION CONSULTATION SURVEY : DEADLINE IS TODAY!
It has been a while since writing and there have been many scrutinising the NPPF draft Regulations. We have gathered information from CPRE, London Green Belt Council, Sevenoaks Town Council, and others with expertise. The NPPF Regulations have a strong influence on the Sevenoaks Local Plan 2040 and Protect Our Green Belt Together (POGBT) have looked at this, particularly in relation to Pedham Place proposals and have answered some of the questions that were felt to be most relevant.
If you have not responded already, please see attached and below in the hope this will assist in your response. There are 106 questions but you don't have to answer them all.
Please find attached information collated regarding responses to the survey for the consultation on the NPPF, which closes today, Tuesday 24th September at 11:45pm.
There is a track changed document illustrating the proposed changes to the NPPF Regulations, a document version of the online survey as a consultation document, and a summary sheet with a feel for how Sevenoaks Town and various organisations are responding to the questions with information.
POGBT have put together a response based on information available and hope this is of assistance if you choose to respond to the survey. Please answer a few questions in your own words. The rest are being handled by councils and CPRE around England. Just remember to use own words and submit before 11:45 tonight....
The more responses obtained the better and it is hoped this will give enough time to rally some MPs to fight the new regulation changes in favour of protecting the Green Belt for us all and future generations. With only 13% of the country being Green Belt, it is hoped the Government will be held to what has been decided previously (i.e. the decision to protect land by giving it the status of Green Belt and National Landscapes (previously AONB)).
If you are short of time, please just answer the questions that you are confident to respond to and the first few questions will suffice. The POGBT have omitted some questions as it was felt there’s not enough understanding to respond and you may follow suit and just answer the same questions, which seem the most important to cover.
With your help in completing the questionnaire in your own words, please respond to as many questions as possible and I hope the attachments assist in completing this task. Here is the link to the overview and direct link to the survey to complete:
- https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-reforms-to-the-national-planning-policy-framework-and-other-changes-to-the-planning-system
- https://consult.communities.gov.uk/planning/planning-reform/
It is important to answer in your own words or there’s a danger of diluting the weight of the responses if they are replicated.
Whilst writing, The Development Conservation Advisory Committee (DCAC) meeting is this evening at 7pm at Sevenoaks’ offices and POGBT have been given a speaking slot at that meeting. We hope some of you can attend to show public support and whilst it’s likely they’ll be explaining about the revisiting of the whole Local Plan 2040 again due to the NPPF changes and housing targets that have been set, it is apparent that Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) and POGBT seem to be more aligned in their objectives when looking at the protection of the Green Belt, SDC with the aim of challenging the new extremely high housing target and POGBT for the preservation of Green Belt and provision of housing in the right places where needed the most, with least detrimental impact on Green Belt. We have been informed that Pedham Place does not fall within the grey belt definition and it is National Landscapes, which puts it further down the priority list in terms of Green Belt release but we are not "out of the woods" with the housing target having been increased so significantly from 704 to over 1113 per year, an almost 60% increase to accommodate in the Local Plan 2040 predominantly due to the house prices in Sevenoaks. In recent years, Sevenoaks have only been building 200-300 houses per year! This is a real concern and we need MPs to stand up in Parliament to protect the Green Belt.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email: protectourgreenbelttogether@gmail.com and we will aim to assist.
Good luck with completing the survey and hopefully it will have the desired effect.
Best wishes
Protect Our Green Belt Together
