ADD GUIDE, 10 July 2018: Eastleigh Borough Council’s emerging Local Plan 2016-2036 has now entered the public consultation stage. This is the part of the formal process where the Council must seek the comments of residents, interested groups and statutory consultees (e.g., Hampshire County Highways; the Environment Agency) on whether the Plan is sound, and whether the Council has met its legal requirements in terms of the 2012 Local Planning Regulations. A Planning Inspector will review the Plan and consider the comments that have been submitted, provided these are deemed valid. The object of this guide is therefore to help you submit a valid representation (before the deadline of midnight on 6 August).
If you care about the future of the borough, it is very important that you submit your comments as a formal “representation”. We want to demonstrate to the Planning Inspector that there many local people who care passionately about the Local Plan. You might have made a representation at an earlier stage in this Local Plan process – the Issues and Options consultation phase, in early 2016. This is different; this time, your comments must relate to the Proposed Submission Local Plan published in June 2018, and your representation needs to concentrate not on the policies themselves (EBC are, sadly, not going to change those), but on why the process by which the Plan has been developed is unsound. We do recommend that you read at least some of the evidence base on the Eastleigh Local Plan website, so that you can make informed comments that will carry more weight with the Planning Inspector. Our advice about which policies you might want to look at, with reference to legal requirements and soundness, is below, under the heading ‘EBC’s emerging Local Plan: Making a representation’.
Ways of submitting a representation
This section describes the available mechanisms for submitting a representation. Representations may be made by email or letter or via the bespoke form on the EBC website.
Note that the Council must make all representations made visible to the public, but individuals may choose not to have their name and address published with the text of their representation.
If you use EBC’s online form:
Please note that you do not have to answer every question in the online form; skip any that are not of interest and focus on the questions that matter to you.
If you would like to refer to ADD’s ‘user guide’ to the EBC form, click here.
If you are sending your representation by letter or email:
We have created a template (click here) which you may use if you find it easier than the form provided on EBC’s Local Plan pages on its website. Our template includes prompts for the mandatory and the optional information that EBC requests in its online form. We recommend that you use the template in conjunction with the advice below, under ‘EBC’s emerging Local Plan: Making a representation’.
Click here for a sample submission. A representation on each policy requires a separate sheet (Part B).
For those who would prefer not to use our template, here are details of what is mandatory for a valid representation, and what is optional:
Mandatory
- The following are mandatory if you want your representation to be considered: You must provide your name and address (if you do not want these published alongside your representation, you must state this).
- For each policy you want to comment on, use a separate page and provide the related policy number
- For each policy you comment on, state whether you support or oppose it, and why.
- State your overall view as to the legal compliance of the Local Plan – see below (I do/do not consider the Local Plan to be legally compliant). Provide an explanation of why you take this view, and what modifications you believe are required to make the plan legally compliant. Include reference to all of the specific policies, paragraphs and/or documents that your comments relate to.
- State your overall view as to the soundness – see below (I do/do not consider the Local Plan to be sound). Provide an explanation of why you take this view, and what modifications you believe are required to make the plan sound. Include reference to all of the specific policies, paragraphs and/or documents that your comments relate to.
- If your representation is seeking a modification to make the Local Plan legally compliant or sound, state whether you consider it to be necessary for you to participate at the oral part of the examination, and give your reasons, if you do wish to speak at the examination.
Optional
The Council also asks you to provide the following information, but you do not have to:
- Whether you are writing on your own behalf or are representing another person or an organisation.
- Your telephone number, so that any queries arising from your representation may be followed up.
- Your email address, if you wish for an acknowledgement from EBC of safe receipt of your representation.
- Your age, within a 10-year range (this is for the Council’s analysis of the demographics of the respondents to the consultation).
Where to send your representation
Letters:
Reference Local Plan 2016-2036 Consultation, Eastleigh Borough Council, Eastleigh House, Upper Market Street, Eastleigh SO50 9YN.
Emails:
[email protected]
Subject line: Reference Local Plan 2016-2036 Consultation
EBC’s emerging Local Plan: Making a representation
This section gives guidance on ensuring that your representation is valid. It explains the tests of legal compliance and soundness. Finally, Table 1 (below) presents some areas of the Plan that supporters of ADD’s campaign might wish to comment on in representations. You do not need to comment on every part of the Plan; ‘skip’ the policies that do not apply and focus on the policies that are of interest to you.
There are two key parts of the Plan that the team at ADD are expecting that members of the public will want to comment on:
- The proposed new Strategic Growth Option (SGO) at Options B and C (Policy S5 – New Communities, land north of Bishopstoke and land north and east of Fair Oak)
- The proposed new road between Fair Oak and Allbrook (Policy S6 – New Allbrook Hill, Bishopstoke and Fair Oak link road)
Table 1 below shows the key issues and some further issues on which we think people might wish to comment in their representation, together with the most relevant policies.
Making sure your representation is valid
Two of the mandatory questions in the online form, which must also be addressed in written or emailed representations, relate to whether the Plan is ‘sound’, and whether the Council has met its legal requirements, in accordance with the regulations set out by the Planning Inspectorate. If your representation does not give an opinion (I do/do not consider the Local Plan to be legally compliant; I do/do not consider the Local Plan to be sound) and an explanatory comment, your representation will not be deemed ‘valid’ and will not be looked at by the Planning Inspector. Therefore, for each part of the Plan to which you object, it is crucial that you provide an explanation as to why you consider it not legally compliant, or not sound. Legal compliance and soundness are explained below.
Legal compliance:
To be legally compliant, a Local Plan must be prepared according to the following regulations:
- Statement of Community Involvement and other relevant regulations: the Council has a duty to consult appropriate bodies, in line with the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement.
- Duty to Co-operate: the Council must prepare its Local Plan in co-operation with the relevant local planning authorities and statutory bodies – for example, Winchester City Council; the Environment Agency. EBC’s Duty to Co-operate statement is here.
- National Policy and Legislation Compliance: the Plan must be prepared in accordance with relevant national policy and legislation – for example, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
- Sustainability Appraisal Report: the Council must carry out an adequate Sustainability Appraisal. See EBC’s Sustainability Appraisal (non-technical summary), Main report, and Appendices.
- Habitats Regulations Assessment: the Council must carry out an appropriate assessment under the Habitats Regulations.
If it fails in any one of the above tests, the Plan is not legally compliant.
For initial examples of ways in which we believe the Plan is not legally compliant, click here.
Soundness:
There are four key phrases that define ‘soundness’ in terms of a Local Plan
- Positively prepared – the plan should be prepared based on a strategy which seeks to meet objectively assessed development and infrastructure requirements, i.e., it should be based on well researched evidence.
- Justified – the plan should be the most appropriate strategy, when considered against the reasonable alternatives, based on proportionate evidence.
- Effective – the plan should be deliverable over its period and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic priorities.
- Consistent with national policy – the plan should enable the delivery of sustainable development, in accordance with the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
If it fails in any one of the above tests, the Plan is not sound.
For initial examples of ways in which we believe the Plan is not sound, click here.
Commenting on aspects of the Local Plan
There is no expectation that members of the public will wish to comment on each of the 111 policies that constitute this Local Plan. It is perfectly acceptable to skip questions in the online form and not to address them in a written or emailed representation. ADD suggest that our supporters focus on two or three aspects of the Plan that are of particular interest to them, and be sure to comment on at least some of the associated policies. As a minimum, we ask you to comment on the proposed new Strategic Growth Option (SGO) at B and C, and on the proposed new road.
Remember that, to make a valid representation, you must:
- Refer to the associated policy number, using a separate page for each policy to which you object.
- State that you object to the policy, on the grounds of legal compliance and/or soundness.
- Explain why.
- State what modifications to the Policy are necessary to make the plan legally compliant and/or sound.
Table 1 proposes some aspects of the Local Plan that are likely to be of interest to ADD’s supporters, together with some of the policies that relate to them. The list is not exhaustive. Page numbers refer to the Eastleigh Borough Local Plan document (June 2018) and are provided for your reference.
Table 1 – Issues and associated policies
| Issue | Associated policies (not an exhaustive list) | Page |
| As a minimum | ||
| New communities north of Bishopstoke and north and east of Fair Oak | Policy S5 – New Communities, land north of Bishopstoke and land north and east of Fair Oak | 41 |
| Link road | Policy S6 – New Allbrook Hill, Bishopstoke and Fair Oak link road | 48 |
| If you wish to object on a broader point, against a range of policies | ||
| Wrong development; wrong place | Policy S1 – delivering sustainable development (various clauses) | 32 |
| Policy S3 – location of new housing – especially, the development of approximately 5,300 dwellings (3,350 within the plan period) on a strategic growth option north of Bishopstoke and north and east of Fair Oak | 36 | |
| Policy S5 – New Communities, land north of Bishopstoke and land north and east of Fair Oak | 41 | |
| Policy S6 – New Allbrook Hill, Bishopstoke and Fair Oak link road | 48 | |
| Policy S7 – New development in the countryside | 52 | |
| Policy DM1 – General criteria for new development | 70 | |
| Policy DM11 – Nature conservation | 90 | |
| Policy DM13 – General development criteria – transport. | 101 | |
| Biodiversity: Damage to Ancient Woodland; loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats | Policies: S1 – Delivering sustainable development (and see the NPPF, para 118 – link) | 32 |
| Policy DM1 – General criteria for new development | 70 | |
| Policy DM11 – Nature conservation | 90 | |
| Policy DM13 – General development criteria – transport. | 101 | |
| Damage to the Itchen SAC | Policy S1 – delivering sustainable development, esp clause vi, p. 33 | 32 |
| Policy S5 – New Communities, land north of Bishopstoke and land north and east of Fair Oak – various clauses, including clauses 12 & 13 | 41 | |
| Policy DM5 – Sustainable surface water management and watercourse management | 78 | |
| Policy DM10 – Water and waste water. Water abstraction and waste water treatment. | 88 | |
| Policy DM11 – Nature conservation | 90 | |
| Destruction of high-quality landscape | Policy S1 – delivering sustainable development esp clause ix, p. 33 |
32 |
| Policy S3 – Location of new housing | 36 | |
| Policy S5 – New Communities, land north of Bishopstoke and land north and east of Fair Oak – various clauses, including clauses 12 & 13 | 41 | |
| Policy S6 – New Allbrook Hill, Bishopstoke and Fair Oak link road | 48 | |
| Policy S7 – New development in the countryside | 52 | |
| Policy DM1 – General criteria for new development | 70 | |
| Policy DM13 – General development criteria – transport | 101 | |
| Urban sprawl: loss of community identity | Policy S3 – location of new housing | 36 |
| Policy S5 – New Communities, land north of Bishopstoke and land north and east of Fair Oak | 41 | |
| Policy S8 – Protection of countryside gaps. (Inconsistently applied policy on countryside gaps) | 54 | |
| Inadequate ‘buffers’ between development and areas of high landscape sensitivity | Policy S5 – New Communities, land north of Bishopstoke and land north and east of Fair Oak, clause 3b. See also p.47 for proposed buffers | 41 |
| Policy DM11 – Nature conservation | 90 | |
| Increased car use | Policy S1 – delivering sustainable development esp clause v, p 33 |
32 |
| Policy S5 – New Communities, land north of Bishopstoke and land north and east of Fair Oak | 41 | |
| Policy S6 – New Allbrook Hill, Bishopstoke and Fair Oak link road | 48 | |
If you have any queries about this document or the advice given, please email [email protected]
