Serving North Cadbury, Yarlington & Galhampton
Neighbourhood Plan for the Parish of North Cadbury and Yarlington
You may have recently received a Vote No leaflet from an anonymous source
You may think the Vote No leaflet is associated with the Parish Council’s Neighbourhood Plan working group
IT IS NOT
The Parish Council and the Working Group will not advise you on how to vote. Our responsibility is to present to you the facts and leave you to decide whether you are in favour of the plan or not
The Vote No leaflet contains inaccurate and misleading statements which we have sought to clarify:
Can Neighbourhood Plans prevent development?
YES – by law planning applications are determined in accordance with the development plan for the area unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Therefore, if the Neighbourhood Plan’s policies set out where new buildings should go, and where development should be restricted, this will prevent development in those restricted areas. In the case of the NCYNP, Policy 9 specifically restricts the development of open market housing on greenfield sites that were not allocated for development.
Does the Examiner’s decision to take Clare Field off the list of Local Green Spaces mean it can be developed for housing?
NO – Policy 9 of the NCYNP restricts the development of open market housing on sites that have not been allocated for development. There are also other policies in place that would require the impact on features of heritage, wildlife, and landscape value to be considered in the planning balance.
Could voting yes result in development at Clare Field?
NO – it provides more protection against speculative housing development then relying on the Local Plan. At present the District Council cannot currently demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, and therefore the Local Plan policies are considered out of date. The Neighbourhood Plan policies would be given full weight for at least two years, after which we can refresh the plan to ensure it retains its full weight in planning decisions.
Does the Neighbourhood Plan include any social housing?
YES – it does include proposals for affordable housing, which can include social housing, other forms of affordable rent, shared ownership as well as low cost, affordable homes for sale. The rent levels / degree of discount will be based on what is affordable to local people in housing need. Policy 11 also makes clear that these should be subject to a suitably worded condition or legal agreement to ensure that the housing will remain affordable to, and priority given to housing, eligible persons who have a local connection to the Neighbourhood Plan Area.
You are voting for or against the plan, not who produced it
Residents should consider whether the plan meets the needs of all the parishes rather than that of any one interest group
Why aren’t there any proposals for new homes in Yarlington?
There was no evidence of need in our surveys. SSDC were quite clear that only North Cadbury met their sustainability criteria. In addition, there were no sites put forward for development in Yarlington by local landowners. However, when the plan is refreshed this could be something we look at again, depending on the views of residents.
Has any thought been given to the impact of construction traffic if new homes are built?
YES - Both South Somerset and Somerset Council were asked to comment on the plan’s proposals. If there are concerns about the size and routing of construction traffic when a planning application is submitted, this can be controlled through a construction traffic management plan that can be conditioned as part of any planning permission.
North Cadbury Neighbourhood Plan
31st August 2022