A six week public consultation has been held on the draft Fawkham Neighbourhood Plan, which closed on 14th August 2023. We have been talking to residents and businesses in the Parish since 2019, asking what they think about Fawkham Parish now and how they would like to see it in the future. This has enabled us put together a draft Neighbourhood Plan for Fawkham Parish – and we wanted to know what you think.
We would like to thank all those who took the time to come along to one of the Neighbourhood Plan exhibitions held over the summer and to those who completed the questionnaire. We had 73 questionnaires returned to us, 68 of which were from residents, which will greatly help us ensure the Plan reflects what people in Fawkham think is important and needed. The comments received are now being carefully considered and, where appropriate, we will make changes to the Neighbourhood Plan in light of them. We will update you further once all the comments have been reviewed.
The information below provides further details of the consultation process held in summer 2023:
We would very much like your feedback on this draft Plan, and have a questionnaire for your response and comments. To see the draft Neighbourhood Plan document, its supporting evidence reports, and to complete the questionnaire, please click here: Key Documents
The questionnaire can be completed online or printed and completed on paper (please let us know if you require a paper copy and are unable to print it). You will need to read the Draft Neighbourhood Plan or its summary to complete it. A hard copy can be viewed by arrangement with the Parish Clerk.
We are holding two drop-in sessions in the village hall, at which you will be able to view a summary of the Plan on display boards, and complete the questionnaire (with tea, coffee and cake). These are being held on:
Wednesday 5th July from 7 – 9 pm
Saturday 15th July from 1.30 – 4.30 pm
Please send us your completed questionnaire by 14th August so that we can ensure the Plan reflects what people in Fawkham think is important and needed. The Parish Council and Steering Group will carefully consider and respond to all comments and where appropriate, will make changes to the Neighbourhood Plan in light of them.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Fawkham Parish Council
Background information:
What is a Neighbourhood Plan?
A Neighbourhood Plan guides the development of land and buildings in a Parish. It is created by the local community, led by the Parish Council. It gives us a legal say in local planning matters. It is a relatively new type of planning document for Fawkham and is produced by the Parish. It is part of the Government’s approach to planning which aims to give local people more say about what goes on in their area.
The results of the Parish Survey of 2019 led the Parish Council to believe writing a Neighbourhood Plan would be a good idea, and, following consultation with residents, the unanimous decision was made in December 2020 to go ahead with preparing one.
Since then, the Parish Council and the volunteers of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group have undertaken further public consultation and engagement activities to ensure that the content of the Plan reflects what local people want. This information has been used to develop background evidence for the Plan and also to commission studies to support the emerging Plan policies.
If passed at a local referendum, the Neighbourhood Plan will be adopted by Sevenoaks District Council and must be used to determine planning applications in the Parish. It will become part of the Development Plan alongside SDC’s Local Plan, which looks at the District as a whole. Sevenoaks Town has already prepared a Neighbourhood Plan, and Swanley is also at an advanced stage. Several other Parishes are in the process of preparing one, including Hartley and Ash-cum-Ridley.
The Plan will provide the local community with a powerful tool to guide the long term future of Fawkham Parish.
The Plan contains a vision for the future of the Parish and sets out clear planning policies to realise this vision. These policies include protecting the landscape, with its woodland, open fields, ecological biodiversity and panoramic views; maintaining our community facilities and local economy; protecting our heritage and meeting the very small need for housing originating from the Parish.
A Neighbourhood Plan cannot stop development: it must support the strategic needs set out in the Local Plan. This means it cannot prevent development identified in the Local Plan; there are no sites allocated by SDC in their draft Local Plan, although this has yet to be examined. Housing developments have recently been granted permission by SDC at Salts Farm depot (26 units) and Fawkham Manor hospital (26 units).
How has it been put together?
Fawkham Parish Council set up a Steering Group of Parish Councillors and local residents to develop the Neighbourhood Plan. The Draft Plan has been shaped by the views of residents and brings together results of our community engagement workshops and surveys, and evidence gathered by our volunteer Steering Group. We have been supported in this by a professional planning consultant.
How has the community been involved?
During development of the Plan, we have engaged with the people of Fawkham Parish and others with an interest in the area. To date, this has included:
- A formal consultation on a draft Plan in the summer of 2023, which included exhibitions detailing its content at the village hall and a questionnaire seeking feedback. 73 questionnaires were returned to us, 68 of which were from residents
- A workshop in July 2022 looking at what is important to residents and how they wish to see the Parish in the future
- A workshop seeking input to the report on the local landscape in spring 2022
- A business survey sent to all houses and all businesses in spring 2022
- A survey seeking views on the countryside in autumn 2021
- A survey for children at Fawkham School in autumn 2021
- A picnic at Small Grains looking at site-specific issues in 2021
- A survey sent to all households in 2019
- Stalls at the church fetes in 2021, 2022 and 2023
To see previous updates on the Neighbourhood Plan, please visit: Neighbourhood Plan News
For information on the Steering Group, click here: Steering Group
You can find more information on the following pages:
Neighbourhood Plan Key Documents
Neighbourhood Plan Other Documents
How can I get more involved?
Please do get in touch if you have the skills, experience, time and, most importantly, the willingness to help by joining our Steering Group or by joining a working group looking at a particular topic, such as environment, biodiversity, infrastructure, housing or urban design.
Preparing a Neighbourhood Plan is your chance to shape the future of Fawkham.
If you’d like to find out more about Neighbourhood Plans in general, you can visit:
or
Neighbourhood Planning: brought to you by Locality
