The following comments have been received from the County Council’s planning officer, Felicity Hart:
“I’d just like to thank you and everyone else who has got involved for all your hard work. It was really appreciated, you know. In more than 30 years of planning I would say that your group of local people has worked the hardest and produced the best response to any planning application I have ever dealt with! So, well done.”
“We don’t know what the future holds; the applicant may wish to appeal, or may wish to submit a different version of the planning application. Only time will tell. But what has struck me is how well you have all worked together and how all sections of the community have been involved too (including the school children). The planning process may have been uncertain and stressful at times, but it has also had the benefit of bringing the community together, with a shared sense of purpose and a furthered knowledge of planning, which can be applied in future cases. As this excerpt below from the NPPF shows, you have met one of the core planning principles and that can only be of benefit to neighbourhood planning in the future:
… The planning system can play an important role in facilitating social interaction and creating healthy, inclusive communities. Local planning authorities should create a shared vision with communities of the residential environment and facilities they wish to see. To support this, local planning authorities should aim to involve all sections of the community in the development of Local Plans and in planning decisions, and should facilitate neighbourhood planning. Planning policies and decisions, in turn, should aim to achieve places which promote opportunities for meetings between members of the community who might not otherwise come into contact with each other.”