NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING AND THE LOCALISM BILL

1. NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING AND THE LOCALISM BILL

2. The Localism bill is aimed at de-centralising power from Central Government and bringing it back to Communities and local government. • “The Localism Act takes power from central government and hands it back to local authorities and communities – giving them the freedom and flexibility to achieve their own ambitions”

3. There are 5 key areas the Localism Act covers: This is the one we are able to get involved with (primarily) “… local people will have genuine opportunities to influence the future of where they live.”

4. THE PURPOSE OF THE FORUM We believe it will give us the opportunity to make sure that the right amount of homes are built, and when planning applications are put forward, they are in the locations which we, as a village have identified, consulted & agreed on. It will give us the ability to protect and enhance the village with it’s listed buildings, historic setting, green space, rural nature and diverse environment and to guide the future of what we consider to be a thriving community. We hope you’ll agree that it’s worth the effort – we’ll be working for the future generations!

5. To us, it’s not only about planning where the houses can go • It’s about finding out the facts • Thinking ecologically and protecting our wonderful countryside • Working out how many houses we’ll really need, how we want the houses to look, to be sensitive to their surroundings and the impact they have on the environment • Being realistic when weighing up the positives v negatives, and not ignoring things which are important to all of us • Ensuring that we have enough spaces in the schools & doctors to accommodate village growth • Maintaining our village identity • Ensuring that we don’t have to drive for miles to access services • Protecting our public transport • Ensuring it’s possible to continue all the wonderful community groups we’re so lucky to have on offer in the village. Looking after people, and trying to make sure that needed services are available to them, somehow.

6. TIME LINE

7. Taking it forward

8. Why It’s Important to make our decisions now Three main reasons for getting involved in the Village Forum at this stage. • It is much easier to make decisions about how we want our village and our community to evolve, when we are working in a positive frame of mind. What we need, what we want, and what we’d like to happen. • There will inevitably be pressures from the outside, maybe county, maybe district council pressures in the future, about planning, education, transport, and other services. If we already have a template for the village, we can see not only whether any proposals actually fit what we want, but how we may be able to negotiate to build on the proposals so that in the end we get what we want. • Not every village is going to bother with a village forum. We have already shown how Westcott can work together, to oppose an unwelcome planning application. If you were a planner, or a council trying to force unwelcome change onto a community in Mole Valley, would you choose one which already had a detailed plan of what was acceptable, or would you opt for a village that hadn’t woken up to its danger? We must let the authorities know that we, the people living in our village, know what is best for its future.

9. MAP OF OUR WARD

10. DID YOU KNOW 2,256 PEOPLE LIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY? SOME FACTS ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY: 20% OF OUR COMMUNITY ARE 15 YEARS AND UNDER 10% OF OUR COMMUNITY ARE 75 YEARS AND OVER CRIME RATE IS LOWER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

11. MOLE VALLEY’S ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IS 3 TIMES HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE 1.2% OF PEOPLE OF WORKING AGE ARE UNEMPLOYED THERE ARE 955 HOMES IN OUR COMMUNITY 77% OF HOMES ARE OWNER-OCCUPIED THERE ARE 44 LISTED HISTORIC BUILDINGS

12. THE SHORT SURVEY REVEALED THAT YOU LIKE:

13. EASY ACCESS TO THE COUNTRYSIDE VILLAGE IDENTITY SEPARATE FROM DORKING GOOD FACILITIES, SHOPS AND SERVICES STRONG COMMUNITY SPIRIT A SAFE PLACE TO RAISE CHILDREN

14. THE SHORT SURVEY REVEALED THAT YOU DISLIKE:

15. LITTER LACK OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN THE EVENINGS AND ON SUNDAYS THREAT OF DEVELOPMENT INTO COUNTRYSIDE FOOTPATH AND CYCLE PATH ISSUES TO DORKING

16. LACK OF PARKING SPACES AND CROWDED RESIDENTIAL ROADS THE HEAVY FAST TRAFFIC RUNNING THROUGH THE VILLAGE POOR MOBILE AND BROADBAND CONNECTION SPEEDS DOGS FOULING PAVEMENTS INCONSIDERATE CYCLISTS

17. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN WESTCOTT?

18. TRAFFIC CALMING? MORE GRIT BOXES? MORE OR LESS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT? MORE RECREATIONAL FACILITIES FOR ALL AGES? RESIDENTIAL ROAD CHANGES/IMPROVEMENTS?

19. PARKING MEASURES? BIKE RACKS? - IT’S YOUR VILLAGE - HAVE YOUR SAY - FILL IN YOUR FULL SURVEY IN 2013 - SUPPORT THE SUCCESSFUL EVOLUTION OF WESTCOTT VILLAGE

20. HELP

21. The Forum • The Forum will be made up of 21 members, all of whom will be volunteers, who need to represent different sections of the Westcott community – this way, we can ensure everyone has a voice. The purpose is to receive and digest information on local community demographics, helping to establish village needs for the next 10 years and eventually make the policies which will guide Westcott forward well into the next decade, in a way we all agree on. Neighbourhood forums will lead the creation of neighbourhood plans, supported by the local planning authority. Once written the plan will be independently examined and put to a referendum of local people for approval. It will go to a vote, where depending on the outcome (50% approval by local voters) it will become an adopted policy which the local council have to use.

22. The Working Party • There will be a need for another group – the ‘working party’ – who will be responsible for collecting the data which is needed, from all sorts of places – we’ve made a start with the village questionnaire (which 10% of the village population completed). This work will continue with the Village Survey. There will be lots of research, analysis, and report writing to be done all of which will be passed to the Neighbourhood Forum for them to digest! – volunteers at the ready - please – support your community to do something positive for it’s future generations.

23. Becoming a Forum Volunteer We will need plenty of volunteers to achieve this goal We are also looking for people who are Skill Based with potentially the following skills: • Data research • Analysis of data • Report writing • Computer input • Project planning • Experience in planning process • Experience in local government • Experience in contract/policy writing • Marketing • Communications • Conference co-ordination & delivery • Administration • Public speaking We need to represent the whole community – otherwise it won’t be possible to take this forward. We will need at least 21 representatives from the community – including: • Commuters • Families • Elderly • Retired • Businesses • Land owners • Homeowners • Social Housing residents • Private residents • Anyone else

24. Would you like to take part? Are you interested in taking part in: A - The Neighbourhood Forum? B - Working Party? If so fill in a form and hand to a volunteer.