Bassetlaw District Council Land (Broad Gores, Clarborough)

Transcription

1 Clarborough and Welham Neighbourhood Plan Bassetlaw District Council Land (Broad Gores, Clarborough) Proposals for Development from Clarborough & Welham Parish Council & Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Public Meeting Dates for your Diary Friday 4 September 7.00 pm (fixed start) Clarborough Village Hall Presentation, Display & Discussion Free Refreshments (non-alcoholic) Coffee Evening Coffee Morning Wednesday 9 September 7 pm to 8.30 pm ( Drop-in event), The Gate Inn, Smeath Lane Display & Discussion Free Refreshments (non-alcoholic) Thursday 10 September 12 noon until 1.30 pm ( Drop-in event), King s Arms, Main Street Display & Discussion Free Refreshments (non-alcoholic) Questionnaire Return To Spar Shop Main Street, Clarborough or via website or e- mail by Sunday 13 September 2015 Your village, your plan, your future! Contacts: candwnp@gmail.com clawenp.btck.co.uk Facebook.com/clawenp

2 Clarborough & Welham Neighbourhood Plan Dear Fellow Villagers This document sets out two alternative proposals for the use of the land owned by Bassetlaw District Council in Clarborough and situated between the north and south ends of Broad Gores. Having started out with fine principles to enhance the land and, therefore, the village we have had to accommodate some reality checks! We hope that, despite these checks, what we are suggesting is an exciting but realistic new area, which will benefit all residents, businesses and users of our villages. The ideas for these layouts have come from the wishes of the villagers as expressed in a number of consultations in We understand that there could be some scepticism concerning the provision of the leisure land once the housing is started. The one drawback is funding, but we will have a start financially from the housing developer payment (see page 6). The rest will be developed with the aid of grants. We are already receiving advice on this. The leisure land will happen! Why should we bother with a Neighbourhood Plan at all? Because it allows us as villagers to control development within the Parish for the next 15 years. It also allows us to plan those improvements, which we would like to see. Please bear in mind that the full realisation of these ideas is on a 15 year timescale! Please study the proposals carefully, attend the meetings which we have arranged, ask questions of those from the Steering Group (and others) who are present at those meetings and finally let us know your opinion of the proposals. This proposal represents the most important development in the village for 40 years! We apologise for the length of this document but the Steering Group feel it is important that you have all the information you need to make informed decisions. The BDC land is only one part of the Neighbourhood Plan. You will have the opportunity to comment on the full Draft Plan in November during a statutory six week consultation. We hope to see you at the meetings. Best wishes. Paul Willcock Chairman Steering Group Clarborough & Welham Neighbourhood Plan Your opinion matters get involved! Our Neighbourhood Plan is supported by Clarborough & Welham Parish Council Your village, your plan, your future! Contacts: candwnp@gmail.com clawenp.btck.co.uk Facebook.com/clawenp Page 2

3 Background Our Aim for the land Our aim for the BDC land has been to produce a green heart to the village of Clarborough. In effect a Village Green. It will also provide a green corridor between the canal towpath and the existing centre of the village on Main Street. In addition, it will provide some of those facilities in the village, which our consultations identified that residents would like to see. In short it will enhance our village and remove the current eyesore. Our constraints These have been generated by the legal requirement for Bassetlaw District Council, who own the land, to show best value in their financial dealings. As Council Tax payers we all benefit from this requirement as any income generated by best value goes either towards reducing our Council Tax bill or towards maintaining and improving services. In addition there is also the need to give the developer a reasonable return on his housing otherwise it would be difficult for BDC to sell the land. The advantage The advantage of having this land included in the Neighbourhood Plan is that the land will be protected from any other development for all time! Our Initial Plan Back in November 2014 we presented an idea for the use of the BDC land. One of the questions we asked was about the number of houses which those attending the meeting would like to see on the land. The survey showed that around 28 would be acceptable to residents. The Proposals Housing 38 houses and bungalows of different sizes and styles. Why is this more than the 28 which residents said would be acceptable? This number is driven by the best value approach for BDC as outlined above. Below 38 houses BDC feel that they would have difficulty in justifying their proposal for the non-housing land see below. This is the preferred option of the Steering Group as it is closest to the expressed wishes of the community. Non-housing land If villagers accept 38 houses then the intention is that we would be seeking that this land is gifted to the Parish Council by Bassetlaw District Council. That is they will give the land in its present state to the Parish Council for use as leisure land. This land would be subject to restrictive covenants ensuring it could only be used for leisure purposes. An Alternative The other option presented by BDC is for 48 houses on the land as it would give BDC a higher capital receipt from their land. This would still leave a considerable area of leisure land. If that number were to be accepted by the community then BDC would be prepared to split the increased revenue between 38 and 48 houses on a 50/50 basis with the Parish Council. This money could then be used to help fund some of the development of the leisure land. The number of houses is your choice! Get involved find out more attend a meeting! Page 3

4 Facilities The site will have designed into it footpaths/cycleways, access to the canal side, a waterside park area and a bridge across Clarborough Beck to allow access to the Village Hall and Main Street. The surveys we have carried out indicated a number of types of use for the leisure land which residents supported. The original proposals in November 2014 included these. The new proposals for the use of the land show that there could be some of the following included on the land: Car Park for the school - since November 2014 there have been discussions with NCC Highways about the use of the Village Hall car park by parents from the school. Widening the current Village Hall drive would answer the concerns raised by NCC. This is not a cheap solution but could go ahead in the relatively near future, paid for by the Parish Council. This has, therefore, been removed from the new plans. Allotments - 80% of respondents said they would support allotments, 9 individuals indicating they would wish to have one. Only a small car park is to be provided as all allotment holders are expected to be from the Parish. This was a small sample of residents, so 20 allotments are proposed. Moorings/Marina - up to 15 end-on moorings for narrow boats, were proposed. There was no vote on this. It remains in the new plans. Workshop for boat repair - 37% of residents voted against, with 34% voting for. The issues raised against were noise, smell and appearance alongside a leisure area and near housing. The argument in favour is the possible creation of 2/3 jobs. This remains in the new plans due to the close vote. New community building - not included in the November proposal. There has been no enthusiasm for this during discussions with village organisations. There is doubt about how this would be run and who would use it. The Village Hall struggles for volunteers to clean and maintain its functions. It has been suggested that outside water-based organisations (ie not village based groups) may make use of it. Car Park for canal visitors - not included in the November plan. Car Park for Moorings/Marina users - not included in the November plan. Landscaped Mound - up to 2.5 m (just over 8ft) high. Not included in the November plan. Wildflower area - not shown on the November plan. Cut grass Play area - not shown on November plan. Equipped Play area - shown on the November plan but not voted on. Outdoor Keep-fit Equipment not shown on the November plan. Trees - shown in the November plan but not voted on. Please bear in mind that this Neighbourhood Plan is designed to be fulfilled by It will not, and cannot be, an instant transformation. Fulfillment of the different parts of the Plan will depend on the availability of funding. The order of completion of the different elements of the Plan will be dependent on the priorities, which you, the people of the villages, will set (see Questionnaire on page 7). It may be that the land could be improved at small cost such that, without the elements shown above, it could be made more acceptable and useable as a leisure area than it is now. The rest would evolve! What is shown on the leisure land of Option Plan 1: 38 Houses and Option Plan 2: 48 Houses is not fixed. It is quite likely that different elements on the two plans will be interchanged. We will, at each of the 3 meetings (see the front page), therefore, give an opportunity for you to provide us with a sketch of your ideas please be realistic! Page 6

5 Financing Income The Parish Council has three possible sources of income, which could be used to fund development of the land: Ø Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) This is a one-off payment which a housing developer would pay to BDC for each house which is built. The size of the payment depends on the size of each house. With a Neighbourhood Plan in place the Parish Council would receive 25% of this money. (Without a Plan this is only 10% of the total payment with a maximum of 100 per house.) The CIL payment to the Parish Council would be approximately: For 38 houses of the type shown on Option 1 Plan 47,500 (approx.) [No NP this would be 3800!] For 48 houses of the type shown on Option 2 Plan 62,000 (approx.) [No NP this would be 4800!] Ø Council Tax Precept The Parish Council raises money annually through this payment, which is part of your annual Council Tax bill. The amount raised per household in 2015/2016 was 39.14, giving the Parish Council an income of 15,000. Each of the new houses would also have to pay this Precept, therefore giving the Council more each year if 38 houses are built. Each extra 1000 the Parish Council wishes to spend each year would cost each household an extra 2.61 per year. Ø Grants The Parish Council can apply for Grants from a number of different organisations for specific projects eg The National Lottery. These grants generally will only pay for capital costs and not maintenance costs. We are currently taking advice on this. Ø Other income There would be income from allotment rental. This would be designed to cover all annual maintenance and service provision. Other facilities would also be expected to be self-supporting. Ø 48 or 38 houses This would be a one-off payment to the Parish Council as explained on Page 2 if the higher number of houses were to be built. It would be in addition to the CIL payment outlined above. The monetary value of this would not be known until the land was sold but a rough estimate puts it at around 80,000; it could be more, it could be less!. NB This is a very rough estimate. Costs There are two costs involved with developing the leisure land: Ø Capital costs - these are the costs of setting-up the various areas of use for the land. Eg cost of preparing the allotments, provision of play equipment, preparing the land and seeding etc. These sort of costs could be partially covered from CIL payments and by applying to funding providers like the National Lottery. These have been estimated as: Allotments - 90,000 Play Equipment - 100,000 Leisure land - 175,000 Moorings/Marina - 700,000 (These have not been confirmed by detailed costings) Ø Maintenance costs these are those costs involved in running the land eg maintainance of equipment, grass mowing etc. The CIL payment could also be used for this but it can, of course, only be spent once! The only regular source of income for the Parish Council is from the Parish Precept through your Council Tax Bill, which we have already seen above will increase due to the new houses. Eg Annual cost for grass cutting for the current playing field is 1200 (approx.) Page 7

6 Clarborough & Welham Neighbourhood Plan Bassetlaw District Council Land Questionnaire September 2015 i) Please complete the questionnaire by ticking 1 alternative answer for each question. ii) For each of your Yes answers it would be useful if you would rank them in order of priority in the third column. (1 = most important, 2 = second importance and so on). Yes No Priority Do you support: (1 to 12) 1 The inclusion of 38 houses? 2 The inclusion of 48 houses? No entry needed 3 The provision of allotments with a small car park? 4 Would you be interested in having an allotment? No entry needed 4a Please give a name and contact if Yes. Name Contact Do you support: 5 The provision of up to 15 moorings? 6 The provision of a workshop and boat yard for boat repairs? 7 The inclusion of a landscaped mound? 8 The provision of car parking for visitors? 9 The provision of car parking for mooring users? 10 A new community building? 11 The inclusion of a wildflower area? 12 The inclusion of a number of trees? 13 The provision of play equipment for teenagers? 14 The inclusion of outdoor keep fit equipment? 15 An increase in the Precept to pay for the maintenance of new facilities? Further Comments Page 8 P Personal details important! We need to provide information about the people who take part in our consultations with the public. Please complete the details shown below by circling or completing: Resident of: Clarborough Welham Other (please state) Male/Female: Age: (Please use an extra sheet and attach if needed) Please return this page to Spar Shop or on- line by 13 September 2015