The Englefield Green Village Neighbourhood Plan:
NEWS UPDATE ; 15th December 2023
We are pleased to report that the Neighbourhood Plan was approved by over 85% of voters at the Referendum held on 13th December 2023.
Runnymede Borough Council will now ratify the Plan and it will become part of the Planning Process.
The Neighbourhood Plan is an important road map for the future development of Englefield Green and surrounding area, and is based on what you as residents have said you want over the past 4 years during its preparation. It strengthens existing Planning rules, provides detailed design codes for new buildings, protects green spaces and heritage and allows us to use a minimum of 25% of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) on improving the infrastructure in our village .
Join the Forum – Go to the ‘Join the Forum’ page to register as a Forum member so we have your e mail address and can send you any news and updates.
The Forum Steering Committee, now that the Plan is made, will continue to monitor, oppose or support planning applications and advise members, and promote physical improvements in the private and public domain, and in the ecology of our Area, for the benefit of our residents.
We recognise that there is a considerable amount of documentation associated with the Plan (over 1000 pages!) and so we hope the following will assist.
- If you don’t know how a Neighbourhood Plan is created, or what a Steering Committee is, we recommend you first watch the video in the section below on this page.
- The area covered by our Plan is the East and West Wards of Englefield Green, shown on the map here
- We have summarised the process by which the Neighbourhood Plan came into existence in the section below headed ‘How the Plan came about‘
- The Plan itself is important as it strengthens and enhances some of the existing regulations that residents have indicated they care about. However, as can be seen from the video, the Plan itself is constrained by the RBC Local Plan, which the Neighbourhood Plan is not allowed to clash with. We therefore produced a number of subsidiary documents that will also need to be taken into account by planners when assessing applications, and also gives us a ‘road map’ for how you the residents have told us how you would like the village and surrounding area to develop.
- The first of these is the Design Codes. These codes provide guidance as to what architecture, spatial configuration and so on that we wish to see in our area. Planners will have to refer to them and applicants will need a very strong case if they do not follow them.
- The second is the Placemaking document. Whilst we were limited in the Plan to private development regulations, this document contains aspirations for the public realm. Further research and public consultation will result in most proposals requiring modification and/or redesign and such dialogue will undoubtedly lead to more proposals, but the key thing is that it forms a basis for discussion on how residents wish to see the public realm (ie the streets, parks and other areas) develop in the future. We have to emphasise it is most definitely not a set of fixed proposals , but is intended as a key tool to spark public discussion and action on strengthening the identity of the Area and making it a place where we all identify with and are proud to live.
- The third is the Environment Report. This identifies where improvements to the ecology of the area could be made makes recommendations as to how our environment could be improved.
- Not only will the Plan be used by the RBC Planners to assess planning applications, but also the Community will be entitled to a minimum 25% of CIL income to spend on community infrastructure projects (CIL, the Community Infrastructure Levy, is a levy that developers in our area must pay to RBC if they get planning permission for a project).
- We have updated the ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ page on this website to incorporate all of the documentation, but you may also wish to visit Neighbourhood planning – Runnymede Borough Council
- We will also try and answer any questions if you e mail [email protected]
How the Plan came about;
The following process is regulated by the Neighbourhood Plan Regulations (2012) and is a legal process ending in the Referendum that is about to occur;
A meeting of residents was convened in 2018 at which it was proposed that a Neighbourhood Forum should be created to undertake the preparation of a Neighbourhood Plan. Residents at the meeting voted overwhelmingly to form a Neighbourhood Forum.
In November 2019 a subsidiary group from the Englefield Green Village Residents Association submitted an application to Runnymede Borough Council to form a Neighbourhood Forum covering the wards of Englefield West and East.
The application was approved on the 11th November 2019 and the Forum Steering Committee was formed from volunteers from within the Community with the remit to prepare the Plan.
A call for residents to join the Forum was issued on line in January 2020, and was followed up by a leaflet drop to every household making residents aware of the Forum’s existence.
A 70 question survey was issued on line and in hard copy between July 2020 and June 2021 to assess what residents cared about most and wanted to see regulated in the plan. The questionnaire was advertised through social media, e mails to members and a leaflet drop to every household.
The Forum Steering Committee then proceeded to undertake research and formulate the first draft of the Neighbourhood Plan, mindful of the response to the questionnaire.
A total of four presentations took place as the Plan was developed in the Hub and Village Centre, with illustrations of where and what was being done and inviting comment.
The Regulation 14 consultation (where the first draft Plan was issued for comment by Residents, Local Businesses and Statutory Authorities) was undertaken over an 8 week period which closed on 6th November 2022
The Steering Committee and our Planning Consultant then examined all the comments submitted and make alterations to the the Neighbourhood Plan and the Ancillary documents where appropriate. Schedules of comments, responses and actions taken were prepared. The resulting adjusted documents are referred to as the ‘Reg 16’ documents.
Forum members then approved the submission of the documents to Runnymede Borough Council for them to carry out the requirements under Regulation 16 and 18 of the Neighbourhood Plan Regulations (2012) at a meeting held on Friday the 17th February 2023 and the Steering Committee proceeded with that instruction. A big thank you to Forum Members for your support! (Minutes of all meetings can be seen via the Steering Committee page)
The documents were submitted during w/e 24th February 2023.
Runnymede Borough Council went out for consultation for a 6 week period which ended on the 11th April 2023. (Reg 16)
The Independent Examiner was then appointed and the documents and comments submitted to him in early May. (Reg 18)
The Steering Committee responded to a number of questions asked by the Examiner by the 29th June.
Additional comments by RBC in early July were resolved by an agreement between us and RBC on how to proceed, which was submitted to him in late July. The Examiner then confirmed he was satisfied with all the responses.
The Examiner then confirmed he would complete his examination and submit his report to us and RBC.
He submitted his report for fact checking on the 21st August 2023. Both ourselves and RBC made some minor comments (we are only allowed to comment on the facts, not his recommended alterations).
The Examiner issued his report on the 4th September 2023.
RBC updated the Neighbourhood Plan and issued their decision notice approving that the Plan should go to Referendum on the 9th October 2023
The Referendum took place on the 13th December 2023 with all residents invited to vote on whether to adopt the Plan. Over 85% of voters said yes, and the Plan will now become an official part of the Planning Process.
What is a neighbourhood Plan and why does it Matter?
The route you take to work, the places you park your car, the bus route, cycle paths, playing areas for your children, your schools, the location of allotments, community centres, shops, recreation space, street layouts and lighting are all the result of planning. A lot of these things can be influenced by a Neighbourhood Plan
What can a Neighbourhood Plan do? It can:
- Complement and enhance the relevant National and Local Plans with more detailed policies that are particularly applicable to the Neighbourhood Area
- Give the community a voice when deciding on new development
- Identify a wish list of potential improvement of local infrastructure, local facilities etc.
- direct the use of funds from the Community Development Levy (CDL) towards potential improvements in local infrastructure etc..
What can’t a Neighbourhood Plan do? It can’t:
- Stop all development in the area
- Be in opposition to National or Local plans
- Dictate improvements in local infrastructure etc.
Watch this short video to understand more about how a Neighbourhood Plan is prepared.
Who are we?
The Forum is the residents and those who work in the Neighbourhood (see map of the Forum Area). The Forum was designated by Runnymede Borough Council as the official body that created the Englefield Green Village Neighbourhood Plan.
The Forum Steering Committee had the job of undertaking research and then drafting and submitting the Plan to Council, and now has the job of monitoring planning applications for conformity with the Plan and promoting physical enhancements to our Area for the benefit of our residents.
◻️ Join the Forum – Go to the ‘Join the Forum’ page to register as a Forum member so we have your e mail address and can send you updates.
The Forum is grateful to Englefield Green Village Residents Association and to the Members Community Allocation of Surrey County Councillor sponsored by County Councillor Marisa Heath for providing funding to the Forum to help it formulate the Neighbourhood Plan. The Steering Committee would like to emphasise that these funds have been provided with no obligations to either organisation other than to use the funds to progress the Neighbourhood Plan.