Issue - meetings

To receive feed back on the comments received on the First Consultation (Issues and Options) Theme 2: Character and Heritage.

The Principal Urban Designer presented a report on the comments received on the second consultation theme.

The second theme was on the topic of “Character and Heritage” and was discussed by the Community Stakeholder Forum on 25 November. Following the Forum, the theme was open for public consultation and in the first four weeks, 27 responses had been received.

Members discussed the findings of the ongoing consultation and the following was noted:

·         There was a preference for putting housing near stations to reduce the use of the car. Members recognised the challenges that some residents have in accessing public transport but noted changing infrastructure needs, with the possibility of broadband becoming more important than public transport in the future.

·         Members acknowledged the need for extending the public footpath network to better connectivity between villages. Whilst policies may be put on place to promote this, it was important for the Council to ensure these are put into practice, especially when assessing planning applications.

·         Policies needed to reflect that different travel patterns and scenario are developing due to changing work patterns and technologies. An example of this was the decline in residents commuting to London and the rise of individuals working from home.

·         Higher compact density housing was not necessarily a bad thing, and if done correctly, creates thriving communities.

·         There was a need to develop age appropriate housing, based on the needs of the populations rather than the wants of the developer.

·         Consultation responses indicated that there was support for minimum environmental standards with an expectation that these would be exceeded. Officers clarified that it would be difficult to implement standards which exceed the government’s building regulations, but they can create an aspiration which they then encourage developers to achieve.

The meeting ended at 20:22