Consultation during September – October 2020 on Gamlingay’s draft Neighbourhood Plan

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group hopes to launch a formal consultation on the draft plan from 7^th September for six weeks. All residents and businesses will be able to view the complete draft Neighbourhood Plan and provide feedback. This is a formal and important stage within the neighbourhood planning regulations and is known as 'Regulation 14 Pre-submission Consultation'. Essentially, everyone in the parish will have the opportunity to comment on the Plan before it is submitted to South Cambridgeshire District Council for examination. 

A booklet summarising the Plan will be sent to every household in September and there will be a series of consultation events at the Eco Hub where you can come and ask any questions you may have about it. All information, including the plan in full, will be made available on the website, gamlingay-future.uk, with paper copies of the plan available at the Eco Hub. The Steering Group plans to attend the Gamlingay Village Show on 19^th September. The latest Government guidance on social distancing will be taken into account in our plans for this consultation. Dates when you can talk members of the Steering Group about the Plan are listed below:

[changes from the printed booklet are in bold]

After the Consultation, the Steering Group will consider all comments received, and make any changes necessary.

At this point the Plan will enter its final stage, which will result in a referendum. All Gamlingay residents will be asked to vote, Yes or No, for the Plan to be adopted. We anticipate that this vote will take place in late 2021.

Please keep an eye out for further information in September including the Summary booklets coming through your letterbox! Do take a look at the website, gamlingay-future.uk, in the meantime and if you have any questions, please contact Kirstin Rayner, Neighbourhood Plan Secretary, (01767) 650310, clerk@gamlingay-pc.gov.uk.

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group

• Supporting new housing that’s appropriate size, affordable and adaptable
• Protecting the open countryside and Gamlingay’s distinct landscape setting as a radial village with satellite hamlets and smallholdings
• Nurturing and growing local businesses in the Parish
• Ensuring local facilities meet the needs of our community
• Developing a network of footpaths to promote walking, cycling and riding
• Enhancing the natural environment and biodiversity of the Parish

Gamlingay Village Design Guide and Gamlingay’s Neighbourhood Plan

 You may have heard or seen the consultation regarding Gamlingay’s Village Design Guide during April & May? This was run by South Cambridgeshire District Council and Gamlingay is one of eight communities selected to have this guide produced, as part of a pilot funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The consultation on the draft guide will run until the end of May and then the final guide will be taken to South Cambs District Council for approval in the next few months.

 So what is a Village Design Guide?

 It is a ‘Supplementary Planning Document’ or SPD which provides further detail to the planning policies in the Local Plan for an area. In other words, it adds specific, local detail that can’t be in the Local Plan for South Cambs. It gives us, as a local community, more of a say on what new development (be it housing, facilities or business) looks like. In this case, Gamlingay’s Village Design Guide describes the distinctive character of the village and sets out guidelines for how this should be enhanced by new developments. A group of residents, alongside the Parish Council, has been involved with The Citizens Design Bureau to produce the guide, which means that it is focused on the priorities for our whole parish.

 Community priorities identified in the guide include: preserving the landscape setting of Gamlingay with its distinctive pattern of satellite hamlets; ensuring new development complements existing village character & types of buildings; and, creating safe pedestrian & cycle routes & connections. The draft guide and more info on the consultation by South Cambs District Council, can be viewed here:

https://www.scambs.gov.uk/planning/local-plan-and-neighbourhood-planning/village-design-guides/

 The Village Design Guide will also be a key supporting document for Gamlingay’s Neighbourhood Plan. Our Neighbourhood Plan will be incorporating all the priorities identified in the Guide and will add further ‘weight’ in planning terms as the Plan will have planning policies that all new developments will have to adhere to. We’re aiming for Gamlingay’s Neighbourhood Plan to be out for consultation over the summer this year (2019) so please keep an out for it as a summary will be sent to every residential and business property. Do take a look at our website too: www.gamlingay-future.uk and for more details, you can contact clerk@gamlingay-pc.gov.uk or 01767 650310.

 Gamlingay Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group