Minutes 24th June 2019

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE CHARMOUTH NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN STEERING GROUP HELD AT THE ELMS, CHARMOUTH, ON 24TH JUNE 2019 AT 7.00PM 

Present:  Andy Bateman (Chair), Sarah Edwards (Secretary), Beth Gillan, Steve Gillan, Simon Leech, Paul Oatway, Tim Sheward, Eden Thomson.

Apologies:  Teresa Noel, Jo Seaman

2  Business Interests

The Chairman reminded members of the requirement under the Terms of Reference to declare any interest in any item on the agenda or in any topic that arises during the meeting.

3  Matters Arising

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed subject to one amendment:

Para 5 – add “PO offered to change latitude and longitude readings to grid references.”

The meeting with Dorset Council has taken place (see agenda item 4).  The revised copy of the Basic Conditions Statement was sent to Nick Cardnell in advance of the meeting with him.

The issue of the SW coast path around Charmouth is still unresolved.  It has been with the Secretary of State since 2016 but other matters have arisen to delay it.

A draft of Green Spaces has been sent to JW.  BG and SG are continuing to work on the draft; there are comments from the Group to be added in.

AB has done a first draft of the Foreword and the Introduction, and it was agreed that these should be discussed at the next workshop.

4  Feedback and key issues raised by Dorset Council

AB, TS, ET and SE met Nick Cardnell (NC), Senior Planning Officer, Dorset Council, on 7th June.  It was a most useful meeting, especially as NC had found the time to read all of the draft in advance and to consult colleagues on some issues.

NC offered assistance with maps, and in fact is already working on two for AB. The draft Plan for visitors has had to be returned for some further work.

NC had some comments on some policies.  He suggested that some Environment and Business policies would be better separated out.  ET pointed out that these had previously been amalgamated on the advice of JW and that she will no doubt query them again if we reverse the changes.  AB said that while we take account of JW’s advice, we may not follow it.    

NC stressed that the supporting text must be in accordance with the policy, while still quoting any opposite opinion.

NC said that we do need a Habitat Regulations Assessment; AB has asked for help from Oliver Rendle, who helped with the SEA.

TS was pleasantly surprised that there were not too many queries from NC.  The policy on extensions needed to be reconsidered, and did the figure of 30% affordable housing.NC had recommended that urban characterisation was considered by zone, but this does not fit well in Charmouth.  It  may be better to place the onus on the applicant to show how a building will fit in its context, as any “prevailing” style is difficult to explain.  The Design and Access Statement should cover this.

TS will be getting back to NC on the holiday homes policy.

5  What remains outstanding in each section

It was agreed that the drafts of each section are far enough advanced for each to be reviewed by the Group, and that it would be useful to prepare a SWOT analysis before doing the reviews.

TS has done a preliminary draft of Implementation and has started work on the glossary, which he will circulate.  He suggested that everyone starts to consider what will need to be defined in the glossary.

ET said that Environment needs some rewriting before being reviewed.

AB said that rather than a Chairman’s “welcome” page he would prefer something about “how it all came into being” followed by an explanation of what a NHP is.

6  Green Spaces

BG and SG explained how they have altered the original draft, changing the headings to NPPF designations.  They have measured the spaces, as suggested by JW. There was some discussions about how many spaces should be included, and what evidence was available.  BG and SG will mail the updated version to SE, when available.

7  Way forward

The SWOT workshop will take place on 24th July 9.30-1.00 at The Elms; the Group to consider some ideas in advance.

The first review session will be on 10th July 9.00-1.00 (venue to be confirmed).

8  AOB

DC are starting to draft a Local Plan for Dorset, which will probably take 2-3 years to complete.

The PC has appointed Kay Soloman as Chair of Planning sub-committee.

9  Date of next meeting

The next meetings will be on 10th July and 24th July.

There being no further business the meeting ended at 8.40pm.

AB Andrew Bateman; SE Sarah Edwards; CF Chris Lakeman  Fraser; BG Beth Gillan; SG Steve Gillan; SL Simon Leech; TN Teresa Noel; PN Peter Noel CPC; PO Paul Oatway CPC; EP Elaine Phillips; JS Jo Seaman; Tim Sheward; ET Eden Thomson.

(CPC – Charmouth Parish Councillor; NP Neighbourhood Plan)