Village Design Statement 2016 - Draft for Public Consultation
Why have we produced a Design Statement?
It is all about “community led planning”
This Village Design Statement (VDS) was originally produced in 2005/6 (to download a facsimile copy of the 2006 VD
S click on the thumbnail to the right). Therefore, there are references in it that are now superseded. Also the communities are not set in aspic so there will have been changes which then affect the information in the Statement. All this has been considered as part of this process of updating and, after community consultation and with due regard for the Oswestry Rural Parish Council 2014 Survey (to download a copy of the Survey click here), the document has been revised. One of the key drivers to this update has been the changes in both local and national legislation which affect how the communities are to be developed in the years to come. Not least of these are the National Planning Policy Framework (to download a copy, click here), the Shropshire Council Core Strategy and their Site Allocations and Management of Development (SAMDev) – 2014 Para 2.6 (to download a copy, click here and refer to page 9)
What follows is the attempt of many people to look at how our community has evolved, what is special about it, what is characteristic of our natural and built environment, and what matters to people here.
The Statement looks forward, makes proposals for the future and lists policies which should underpin future planning and development. The aim is that future development should preserve our local identity, promote high quality and ensure the continuance and growth of a vibrant, caring and self-sufficient community.
The three settlements
It was agreed that this Statement would cover the three settlements of Trefonen, Treflach and Nantmawr. While each has some specific characteristics, within the Oswestry Rural Parish they constitute a unit and share many activities and interests. The settlements have a total population of some 1,300 people, with Trefonen, much the largest, being the focal point for local services – the shop, PO, hairdressers’, primary school, village hall, playing field and church.
Going Forward
The 2006 Statement and its 75 recommendations were considered and adopted as policy by Oswestry Rural Parish Council on 25 August 2006. On 30th October 2007 Oswestry Borough Council formally recognised the Statement and adopted many of the recommendations, amended and clarified in consultation with them, as material planning considerations. The Policies, now updated, appear as Part 4 of the 2016 Statement and we seek formal confirmation from Shropshire Council and Oswestry Rural Parish Council of their recognition and adoption
We have sought to contribute to key policies, particularly Shropshire Core Strategy S6 Sustainable Design and Development Principles (to download a copy, click here and refer to Policy CS6 to page 68) and Shropshire Council SAMDev MD2 Sustainable Design (to download a copy, click here and refer to the Development Management Policy MD2 to page 17)
There was and continues to be a very strong commitment to bringing this Statement to fruition and maintaining it. Its implementation is in the hands of both the local authorities and also the people who live in Trefonen, Treflach and Nantmawr.
Consultation with the people who live in the three settlements is a major part of the Village Design Statement update process and so there is to be a Public Consultation at the Village Hall on 5th March between 1000 and 1600. At this event the members of the Steering Group will be available to discuss the update and to receive comments on any changes that may be needed to the draft documents.
The 2006 Village Design Statement(VDS) had been split into three colour coded sections and printed as a single document. In addition to the main VDS document there was a second document which presented the policies that flowed from the Design Statement itself. To simplify the 2016 update of the Village Design Statement the three sections have been created as three separate documents (Parts 1, 2 and 3) and the policies as a fourth (Part 4).
As technology has moved on and the availability and speed of the Internet has increased since 2006, a decision has been taken that the 2016 Design Statement will be available to the majority of people as electronic versions, with only a small number of printed copies being made available to people who do not have access to the electronic versions.
Draft, for consultation, versions of each of these parts can be downloaded by clicking on the thumbnails below.
Once you have studied the documents you can Have Your Say by clicking on the button to the right.
