Neighbourhood Planning
Benchmarking Review 2022
21st November 2022
CONSULTATION IS NOW CLOSED – REPORT WILL BE PUBLISHED ON THIS WEBSITE IN DUE COURSE.
Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council have commissioned People & Places Limited to undertake a Benchmarking Review of our town centre. An RWB Neighbourhood Plan 2017 – 2026 objective is to nurture an attractive street scene in the town centre, maintaining and enhancing the conservation area and providing an appealing environment to local people and visitor alike. We are encouraging visitors and non-visitors as well as Business Owners / Managers to complete a 2 minute survey to help with the design of our town centre.This survey will also aid regeneration efforts with various stakeholders, by providing vital information and understanding on the strengths of our High Street as well as identifying specific issues to address.
Paper copies of the survey is available from the Town Council Office or Wootton Bassett Library. Please complete and return to Town Council office by the deadline.
This consultation will close on Monday 5th December 2022.
Latest Update
21st November 2022
It has been a busy year for the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group since the public consultation on the draft vision statement and strategic objectives that took place Autumn 2021, in which 75% of those responded agreed the approach taken.
The working group which consists of town councillors and officers, residents, representatives of local organisations such as RWB Environment Trust, Royal Wootton Bassett Chamber of Commerce, local GP surgery to name a few, have split into sub-works to gather further evidence to support the plan including; Local Green Spaces, non-designated heritage assets and design guidance for developments in the town.
In the summer this year, an application was made to Locality [a national membership network supporting local community organisations to be strong and successful] for free technical support on Design, including design codes and members were delighted to be awarded a Locality Supporter from AECOM [a partner of Locality providing packages of support of either independent advice on technical or process issues]. After their visit, AECOM is now busy producing a design guide for future developments, which will be available next year in 2023 for everyone to comment on.
The decision was also taken to contract our consultants, DLP Planning, to help identify potential sites within the Neighbourhood Plan area that may be suitable for housing, employment, or other forms of development. A ‘Call for Sites’ exercise was undertaken in which individuals, landowners and developers were given the opportunity to put forth non-strategic sites for consideration as suitable to allocate in the modified plan. This work is ongoing and there will be an opportunity to comment on any sites that are proposed for allocation during future consultation on the Draft Neighbourhood Plan.
Whilst the public consultation that took place in Autumn 2020 identified residents expressed preference on the type of housing needed in the town, AECOM were commissioned to undertake an evidence-based Housing Needs Assessment. This analysed current housing stock for tenure, affordability and need for affordable housing, types and size of homes, specialist housing for older people and current appetite for self build against the town’s future demographics and subsequent housing needs, to underpin planning policies for the modified plan.
To help with the cost of delivery the modified plan, an application to Locality for grant funding was also made. The group were pleased to receive funds of just under £10,000 towards costs.
Cllr Steve Walls
Chair of Neighbourhood Plan Working Group
Call for Sites
15th August 2022
As part of the process of reviewing the Royal Wootton Bassett Neighbourhood Plan the Town Council is looking to identify potential sites within the Royal Wootton Bassett Neighbourhood Area [See map below] that may be suitable for housing, employment or other forms of development.
This ‘Call for Sites’ exercise is an opportunity for individuals, landowners, and developers to suggest non-strategic sites that may be suitable for allocation in the new Neighbourhood Plan. Strategic sites will be allocated separately through the Wiltshire Local Plan.
If you know of any such non-strategic site that may be suitable for development, please complete the online form here: https://forms.gle/EYjAKm51frTkkv37A
A word version of the form is also available to download here.
Please return completed forms by Monday 5th September 2022. The information you provide will help to inform the draft Neighbourhood Plan and potential site allocation process. There will be further opportunity to comment on sites that are proposed for allocation in Neighbourhood Plan when the draft plan is published for public consultation.
We are also inviting comments on the Site Selection Process that will be used to assess the sites that are submitted via this Call for Sites. A copy of the draft Selection Process is available here.
Please email any comments on the draft Site Selection Process to kirsten.ward@dlpconsultants.co.uk by Monday 5th September 2022.
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