Blurred lines: local and neighbourhood plans and uncertainty in meeting housing needs
The great role that the local and neighbourhood plans play in addressing many strategic and non-strategic matters has been quite evident in national policy. Nowadays, NPPF and PPG pay much attention to neighbourhood plans in order to meet the demands of community, therefore blurring the responsibilities of neighbourhood plans. Cheshire East Council has done research and showed that just 29% of neighbourhood plans had established areas designed for housing development. However, note that if Government wants NDPs to deliver housing, then the government should establish the role of neighbourhood plans so that housing needs will be met.
As an important part of the local plan, site allocation should meet all the needs of that area. These strategic policies are responsible for clearing a strategy to guarantee sufficient land as well as sufficient rate so that all the needs will be assessed. They should also include allocating enough sites so that the priorities of the area will be delivered. Local plans also come with policies so that all the non-strategic matters will be addressed while neighbourhood plans include ‘non-strategic’ policies. The delivery of strategic policies should be supported by the neighbourhood plans and they should also shape the ongoing development that these strategic policies don’t include.
However, allocating sites should is also included in non-strategic policies. Thus, there can be both strategic and non-strategic site allocation policy. This depends on whether the allocation can meet that special area’s housing needs or not. Therefore, a neighbourhood plan can make site allocations which are in addition to those already allocated by the local plan.
Today’s local plans have a duty to meet all the assessed needs for housing. Where a local plan is fresh, a part of the Local Housing Need figure will not be formed by the housing requirement for a Neighbourhood Area. The local plan and neighbourhood plans are not able to plan the needs for residents because it can result in unnecessary duplication of policies and re-allocation of sites. Thus, it is not known till now what needs should be addressed by the housing requirement for Neighbourhood Areas.
People and Places Insight
People and Places Insight are your reliable partner that can help town centres and localities across the United Kingdom in the best way possible. People and Places Insight team will never leave you disappointed and they have already planned and developed wonderful solutions of Neighbourhood Planning UK for more than 11 years.
These specialists advise and offer a perfect assistance to several key stakeholders Business Improvement Districts, Town Councils, Universities and Retailers, Neighbourhood Plan Steering Groups, National Government, Community and Town Partnerships. Rest assured that People and Places Insight offer top-notch quality Neighbourhood Planning UK that meet and even exceed your demands.
Both high streets and town centres will enjoy Neighbourhood Planning UK because this specialised team is dedicated to meeting the changing demands of these centres. As a result, the experts help these high streets and town centres develop and thrive in the fastest possible time.
All the real issues and problems will be addressed by People and Places Insight. This team will try to understand and evaluate your project, thus improving these town centres. Get in touch with this team and enjoy some of the best solutions. The large number of services offered by People and Places Insight include:
Town Centre Benchmarking UK
Visitor Surveys
Business Surveys
First Time Visitor Reviews
Footfall Counts
Signage And Wayfinding Reviews
Disability Access Audits
Advanced Car Parking Studies
Town Benchmarking
For more than 13 years, People and Places Insight have been running the nationally acclaimed Town Benchmarking System in more than 350 locations around the United Kingdom. Due to this Town Centre Benchmarking UK, a detached, impartial evidence base is provided which is responsible for gathering and analysing data about your Town Centre. Town Centre Benchmarking UK also offers some comparisons that are against National and Longitudinal figures.
Town Centre Benchmarking UK offered by People and Places Insight is designed to understand all the real issues that town centres meet and improve them thoroughly. Thanks to their dedication and knowledge, planning can be more efficient and the plan will be handled smoothly. The experts report via different audits, surveys, and consultations:
Retail Offer
Vacancy Rates
Markets
Footfall
Car Parking
Business Confidence
Business Performance
Town Centre User Satisfaction
Town Centre User Profiles
Non-Town Centre User Views
Customer Spend
Shoppers Origin
Their reviews can help the above mentioned stakeholders (as we said — Retailers and Universities, Town and Parish Councils, Business Improvement Districts and more) for:
UnderstandingTown Centre and High Street regeneration projects
Making Town Centre Action Plans
Assessing how events and festivals can impact on normal trading conditions
Delivering an evidence base for funding applications
Delivering an evidence base for Neighbourhood Planning
Encouraging Business Improvement Districts and Community groups
Visitor Surveys
People and Places Insight also offer visitor surveys which aims to understand how your town is seen by people who are using it. Thus, a more detailed and perfect picture is provided through asking different types of visitors because regular visitors see things differently to those who have never visited that place before.
This information is gathered by a number of methods. They are as follows:
· Face to Face Interviews
· Online
· Providing a ‘drop-in’ service in selected destinations
· Leaving surveys in popular spots, such as coffee shops
The specialists at People and Places Insight compare all thoughts and performance and then they work with Town Centres to implement these effective solutions.
