Update July 2023
Test Valley Borough Council has launched its new corporate plan. This is a key document that will guide the Council's work for the next four years through to 2027. The plan is the result of participation by communities across TVBC's area and it involved a series of workshops which engaged participants from the many villages and towns within the borough. Lockerley was one of the villages which provided a number of participants to the workshops.
The full strategy report can be found on the TVBC website and here . It is a big file but a good worthy read. It is a policy document and, as noted at the reveal meeting on Wednesday 21 June at Beech Hurst, it represents a consensus view of policy across all political colours. The Council's next step is to publish its implementation plan and this is expected to set out how continuing community engagement will be used to reflect the local community needs.
Representation is made through the parish councils and they are likely to wish to maintain a watching brief so that they can act as the formal route for engagement.
Background
Those who were able to attend the public meeting on 14 December 2022 will have been introduced to the ideas behind a village development statement (VDS) and neighbourhood plan (NP). It's a vision of how the village and community might develop over the long term and what planning policies, infrastructure and facilities would enhance the community. It would be a strong guide to overall planning. This is really about setting the bigger picture for the future rather than any specific, local or contemporaneous issues.
The meeting was attended by some 30 or so persons to whom Sarah Hughes of TVBC provided a presentation relating to the topics of Village Design Statements and Neighbourhood Plan. If you are interested in taking part then please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to express your interest. The topic is one of the agenda poins at the forthcoming parish council meeting on 16 January for which this is the agenda.
It is hoped to update information on this activity on these pages.
Sarah's presentation is here :
lockerley-presentation-december-22.pdf
Some sites that may help to understand the scope of what is involved:
Home - Locality Neighbourhood Planning<https://neighbourhoodplanning.org/
Neighbourhood Planning Test Valley Borough Council https://www.testvalley.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planningpolicy/neighbourhood-planning
Neighbourhood Planning Guidance Test Valley Borough Council <https://www.testvalley.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planningpolicy/neighbourhood-planning/neighbourhoodplanning
The TVBC guiding document outlining the process can be found here
https://testvalley.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planningpolicy/local-development-framework/local-plan-2040/draft-local-plan-2040?chapter=3This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Village Design Statement guidance produced by TVBC
https://www.testvalley.gov.uk/assets/attach/2739/pt8-2-1-161201-TVBC-Planning-Guidance-Note-Dec-2016.pdf
Some of the work carried out by other communities can be found here:
https://www.testvalley.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planningpolicy/neighbourhood-planning
PC meeting of 9 January 2023
The parish council meeting of 19 January 2023 was attended by approximately 40 persons and lasted until 2100 when it was closed with some agenda items still to be discussed. The meeting approved - but not unanimously - an edited version of the minutes of the October meeting - neither original or edited version were disclosed. The topic of VDS and NP was left to members who were interested to provide their names either to Elaine Hooton or to Peter Ashby This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. It is expected that the initial interest group will call for an open meeting at which representatives to the steering group may be chosen and fuurther actions set out.
Detailed discussion of the budget took place leading to a potential significant increase in the precept. It was noted that there should be an election for parish councillors in May and awkwardly the councillors chose to make a small provision in the budget for 2023 for the related costs. These costs were stated to be 2£47 per household of which there were stated to be 341. Draft minutes of the meeting had not been issues at the time of writing (31 Jan).