LLRA is pleased to advise that the 2021-2040 Long Leys Neighbourhood Plan is now underway. Funding has been provided by central government and the project is supported by:
- Planning consultants OpenPlan
- Specialist consultants AECOM
- City of Lincoln Council, planning policy team.
View this post as a pdf newsletter.
Why A Neighbourhood Plan?
Steve Kemp of OpenPlan Explains.
A Neighbourhood Plan is prepared by the local community. It gives the community the strongest means of influencing the future shape of their neighbourhood through the planning system. Together with the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan, the Neighbourhood Plan will, when it is formally adopted, become part of what is known as the Development Plan. When the Council makes its decisions on planning applications in this part of the City, those decisions must be consistent with the policies and proposals in the Development Plan, unless there are very strong reasons to depart from it.
Making a Neighbourhood Plan also provides an opportunity to look at the neighbourhood we share, the place where our lives connect, and to work together on developing a clear vision for its future. That vision can then be translated into objectives and policies that will significantly influence planning decisions and also provide a strategy that will strengthen possible bids for funding and support for community projects.
The community can put policies in place to:
- Encourage particular types of development, such as facilities the community feels it needs.
- Clarify types of development that would be supported.
- Put conditions on types of development.
- Discourage types of development.
Across the UK there are thousands of communities that have completed or are developing Neighbourhood Plans. This is a well-established process using nationally recognised methods.
How Can I Get Involved In Influencing The Future Shape of Long Leys?
There will be opportunities to get involved in different ways. There will be questions to respond to; events to participate in; surveys to help with; focus groups to join… Out of all this, before too long (probably before the end of this year) there will be a draft of the Neighbourhood Plan to read, discuss and comment on. Once all comments have been considered and any amendments have been made, the Neighbourhood Plan will next be submitted to the City Council who will appoint an independent examiner to check that the Plan meets all the legal and regulatory requirements. Finally, the City Council will organise a local referendum through which local residents will be able to decide whether the Plan should be adopted.
| Next Step: Watch out for the Neighbourhood Plan Initial Resident Survey. This will be delivered to all Long Leys homes in mid-March. Feedback will be either online or by returning a paper copy. |
Want To Volunteer?
The Neighbourhood Plan really will be our community’s plan and that’s why it will be good for as many of us as possible to get involved in helping to shape it.
If you would like to assist with delivering surveys, analysing consultation feedback or getting involved with policy development, then email LLRA@long-leys.org to express an interest and find out more. Those with knowledge and/or enthusiasm for a particular topic and with time to get involved would be particularly welcomed. OpenPlan can provide guidance/training to volunteers requiring it.
Depending on feedback, groups of volunteers will be invited to focus on areas such as:
- Travel
- Local Economy
- Housing
- Greenspace
- Facilities
The Neighbourhood Planning Process
The development of each component will be guided by OpenPlan.
Evidence: A Neighbourhood Plan has to be “evidence-based”. In essence this means that there must be sufficient understanding of the place and the community to identify the things that are important, the things that need to be protected, and developments that are needed / acceptable – and to justify the policies that will be formulated.
Important components of the Evidence Base for the Long Leys Neighbourhood Plan will include:
- characteristics of the community – demographic information (eg 2021 Census);
- characteristics of the place – how the character of different parts of the neighbourhood varies;
- the various “uses” – residential, business, services, leisure, recreation…
- ecology and landscape;
- infrastructure – transport and access, broadband, drainage…
Vision: The Neighbourhood Plan should be based on a clear Vision – a concise description of the place people would like Long Leys neighbourhood to be in, say, 20 years’ time.
Objectives: To achieve the Vision, it is important to set clear Objectives. Ideally, these should be measurable, so that progress can be assessed as the Plan is implemented.
Policies: The policies should help to meet the Objectives and achieve the Vision. They are the most important part of the Neighbourhood Plan in relation to the statutory planning system and must be appropriately phrased and evidence based.
Who Is Managing the Development of the Neighbour Plan?
Project lead is Steve Kemp of OpenPlan, an urbanism, placemaking and plan-making studio based in Lincoln. Steve has provided professional advice and support for over 30 Neighbourhood Plans across the East Midlands. Read more about OpenPlan: thinkopenplan.com
Oversight of the project is by the LLRA Management Committee made up of: Ben Hill, Gary Stimson, Glenn Smith, Jackie Ward, Jim Hanrahan, Jon Davies, Keith Newsome, Nick Wiles.
City of Lincoln Council act as fundholder, with support provided by Toby Forbes-Turner, Planning Policy Manager.
Locality have provided the grant funding for the project itself, on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Technical Support is provided by AECOM, a multinational infrastructure consulting firm, contracted by Locality.
Progress So Far
Some first steps towards building the evidence base have already been progressed in conjunction with AECOM, a national planning specialist:
- A 2019 Housing Needs Analysis (HNA) looked at the community’s future requirement for housing.
- A Design Code, provided with government funded technical support is being produced by AECOM.
Both the HNA and a draft of the Design Code can be found online at: long-leys.org/plan.
Other planned work includes…
Masterplan of Albion Works
The closure of the Curtis factory has created uncertainty over future developments in the industrial area known as the Albion Works. Upcoming community consultations create the opportunity for local people to have their say on how this area could be developed. Based on this feedback, LLRA will work with AECOM to produce a potential masterplan of the Albion Works. Creating a specific policy for this area improves the chances that whatever emerges in the future is closer to what the community wants.
Land Recently Acquired By Temple Garth
LLRA have requested that Temple Garth produce an indicative masterplan for the area of land they recently purchased by the A46. This will allow the community to be consulted on any plans for this land, well before any planning application is submitted.
Useful Links
- Find out about LLRA: long-leys.org/LLRA
- View project progress: long-leys.org/plan
- Subscribe to the Long Leys Community email list: long-leys.org/subscribe
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