Lyme Regis Sailing Club on the Brink?
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Dinghy classes
Forum Name: Dinghy development
Forum Discription: The latest moves in the dinghy market
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7385
Printed Date: 08 Jul 25 at 10:25am
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Topic: Lyme Regis Sailing Club on the Brink?
Posted By: Chris Turner
Subject: Lyme Regis Sailing Club on the Brink?
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 12:33pm
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In a recent corespondence from our Commodore of Lyme Regis Sailing Club, we were informed that West Dorset District Council were not intending to renew the lease on the Clubs Dinghy and Car Park.
In their wisdom they want to turn this land over to 'visiting trailers'.
Do they not realise that without a Club, be it Sailing or Power Boat, that there wont be any visitors?
One of the harbour 'workers' told me that they had seen a dramatic fall in visitors to the harbour due to the increase in launching fee's. So why do they need the extra space?
It now costs more to launch a boat at Lyme than it does at WPNSA!
The current Harbour Master is one Graham Foreshaw, who whilst an extremely keen sailor (and sailing writer), I am told has his hands tied on 'Official comment' as WDDC are his employers, off the record, I am told he is mightly frustrated....
I am sure the Club can live without a Car Park, but without a boat park, I fear this would signal the end for this great Club of which although living in Newcastle remain a member of.
Jim Saltonstall once commented that Lyme Regis was the best place to sail in Britain, let us hope that this will not be the end of sailing there!!
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Replies:
Posted By: gordon1277
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 12:46pm
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Hi Chris
As one of my favourite sailing venues this would be a tragedy especially as I am looking forward to coming down next September with the Draycot bashing Phantom. I am positive Graham Foreshaw would be disgusted at the thought. I can only wish Lyme Regis SC all the best in fighting what is obviously a stupid council decision. Regards Gordon ------------- Gordon Lossc |
Posted By: maxibuddah
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 12:50pm
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Unfortunately west dorset council are only interested in servicing the grockles and chavs in their speed boats. Money talks.
I agree with you Chris in that as a sailing community we should stick together and help Lyme fight this gross stupidity. ------------- Everything I say is my opinion, honest |
Posted By: CaptainSlow
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 12:52pm
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OMG
This is shocking news, Lyme without question is my favourite place to sail in the Uk and have done many events there over the years. In fact we have our 'Phantom' Nats there this year.
Lyme regatta is also a really popular event with much focus around sailing and the sailing community, I even remember the town mayoress awarding the prizes. She was eating free chocolate cake, well thats the last time she will get fed and watered for free.
This is crazy in a world gone completely nuts.
Remind me why and which idiot is ruining sorry running this country?
Lets pack the boats up, hitch up the trailers and cause some chaos around westminster. If we were French or students we would take to the streets!
CS
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Posted By: hollandsd
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 12:58pm
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Lyme Regis sailing club is my favourite sailing club in the country, friendly people and an AMAZING sailing area. Dan ------------- Laser 184084 Tasar 3501 RS600 698 RS600 782 |
Posted By: Merlinboy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 1:11pm
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Lyme Regis is my favourite sailing venue in the UK, this is a disaster! I am really upset to hear this news. Is there some kind of petition we can fill in?? ------------- |
Posted By: charlie w
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 1:26pm
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I have an interest. My dad is a member, and I was responsible for org'ing the recent 505 national championships with them. This is a fabulous small club, with committed members. A good Harbour master too, BTW. I could say it is the best sailing water in the UK (I am a bit biased, but few people who just sailed at the five-oh nats will disagree).
What can be done to support the club?
------------- Quality never goes out of fashion. |
Posted By: Rich505
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 1:43pm
it's just not right, grate place boat and dinghy parks are to things sailing clubs NEED
yes petition I would put my name on this |
Posted By: maxibuddah
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 2:35pm
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Chris, who is the commodore at Lyme now, is it still Ian Wallace? Maybe we can help lyme if wanted, with letters of support to the relevant persons in the council, with them going through the club so that it is a coordinated approach? Also a petition wouldn't go amiss.
I think that whatever goes on we ought to go through lyme sailing club otherwise some one in the council could take umbrage at us all attacking them. Use of the correct and sensible language would be vitally important too, don't want to be upsetting them. ------------- Everything I say is my opinion, honest |
Posted By: Steve H
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 2:50pm
Posted By: Steve H
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 2:50pm
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More info can be seen here http://viewfrompublishing.co.uk/news_view/7126/8/1/lyme-regis-all-change-at-monmouth-beach - http://viewfrompublishing.co.uk/news_view/7126/8/1/lyme-regis-all-change-at-monmouth-beach |
Posted By: tgruitt
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 2:56pm
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This is not good news at all. That's such a shame reading the article on that link.
------------- Needs to sail more... |
Posted By: IanW
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 2:56pm
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I am no longer the Commodore but would agree with Maxi's sentiments regarding caution in inflaming the situation to much and using language that is appropriate. However things are dire and I do fear for the long term viability of the club and the support of the readers of Y and Y is welcome. It is an interesting contrast from what’s happening to the closest sailing area to the west of us which is in Portland harbour. Ian Wallace |
Posted By: maxibuddah
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 3:01pm
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Ian what can we all do to help, if indeed we can or it is wanted say this time? We need guidance to what your club needs from us and how to go about it. anyone who has sailed there knows what a great club and venue it is and knows that it is more important than than the grockles. This is your chance to use people power and the power of the the internet to get your club saved from the council. Don't forget there is also all the class associations as well that can lend their voices. certainly the phantom fleet will, especially as our nationals are to be there next year ------------- Everything I say is my opinion, honest |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 3:10pm
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The linked article seems to imply that the clubs need to talk to the *Town* council to establish new leases directly, not that the district intends to throw them off and use the land for public parking. An arrangement that Club leases the land from the District council which leases it from the Town council seems like the sort of bureaucratic complication we can all do without...
This feels to me like a bit poor communication between organisations. The time to get angry, write letters, emails, petitions etc will be after the clubs have talked to the *Town* council to find out whether the town council is planning to lease the land to them directly. I rather suspect its all come as a big suprise to the Town council, who will have to find some poor sod whose desk this can land on. If you all start writing letters and running campaigns and petitions now then there will be ten tons more paper on the poor sods desk, and thus much less time for her/him to talk to the clubs to sort out leases because he/she is not required to establish a new lease with thw clubs at all, but is required to answer all communications from the public within a set time limit. Knowing, as I do, something about relationships between different levels of local government then, if the newspaper article is accurate (big if I admit), then the situation isn't dire at all, its just a pain in the neck for both the poor club officers who have to sort out new leases and build up a relationship with the new landlord, and also for the town council who will have to do exactly the same thing. The District Council, on the other hand, will count not having to do all the above and not leasing the land any more as being a win in their need for budget cuts even though the end result for the local taxpayers will be damn all. We can expect a lot of this sort of thing in the next year! |
Posted By: gordon1277
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 3:13pm
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Hi Maxi
Phantoms and the 505 fleet between us could launch the Stone exocet otherwise known as Neil Fulcher the council would have no chance. ------------- Gordon Lossc |
Posted By: maxibuddah
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 3:17pm
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Neil is more like a neutron bomb.... I think diplomacy from the sailing club itself is the best answer with support from everyone else if so required. Hopefully the town council will be able to sort this out and soon ------------- Everything I say is my opinion, honest |
Posted By: IanW
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 3:29pm
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Jim has summed up the reality of the situation well the only fly in the ointment is about 40 % of the land is owned by the district and 60% the town. At the moment the new commodore and his team are working towards a solution but if one is not reached then it will be the time for protest sails, letters, and maybe even Neil F although Lymes own Dave G can be spiky enough for most council officials. |
Posted By: MikeBz
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 3:36pm
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It would be tragic if the club were forced out. Lyme Bay is one of the best places to sail in the country, and the club is one of the very best I've been to.
I have great memories of the long rolling waves in the bay, great memories (or rather, great blank spaces where great memories should be) of long evenings at the club, vague memories of falling down the concrete culvert between the road and the car park at the top of the hill in the dark whilst trying to find my car to sleep in, and then of searching round the harbour on a Sunday morning to find my crew after he failed to find the car the night before. I assumed that he'd crawled onto a moored boat at low tide in the early hours of the morning and wandered around the harbour wall calling out his name in the hope that he'd miraculously appear (and swim ashore as the tide was now up). No luck finding him, so back to the dinghy park where everyone else was rigging up, undid the boat cover and up he popped having spent a comfortable (?) night on the daggerboard.
I seem to have digressed into a yarn...
I sincerely hope the club lives on.
Mike
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Posted By: laserbeer
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 4:26pm
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Commodore and Sub Com are well into negotiations, support offered is fantastic, great to know you are all there and what you think of LRSC! Working hard on solution-based approach with 2 authorities who don’t always see eye to eye. Headlines bit dramatic at this stage, will keep you all posted and seek active involvement if needed. David Beer, Commodore LRSC |
Posted By: patj
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 8:12pm
| Good luck. If it looks dodgy then maybe we should write a few letters reminding the council that we want come to Lyme for the prestigious national championships, rent accommodation and spend money in the town but now can't come if there's no boat or car parking so all that visitor revenue will go elsewhere. |
Posted By: Vronny
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 8:26pm
| As an RYA member I jolly well hope my RYA subs will go towards the RYA helping the club fight its corner. |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 8:42pm
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We won't riot on the Lyme Regis seafront yet, then - too bloody cold, for a start! ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: maxibuddah
Date Posted: 25 Nov 10 at 10:19pm
You go for it Dave and best of luck to you and everyone at the club in your negotiations. Just let us all know on here and we will try to help where and how we can, its in all our interests as well as yours ------------- Everything I say is my opinion, honest |
Posted By: jeffers
Date Posted: 26 Nov 10 at 7:43am
+1 on that. The RYA legal team are very good, get them involved. After that is why subs are paid! ------------- Paul ---------------------- D-Zero GBR 74 |
Posted By: alstorer
Date Posted: 26 Nov 10 at 8:31am
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Surprised it has taken this long for someone to suggest that we'll "fight them on the beaches"?  ------------- -_ Al |
Posted By: mittens
Date Posted: 29 Nov 10 at 5:42pm
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Hi,
Before everyone get's excited about this and heads for Westminster...
This is a commercial lease that is presumably coming to an end shortly. Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (Part 2) the Landord may deny a renewal of a Lease on a number of grounds. One of which is an intention to re-develop.
It may well be that this is a part of a negotiation strategy to either get the club out (which they may succeed in if everyone runs around like headless chickens and do not take professional advice) or secure a higher rent / better terms upon renewal.
I would leave it to the club officers to sort out but strongly recommend the services of a lawyer and Chartered Surveyor who know their stuff!
(Because I like the club as well and want to do the Nationals there next year!!).
Chris Roberts
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Posted By: moonlight
Date Posted: 29 Nov 10 at 8:28pm
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You make a very good point as to the rational part of the situation. However the emotional part is normally the bit that makes the difference.
What needs to happen is both the cognitive and the emotional aspects running in parallel with each other. There is nothing that brings people in the public eye 'to heel' as much as when people know that they are being laughed at, ridiculed for their indefensible positions, and generally their unpopularlty being exposed in such a public way.
So I think it is a two pronged managed approached needs to be utilsied. This will require some pulling together, agreeing on desired outcomes and what can be realistically achieved and by whom and then sorting out who does what,
------------- |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 29 Nov 10 at 8:59pm
Yep, and if people do all that the club will start off with a really poor relationship with their new landlords, who will be very keen to divest themselves of the cause of the trouble at the first possible opportunity and the club will be doomed. |
Posted By: maxibuddah
Date Posted: 29 Nov 10 at 9:06pm
Jim is right. The club are dealing with it at the moment and discussions are ongoing by all accounts, well David Beer's posting earlier suggests as such,and he is the commodore there. Emotion may well come into to it at a later point if reasonable discussion comes to no fruition. Lets see what Dave comes up with and support the club if they need it ------------- Everything I say is my opinion, honest |
Posted By: Slippery Jim
Date Posted: 30 Nov 10 at 8:31am
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Good luck to all. It would be a shame to see any club go down the tubes!
------------- Pass the skiff, man! |
Posted By: laserbeer
Date Posted: 01 Dec 10 at 5:46pm
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An update on the Lyme Regis Park
"Following our meeting today with David Evans, Director of Planning and Community Services WDDC, we are assured that access to the dinghy/car park area which we expect to take over from LRTC will remain as it is now, and that they will assist in the process of making changes.We are working with LRPBC on provisional spaces available to us and expect to be able to accommodate a similar number of dinghy spaces as previously. When further details are known, I will let you know.We are continuing negotiations with WDDC and LRTC. Our next move is to meet again with Town Clerk Mike Lewis in the near future.So do go ahead and renew your membership and facilities as before….."
I encourage all to keep watching the reports and adding wonderful supportive messages.
Many thanks, David Commodore LRSC Ltd .’
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Posted By: NickA
Date Posted: 01 Dec 10 at 9:01pm
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Some of the best sailing we've ever had was at Lyme. A beautiful place, a lovely club and fantastic sailing. What can beat belting along on a kite reach in a big swell parallel to the Jurassic Coast. Sort of the ancestral home of the V3000 and modern Phantom too, what with Vandercraft just up the road. May I suggest a mass attendance at the next Lyme Regis regatta ... and if there's no room in the boat park ... we shall park them on the beaches! ------------- Javelin 558 Contender 2574 |
Posted By: getafix
Date Posted: 02 Dec 10 at 9:43am
good news, hope it goes through as you say |
Posted By: laserbeer
Date Posted: 22 Feb 11 at 10:07am
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22/02/2011 I am pleased to be able to tell you that due to difficulties with getting legal agreements in place to ensure the new boat park area is available in time for the new season, we have won a delay until the end of the summer: both LRSC and LRPBC will be staying where we are. Many thanks for all your support and look forward to seeing you all at LYME for our various Chapionships and Open Meetings". Wishing you all David Beer Commadore |
Posted By: charlie w
Date Posted: 22 Feb 11 at 10:22am
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Well done Dave. great work by all involved at lyme. Worth remembering the rule of local law, though:
For every good idea, there is an equal and opposing government initiative..... ------------- Quality never goes out of fashion. |
Posted By: BarnsieB14768
Date Posted: 22 Feb 11 at 10:31am
| Thats great news |
Posted By: marksey
Date Posted: 22 Feb 11 at 4:17pm
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good news for a great club, ------------- Marks Geotechnical, for all your Geotechnical and Environmental construction needs. Need a phase one desk study for planning permission? http://www.marksgeotechnical.co.uk/ - http://www.marksgeotechnical.co.uk/ < |
Posted By: gordon1277
Date Posted: 22 Feb 11 at 5:12pm
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Phew, had forgotten this and booked my accommodation for the Phantom Nats in September.
Well done and good luck to Lyme Regis sc. Can you arrange f4 to f5 breeze for that weekend as well? after sorting out local government that has got to be easy. ------------- Gordon Lossc |
Posted By: x1testpilot
Date Posted: 23 Feb 11 at 11:38am
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Good luck! I love Lyme Regis! I've been there as a visitor in Int 14's and had enormous fun. The club is VERY friendly and deserves to survive. I am a member of London Corinthian Sailing Club www.lcsc.org.uk and we have an "interesting" history with the local council. To cut a long story short we had to make many compromises but have ended up as a tenant of an umbrella organisation www.londoncorinthiantrust.org.uk this was done with a lot of negotiations involving Sport England and also the national lottery. I think the RYA can offer some help too.
------------- I like to take pictures of sailing, but I'd rather be sailing! http://www.LCSC.org.uk" rel="nofollow - LCSC.org.uk http://xdinghies.com/" rel="nofollow - Xdinghies.com/ X0 & X1 |
Posted By: IanW
Date Posted: 20 Jan 16 at 9:30am
Unfortunately this is back on the cards the clubs dinghy park has been earmarked for 30 holiday chalets or car park spaces in the current proposals there is nowhere to park dinghies. Dorset seem to be working hard a secure an Olympic legacy. 
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Posted By: gordon1277
Date Posted: 20 Jan 16 at 10:02am
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One of my favorite clubs and a great place to sail.
Sort a pertition and I and many others will sign from the forum and tell our mates. ------------- Gordon Lossc |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 20 Jan 16 at 10:36am
| Got a link for the proposals? Might be worth a new thread. On the face of it this sounds a more serious threat than the OP. |
Posted By: 2547
Date Posted: 21 Jan 16 at 11:07am
That sounds hard to believe as the space wouldn't be big enough for 30 holiday chalets. LRSC is a great members club with access to great sailing waters. I have enjoyed a number of fine events there and hope they are able to retain their position ... Sounds like one of those cases where the RYA legal team could be of help ...
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Posted By: PeterG
Date Posted: 21 Jan 16 at 12:28pm
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News paper article about it here: Seems also to include the bowling and gig clubs. But the article also implies, if accurate, that it's the SC trailer and car parking that's under threat, not the dinghy parking. Is that accurate? Judging by the article it looks like someone at the council playing with potential income numbers to help their cash position. Given the opposition, and that it undermines everything in their 20 year plan about support for sports, I'd be surprised if the proposals get very far. A much bigger risk is probably that the council turn round and ask for increased rent. ------------- Peter Ex Cont 707 Ex Laser 189635 DY 59 |
Posted By: davidyacht
Date Posted: 21 Jan 16 at 12:53pm
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District Councils seem to be on a drive to "monetise their assets" as central government puts on the squeeze. We are seeing a bit of this going on in Salcombe, though to date none that will effect the sailing, though there is a move afoot by SHDC to build business units on the trailer park. A lot of this seems to be going on in anticipation of getting in before local Neighbourhood Development Plans are in place, which might give locals a more powerful voice to say no. Anyway this is the result of a democratic process and we all had our chance to influence the politics that is now applying the squeeze. ------------- Happily living in the past |
Posted By: Riv
Date Posted: 22 Jan 16 at 7:10pm
| Neighbour hood plans are powerful pieces of law and over ride local government plans. It's not suprising that councils may feel like moving quickly before their options are limitted by the democratic process. |
Posted By: blueboy
Date Posted: 23 Jan 16 at 10:40am
I was much involved in developing a Parish Plan. They are not law at all or even a statement of policy, it's essentially an information basis for development of policy. Can be usefully cited in comments on planning applications and that's about as far as it goes. Democratic, well, residents don't actually vote on neighbourhood plans. There are reasonable checks that they reflect residents' views but they are also influenced by the self-selected teams that develop them (and I should know). |
Posted By: getafix
Date Posted: 23 Jan 16 at 11:57am
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Sorry to hear this, IMPO you need to prepare for the inevitable. Money talks, councils have to either cut back on pay and benefits for themselves (no shiny new offices, bad coffee and no more private health cover) or land-grab the green belt, savage the sea shore and concrete over the conservation areas. They don't care about their own voters opinions so I seriously doubt they will give a sh1t about dinghy sailors. Just think how much apppartments with harbour/sea views are going to be worth in Lyme, Salcombe, exe estuary et al. If it's like my local council the planning committee are aged 60 and up* so don't expect them to relate to most of us. The planning committee can over-ride even their own planning officers in most cases. Neighbourhood plans and Parish plans are pretty meaningless, recently Chichester DC and the Harbour Conservancy, an AONB, allowed a major development inside the AONB boundary and were backed by the Secretary of State. The opposition to furthering transport links north to south and building more airport capacity around London, means the pressure on southern England housing stocks will only increase. (Not) Looking forward to the opening in 2025 of the Stone Henge theme park and staying at the luxury hotel on site with views over the stone circle ...... Such a shame about those burial mounds that got covered in asphalt when they built the parking lot and expanded the a303 to three lanes either way past the site...... *70 and up in many cases |
Posted By: blueboy
Date Posted: 23 Jan 16 at 12:42pm
A friend of mine is a District Councillor. She spends several evenings a week attending Parish Council meetings on her patch, plus District Council and subcommittee meetings. For this she gets around £6K a year. How many people of working age, with the skills, knowledge and life experience to be a councillor, are going to want to put that time in? Less alone the criticism and stress that goes along with it. Oh, and you pretty much need to be a member of the right political party, in good standing with the local party. Independents don't get elected.
I should hope so too. Planning officers advise, planning committees decide.
It's pretty much the other way around. Planning policy is largely set by Westminster and councils have ever-diminishing power to reject applications. In particular councils in the south have huge new-build targets to meet and those houses have to go somewhere. The best councils can do is maximise planning gains and mitigate the damage. |
Posted By: Noah
Date Posted: 23 Jan 16 at 1:30pm
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Planning committees are willing to override officers' recommendations for refusal and approve, but rarely the other way, because they're scared of funding an appeal that is likely to be lost. ------------- Nick D-Zero 316 |
Posted By: davidyacht
Date Posted: 23 Jan 16 at 3:30pm
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Well it's better than discussing PY banditry. I think that NDP's are quite empowered by law. The local community will vote on the NDP, but we shall wait and see how effective it is. Spot on about the financial pressures local councils are facing and how this compromises decisions that protect our environment. Localism is a misnomer the Government is using a house building boom to dig the country out of the mire so anything they suggest otherwise are weasel words. Down here the planning officers make most decisions on delegated powers. When I submitted plans for an extension within minutes of lobbying local councillors my plans were turned down by planning officers on delegated powers. Our District Councillors are quite ineffective since they follow central government policy and were "elected" unopposed. I am surprised anyone stands for the Parish council since anything that they decide gets overruled by District for the reasons stated ... Fear of having to pay for unsuccessful appeals, also any approved development generates more income for the District Council, either through section 106 or rates. Now about those Aero 9 handicaps ... ------------- Happily living in the past |
Posted By: blueboy
Date Posted: 24 Jan 16 at 7:34am
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"I am surprised anyone stands for the Parish council since anything that
they decide gets overruled by District for the reasons stated" I am an ex-Parish Councillor. Parish Councils don't decide planning matters. All they can "decide" is to make a comment to the Planning Authority, which around here is the District Council. In theory such comments carry no special weight. In practice Parish Councils know how to relate comments to policy, which can actually make a difference, whereas residents think opinion of itself counts for something, which it pretty much does not unless related to policy. Yes it's hard to get people to stand, even harder to get them to stay more than one term and Parish Councils elections around here are never contested. |
Posted By: davidyacht
Date Posted: 24 Jan 16 at 9:03am
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I stand corrected, but they do have to decide on their "comments" many of which reflect local opinion, but are generally ignored by the local district council. Which in turn may be following national policies, which may have been written with little consideration for a town in an AONB with a full time population of 2500 rising to 25000 in July and August. I suspect this reflects the position in many West Country Coastal towns and villages. ------------- Happily living in the past |
Posted By: Riv
Date Posted: 24 Jan 16 at 8:06pm
I know this is boring but it's also important as A Parish Plan is very definitely not a Neighbourhood plan. A Neighbourhood plan has legal status: "A neighbourhood plan must address the development and use of land. This is because if successful at examination and referendum the neighbourhood plan will become part of the statutory development plan once it has been made (brought into legal force) by the planning authority. Applications for planning permission must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise" (http://planningguidance.communities.gov.uk/blog/guidance/neighbourhood-planning/what-is-neighbourhood-planning/what-is-a-neighbourhood-plan-and-what-is-its-relationship-to-a-local-plan/) A Neighbourhood plan cannot be against development. It cannot say "No" but it can say where development will happen and what it will be like. My village is suffering from the lack of a Neighbourhood plan. A prime open waterside site that the community has enjoyed and used for the last 50 years is being sold off and developed into an exclusive waterside set of managed properties for the over 55s. It removes a view the community has cherished and a space we have all enjoyed. If we had had a neighbour hood plan we could have said that though the site maybe developed that this sort of development was not appropriate and the developer would have gone somewhere else to make his exclusive ghetto. ( Salcombe I expect:) We could then have had a development which took into account the views of the entire village and did not make such a dire impact. One problem with Neighbourhood plans is that if they are done by the Parish Council there can be conflicts of interests. Many Parish Councillors are landowners or socialise with landownwers. The Neighbour hood plan may restrict ( but does not remove) the landowner's ability to realise the value of their land. |
Posted By: Noah
Date Posted: 25 Jan 16 at 8:36am
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Thanks Riv. I'm also a parish councillor, and was involved in producing our Parish Plan, only to be told soon after Neighbourhood Plans were announced that it could be 'converted' but now we're told that it cannot be and we have to start again! Hopefully some of the content can be re-used. ------------- Nick D-Zero 316 |
Posted By: Riv
Date Posted: 25 Jan 16 at 8:10pm
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Hi Noah, Yes Parish Plans are very different to NPs It's worth looking at some good NPs such as Drayton Nr Abingdon and Tattenhall and some that failed such as Aldingbourne. Many Parish Councils are employing professionals to do the NPs for them. There are plenty of underemployed planners about these days! The whole thing seems to hinge on the level of community involvement. |