The drafting of our Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) is progressing. The project has been transferred from the Steering Group to the NDP Committee in preparation for Regulation 14 submission.
The meeting housing need and site assessment report has been published and can be read at: The Neighbourhood Plan – Walford Neighbourhood Development Plan (walford-ndp.co.uk). Note: It is a large document consisting 18 summary pages and around 120 pages of detailed individual site assessment information.
During February and March, we will be holding live online seminars to get your opinion on the most suitable housing options to take forward into the NDP and the NDP policies.
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Having only just read the report dated August 2020, I am puzzled with the assertion in 3.12 on Page 15 that there are “7 medium sized housing estates in Walford and Coughton.” Where are these? As far as I am aware, there are perhaps that number of cul-de-sacs leading off the B4234. These do not constitute “estates”. The largest of these, Coughton Place, could at a stretch be called a “small estate” as it has 41 houses. The others range from seven houses (Alder Close); nine in both Cedar Grove and Willow Close and approximately 21 in Priory Lee. In Walford, Green Colley Grove has approximately 16 houses. By no stretch of the imagination can these cul-de-sacs be described as “medium sized estates”. There are probably as many houses dotted along the B4234, the corner of the road to Bulls Hill and from Coughton Corner along the road to Pontshill as far as the turn-off to Howle Hill. The designation of “estates” seems to have been used to justify building even more houses in the area. The present population of the parish has to rely on Ross-on-Wye for amenities, as will any residents of new developments. The proposed sites in this part of the parish would absolutely swamp what is already here.
Hello Ruth,
Thank you for your question.
The Meeting Housing Needs and Site Assessment Report states the size of sites constituting medium size in section 4.2.
Large sites, providing over 20 dwellings.
Medium sized sites providing between 6 and 19 dwellings.
Small sites providing up to 5 dwellings.
Thank you for your other comments which are noted.
On behalf of the NDP Committee
I am not good with technology and am not happy to join an on-line debate. However I have read the plan and would like to say that I am horrified at the amount of housing that has been proposed for the parish, especially Coughton where I now live.
What is the definition of a “built-up area” as per the Government? Surely this means an area with many houses, estates, shops, facilities, etc etc and not an area with no amenities apart from a primary school? In the parish as a whole I don’t know of any shops, chemists, doctors surgeries, restaurants. There is the school, a timber yard and a gastro-pub which isn’t a village pub at all. I know of no other amenities or employment opportunities.
How can it be reasonable to rip-up farmland to build houses on or very close to flood plains for people who don’t exist in the parish? What developer would want to build such houses, and what people would want to live in them, especially as insurers won’t insure houses for flooding that have been built after a certain date (in the past)?
The only beneficiaries to these schemes are the farmers who want to sell the land and I am sure they don’t live themselves close to the proposed sites.
I blame the government for interfering in the lives of communities they don’t know anything about and the greedy people who try to benefit from these policies.
Hello Ruth,
Apologies for not replying to your query sooner.
The capacity of the team is unable to keep up with the volume of correspondence and we will be addressing this to the NDP committee on 10th Feb and hope to reply soon after that.
There is no specific definition of what a ‘built-up area’ might be. The NDP seeks to define these for the settlements of Walford and Coughton, Bishopswood and Howle Hill. How this has been done is set out in Appendix 3 to the Meeting Housing Needs and Site Assessment Report. Evidence from a number of sources was used. Areas falling within any flood risk zone have been excluded from consideration. Agricultural land value was one of a number of considerations used to judge between sites but Government policy does not rule a site out completely on this criterion.
Herefordshire Council Core Strategy defines rural settlements where development might be located. It has determined that there are three settlements in Walford Parish. The Core Strategy also sets the minimum level of housing growth that each parish should accommodate. The approach was examined at a Public Examination by a Planning Inspector. The Parish Council can propose a Neighbourhood Development Plan indicating how the required housing might be accommodated, which must at least provide for the minimum. Should it not wish to do this then decisions are left to Herefordshire Council will determine planning applications for new housing within or adjacent to our settlements and this is unlikely to include consideration of any limit in numbers.
Many thanks
On behalf of the NDP Committee.
when are the live online seminars going to take place
Hello Anselm,
Apologies for not replying to your query sooner.
The capacity of the team is unable to keep up with the volume of correspondence and we will be addressing this to the NDP committee on 10th Feb and hope to reply soon after that.
The online presentations will be taking place on 22nd February 2021 and 15th March 2021. Details of these will be in the parish newsletter.
On behalf of the NDP Committee.