Preserving our village

[vicky whitworth]

Hello, our parish council have at long last noticed that the historic buildings and setting of our conservation village is being eroded by development and home 'improvements'. This followed the parish council opposing and losing a planning application for four houses on the last remaining field in the village centre and adjacent to two listed buildings. I think they have been quite shocked by this as there was so much opposition and local views were completely ignored. To my joy they have got off the fence and sent a letter to every household deploring the situation.
Now they are thinking about what we might all do to try to save what is left. I was interested if anyone else has had experience of a village setting out to preserve itself and any suggestions for what we might do? I think there is possibly quite a bit we could do informing people about preserving and not home improving out of keeping. But what else? Thanks, Vicky

 

[tobydog]

Out of interest, were the four houses part of an 'affordable' housing scheme or just insensitive private developers?

 

[vicky whitworth]

Tobydog, don't get me started :twisted:
No affordable housing going in. Locals and the parish council requested affordable and also a 'tie' so that local people had first opportunity to buy but no, just regular 3-4 bedroom houses on a tiny site. Long story. A couple bought the land at a knock-down price from the local landowner, said they wanted to build one house for their disabled daughter, got planning permission for that and then sold the whole site to a developer who has now got the permission for another four houses. Same developer has got planning for six houses on another site in the garden of an old cottage - don't think there's any affordable there either. Up til recently there were very few second homes in the village now most properties are going as second or holiday homes as locals can't afford them. People buy small cottages and then put huge extensions on them. Our beloved Mill Cottage has had all its 18th century timbers ripped out, new roof structure and more than doubled in size. I can't bear to look at it. It was so pretty before and now it's sickening. And they cut down nine mature cider apple trees because they were a bit 'wonky'.
The term conservation village seems pretty meaningless. Does anyone know where I might find some shining examples of communities that have saved their conservation village?

 

[skier-hughes]

You need a parish plan.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=parish+plans&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GBfficial&client=firefox-a

The parish I used to do community work for fought a long battle against a developer wanting to build 800 new homes on two sites.
Fortunately the downtourn in housing needs saw the end to that rather than anything else.

If the aprih had already made a plan, which will include housing needs, then the battle would have been much easier.

In essence a group, volunteers from all walks of life, consult with all of the residents on a variety of issues and bring together a plan to take forward. This plan should be looked at at least annualy and updated as neccesary.

Most rural community councils had funding until recently to help parishes to produce their plans. It'll be a good place for you to start.
http://www.devonrcc.org.uk/

 

[jocelyn plummer]

This development thing is getting right up my nose.

Vicki, your village is so right to be up in arms, it seems nowhere is sacred. Our Georgian Town in Central Beds is about to be subjected to another 400 houses at one end, 36 dwellings on the old allotments, a further 32 proposed on the site of a lovely old ( quite late though) house in one of the main streets, to say nothing of the 40 odd that have appeared in the newly refurbished ex CB offices. All that, plus the cars, has completely destroyed the quiet elegance of our Town. Listed Buildings are filthy and erroded with exhaust fumes and absentee landlords simply don't care. The schools are not able to take in more pupils, some, it is rumoured, will have to go 6 miles or so to another catchment.

And where does the 106 money go------ anywhere but where it is needed.

Keep fighting.

 

[robgil]

People need places to live.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

What about all the empty, crumbling buildings -------------

 

[robgil]

A lot of people dont want to take on crumbling projects, Im afraid I am all for development providing it is done tastefully and sympathetically to the surrounding area/houses.

 

[JoceAndChris]

But there are so many ugly developed places (most of the UK's sprawling townscapes) that can take development - leave the unspoilt places alone is my view.

There are millions of properties on Rightmove, many well under 100k, so I have never understood why people say there's a shortage of housing, I think what they mean is there's a shortage of virtually-free housing because they don't want to work. If they can't afford a house, let them rent- no shame in that. Our continental friends rent far more.

Poor Vicky, sounds ghastly. I think some good suggestions have been made, by people far more experienced than I am.

The Hills and Hollows, behind my house, (where the Freemen wanted to set up) were bought by Harrowby Parish Council for the people and as a nature reserve. It was reproted in the local paper that they borrowed the money from the local Council by saying that they had an agreement from every householder in Harrowby that Council tax would be increased by 50p per person, per year, for ten years. I am sceptical about the story but will find out more tomorrow, when the local community will come together to palnt a hedgerow around the new fencing.

 

[Bayliss]

As a village group you may want to consider pushing the Council for Listing those cottage's / heritage buildings within the village.
Identify parcels of land that come to market and purchase that land to be held in trust for the 'village group'. If you have enough people interested it need not be overly expensive on an individual basis.

 

[robgil]

People moan about affordable housing within villages however how many of those people would be prepared to sell their houses at a reduced rate to locals? Very few if any would be my guess.
It's a hard pill to swallow but villages do expand and I think a lot of the time developers are quite sympathetic with regards of building style. What I do find annoying is the ''affordable'' council estates with ugly concrete houses that you see grafted onto the outskirts of most Suffolk villages 30 or more years ago.

 

[vicky whitworth]

I do agree that people need homes. And I'm not against development per se. I'd like it done in a better planned way in appropriate locations. We have some appropriate places in the village to develop - these sites are even ear-marked for development but if a developer takes a fancy to a different site that seems to be OK.
We have a village plan but the planners seem to just ignore it. At the public meeting we were all kept to a strict three minutes to put our case including our parish counsellors but the developer was allowed to run on over his three minutes. It's not right.

 

[CliffordPope]

All houses are affordable.

 

[Flyfisher]

Yes, I've always thought it an odd phrase. A bit like 'hard-working families'.

 

[vicky whitworth]

Not all families are hard-working. Not all people are hard-working. Some people are lazy so and sos. Tell me about it. I'm an HR manager :lol:
Not all housing is affordable by ordinary people. Not in our village anyway. We have many empty houses and some that have been up for sale for years. But that's because ordinary people can't afford them, and well-off people don't want to live in this corner of Devon, which is a good thing really as we like it not too poshed up.

 

[skier-hughes]

If the parish plan dictates where, type and how much housing is to be built, you stand a much better chance of throwing out speculative proposals.
Did anyone stand up and say, sorry but your 3 mins is up sir?

 

[tobydog]

How much legal clout does a parish plan actually carry? If it's little or none, don't the developers or other companies like supermarkets just bide their time and wear the parish down through legal due process?

 

[skier-hughes]

if it's done properly, then it is a plan decided upon by the whole parish, or at least is a document supported by the whole parish, and the whole parish has had the opportunity to take part in it's inception.
It does not carry any legal power per se, but it saves doing thyings like a petition, as you have already done all the consulting with residents.
It should also work with the various levels of councils, who all have a duty to provide a certain amount of housing in the near future.
If you set out your obligations, your willingness to proivde these requirements, in places where it is approriate, setting out the reasons for this, then your arguements against developers are already mostly done.
A parish plan should be updated on a regular basis, annually, biannually, visiting all points to ensure they are still appropriate etc. Removing items that have succesfully been completed and adding new ones that need to be addressed.

Of course those with most money may well win in the end, but if you can show you are meeting your legal obligations properly with the backing of the parish you stand best chance of gettind rid of specualtive development.

 

[vicky whitworth]

I've now spoken to a member of the parish council who says that prior to the parish plan being completed (in 2010) the local plan stated that the village would have to take 20 new houses over the next ten years. The villagers were asked how many houses they thought the village ought to take over the next ten years as part of the parish plan consultation. The view was between 10-15. The parish plan set out that position and also suggested where these should go. Now the local plan has been changed by the district council and the village is scheduled to only take 10 houses over the next ten years, which of course, is good news if you don't want development but it's hard to plan when the powers that be keep changing the goal posts. The recent two developments for which permission has been given mean that we have now met that ten houses target but I can't believe that we won't be expected to take more in the next ten years. Also our victorian school sits empty and has been for the last three years awaiting permission to convert it to residential but will that be refused as we have met our target :?:

 

[skier-hughes]

It depends, as you have met your target of homes, there should be no need for new homes, as the target should have been set with need for homes as the base, not profit etc in mind. Of course you could set out to say, well I'd rather the old school was turned into housing than another green field go, so you could build your next ten years lot at the school.