Response from Dr Arthur Robinson, New Hutton Parish Council
1. Dr Arthur Robinson, New Hutton Parish Council : 27 Jan 2017 11:44:00
Please make your comments in the box below, making it clear which policy your response relates to using the policy reference number or paragraph number.
At its meeting last night New Hutton Parish Council made the following comments on the draft development management policies:
• Policy DM4 – Green infrastructure and open space – All planting should be of native species as foreign ones do not support other wildlife well.
• Policy DM8 – Telecommunications and broadband – All developments (not just two or more) should have fast broadband or provision for it. A hyperfast network is being installed to all homes and businesses that want it in New Hutton so if it can be done in this very rural parish it can be done anywhere.
• Policy DM8 - Telecommunications and broadband – Paragraph 2.8.3 refers only to Openreach. Other providers offer a free assessment service and are local companies. Either all should be named or references to Openreach should be removed as inclusion will introduce bias to the policy.
• Policy DM13 – Housing development in small villages and hamlets – A minimum hamlet size of 10 seems arbitrary. It would limit organic growth to only one group of houses in New Hutton. Bearing in mind that a requirement exists for a successful planning application to fulfil the criterion of either rounding off or infill, the Parish Council favours a minimum size for a hamlet to be 5 houses. This would introduce more flexibility and scope for organic growth in the parish.
• Policy DM14 – Rural exceptions sites – The word “development” is ambiguous because for some policies it is used to mean “change” but in this policy it means “the building of a new house”. It should be made clear that the policy refers to new building.
• Policy DM14 – Rural exceptions sites – The policy of allowing new building in rural areas only if they are affordable homes in perpetuity has completely failed in this parish. Houses cannot be built for the price they could be sold for. The policy should be changed to require not that they are affordable homes but that they have a local occupancy/ownership condition in perpetuity.
• Policy DM15 – Essential dwellings for workers in the countryside – Again it should be made clear that this policy refers to new-build homes. Workers’ homes could be created by the conversion of disused buildings.
• Policy DM16 – Conversion of buildings in rural areas – Somewhere in this policy there should be mention of the NPPF right to convert disused buildings such as barns to dwellings without the need to go through normal planning procedures. It is not clear how the two differ.
• Policy DM16 – Conversion of buildings in rural areas – The word “significant” is important and needs definition in the policy otherwise there will be inconsistency across the District. For instance, would reconstruction of the roof be included in “significant”?
• Policy DM16 – Conversion of buildings in rural areas – In point 5 it is not clear what “readily available” means. Nor is “utilities” defined; for instance, would provision of, or for, fast broadband (DM8) be included in “utilities”?
• Policy DM18 – Tourist accommodation – caravans, chalets, log cabins, camping and new purpose built self-catering accommodation – Planning applications made under this heading seem to be viewed more favourably than building in a hamlet. Is this not discrimination?
• Policy DM19 – Equestrian-related development – Field shelters for horses are intrusive in the landscape if they protrude above the landscape. They should be screened by the planting of native species of bushes and trees. This policy has been used by the Parish Council for many years.
Regards
Arthur Robinson
Parish clerk