Ponteland Neighbourhood Plan Community Event September 2014

1. Help shape
the future of the Parish
• Neighbourhood planning was
introduced through the 2011 Localism
Act and gives local communities the
opportunity to influence and define
how their area should grow and
change
• A Neighbourhood Plan is a way of
helping local communities to influence
the planning of the area in which they
live and work. It can be used to
• Develop a shared vision for your
neighbourhood
• Choose where new homes, shops,
offices and other development should
be built
• Influence what new buildings should
look like
• Ensure that any change meets local
objectives

2. Other Plans
• The Exeter St James Plan includes a
policy limiting the number of student
houses in some areas. The increase in
conversions of family homes to HMOs,
predominantly for student residents,
was causing concern about the long
term balance in the local community
• The Upper Eden Plan includes a policy
allowing rural exceptions for the
construction of low cost housing.
Providing flexibility for farmers (or
rural businesses) is an important
objective if farms in the Upper Eden
Area are to remain viable and family
owned and run. This allows the use of
a second dwelling for family members,
to help manage generational
transition, create extra income by
holiday letting, or simply to allow local
people to rent a dwelling
• The existing Castle Morpeth District
Local Plan has served Ponteland well
and contains many policies which
might be brought forward in the new
Neighbourhood Plan

3. “Our vision is to maintain and
enhance the unique character of
Ponteland”
• In Northumberland, neighbourhood
planning must be led by the town or
parish council
• The Ponteland Neighbourhood Plan is
being prepared by a group of seven
volunteers and five Councillors on
behalf of the Town Council
• Neighbourhood Planning will allow us
to determine our future instead of
living with continued inappropriate
development pressure
• If the Ponteland Neighbourhood Plan
passes independent examination and
is adopted in a local referendum, it will
have the power to influence local
planning and the future needs of the
community – in conjunction with
national and countywide planning
policies

4. Background to “our Plan”
• Northumberland County Council are
currently working on the second stage
document of their Core Strategy
• Meanwhile Newcastle Council plans
for expansion are in the final stages
• There is a significant planning
application for speculative
development at Birney Hill currently at
appeal stage
• The local community was consulted in
February and November 2013 to
enable residents and businesses to
express their preferences, views and
priorities with regard to a wide range
of planning related matters
• The data obtained from these
consultations has been used, along
with other available evidence and
analytical research, to establish a clear
vision and objectives for the future of
Ponteland

5. This Consultation
• We have looked at 8 topics and
prepared objectives for each. These
are on the display boards
• Conservation & Heritage
• Natural Environment, Open Spaces &
Habitats
• Housing & Affordable Housing
• Retail, Business & Employment
• Transportation
• Drainage & Potential Flooding
• Healthcare & Care of the Elderly
• Education & Youth Activities
• Please take part in this consultation
and share your views with us and
make a real difference
• This is your opportunity to tell us
whether you endorse our vision and
objectives or feel that we have got it
wrong!

6. Conservation & Heritage
• The Neighbourhood Plan Group have
worked with Ponteland Civic Society
and the North of England Civic Trust to
prepare a Community Character
Statement
• The document includes consideration
of the approaches along Ponteland
Road, North Road, West Road and
Callerton Lane as well as the Darras
Hall Estate, High Callerton,
Northumbria Police Headquarters site
and the quality of the surrounding
landscape, which all contribute to the
unique character of the area
• It will be used to inform the and
Conservation and Heritage Policies in
the Ponteland Neighbourhood Plan
• It is hoped that it will be adopted as
Supplementary Planning Document by
Northumberland County Council with
a view to eventually becoming the
definitive Conservation Area Character
Appraisal

7. • Natural Environment, Open
Spaces & Habitats
• Maintaining and restoring the natural
environment will play a fundamental
role in sustaining our collective future.
People’s connection with nature can
increase their health and well-being,
one of the range of social, economic
and environmental services provided
by the natural environment without
which society could not function
• The planning system has shifted power
to the local and neighbourhood levels
while continuing to emphasise the
importance of sustainable
development and supporting the
objectives of the Natural Environment
White Paper. The Government no
longer sees it as its role to provide
detailed policy guidance but wishes
local authorities and communities to
be active and innovative in shaping
their own future
Source: good practice guidance for
green infrastructure and biodiversity
Town & Country Planning Association
The Wildlife Trusts

8. Housing & Affordable Housing
• Ponteland village has evolved to
provide a range of housing. However,
property prices and rents are high due
to its unique environment and quality
of life. Many employers find it difficult
to recruit locally due to housing costs
and employ people from outside the
area
• The cost of housing on Darras Hall has
caused property in and around the
village to become disproportionately
high. Older residents look to downsize
and the equity released from their
properties serves to maintain high
housing costs within the village
• As Ponteland has already evolved by
incorporating small scale housing
developments there is no reason to
divert from this approach other than
to encourage future development to
prioritise the needs of older residents
(other than care homes), and
affordable accommodation for families
and young people who wish to remain
in the area
The preparation of a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) is a requirement
of national planning policy as set out in paragraph 159 of the National Planning Policy
Framework (NPPF). This is the current Northumberland County Council SHLAA
A SHLAA identifies a future supply of land for housing which is suitable, available and
achievable. The assessment forms a key component of the evidence base to underpin policies
for housing in the emerging Northumberland Local Plan. A SHLAA is not a policy document.
Whilst the Northumberland SHLAA identifies land, it will not determine whether a site should
be allocated as part of the Local Plan or granted planning permission. It simply provides
comprehensive information on potential sources of housing land which, alongside other
information, will be used to inform future plan making decisions including future housing
allocations.

9. Retail, Business & Employment
• We have carried out existing and
proposed assessments of Retail,
Commercial, Industrial, Rural, Tourism
& Leisure businesses
• Our aims are to look towards local
sustainable economic growth and
match to local employment
• To create imaginative ways for new
opportunities in Leisure and Tourism
• To seek creative ways in re-energising
the centre of Ponteland, Main Street
and the Broadway

10. Transportation
• The A696 currently divides the village.
A bypass has been planned for many
years and, if it were delivered with
traffic calming measures, could
significantly reduce through traffic
• Many other towns and villages have
been able to reduce traffic in their
historic centres, allowing space for
casual parking, market stalls and
people to move about safely
• Would you like to see a simple relief
road, the route passing further away
from the village than currently
planned but shorter and smaller scale
so taking up less land?
• The group are currently working with
Northumberland County Council to
develop this proposal and investigate
other alternatives. See the display
board for more information
• We will also be looking at methods for
local transport within Ponteland and a
review of public car parking spaces for
the future

11. Drainage & Flooding
• Responsibility for rivers, watercourses
and drainage falls between The
Environment Agency, Northumberland
County Council, Northumbrian Water
Ltd and riparian landowners (who own
land adjacent to watercourses)
• It is difficult to be certain of sources of
flooding. At the moment there are
poor records of flood incidents and
many reports of flooding in areas
which are outside Flood Zones 2 and 3
• Ponteland largely lies on soils with low
permeability which does not hold
significant groundwater
• Increasing areas of impermeable
surfaces are resulting in increased
flows. Surface water run-off is
entering waste water drains while
Eland Lane Pumping Station is close to
capacity. Capital works are still
required to improve flood defences
and there is much scepticism about
the effectiveness of Sustainable
Drainage SystemsContains Environment Agency information ©
Environment Agency and database right

12. Healthcare & Care of the Elderly
• Our Aim is to recognise and provide,
where possible, services to match the
needs of the elderly
• 87% of respondants to the initial
survey confirmed that they would stay
in Ponteland as they get older
Education & Youth Activities
• Our Aim is to encourage the utilisation
of existing facilities, where possible for
the young
• We need to understand the needs of
the young and ensure that their views
are listened to
Ponteland Neighbourhood Plan
“Our vision is to maintain and enhance
the unique character of Ponteland”