Neighbourhood Plan - Timeline

We launched our Neighbourhood Plan in October 2014 expecting it to take a couple of years to complete. However delays to Waverley’s Local Plan Part 1 and 2, together with changes in legislation around setting Green Belt and Settlement Boundaries, have meant that things have taken longer than expected. We were in the final stretch, as we entered “Regulation 14”, a consultation period, first with residents and then with Waverley Borough Council.

Then Covid happened!

New sites were put forward for consideration, and so those were reviewed, and considered alongside those that had already been assessed. The new sites meant changes to a key part of our plan – the housing policies, and so we have entered a new consultation period for residents to provide feedback on those policies only.

Once the consultation period has concluded, feedback will be assessed and a Final Final Plan produced for submission to Waverley Borough Council, then to an Independent Examiner, and then the local community will participate in a referendum (Covid restrictions permitting!).

Scroll down to find out more about our journey so far …

23 September 2021

Neighbourhood Plan Submitted to Waverley Borough Council

The Regulation 15 Elstead and Weyburn Neighbourhood Plan has now been submitted to Waverley Borough Council (WBC).

We envisage WBC will publicise the Neighbourhood Plan for a six weeks consultation between October and November 2021.

March - May 2020

Public Consultation

Our plan was made available for Public Consultation under Regulation 14, and could be reviewed online and at various locations in the village.

Planned exhibitions due to take place on Monday 23rd March and Thursday 2nd April 2020 were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Instead zoom meetings were held on the 28th April & 4th May to discuss the Plan, and residents were able to complete surveys to provide feedback.

November 2019

Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA)

A Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) was required to identify if any aspects of the plan have the potential to cause a detrimental affect on the surrounding area and identify mitigation strategies. Conducted by independent consultants.

July - August 2019

Traffic Surveys

Traffic surveys undertaken to assess likely impact of new development at each of the 3 proposed sites.

June 2019

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), a statutory requirement when promoting sites for development, was commissioned using independent consultants.

February - March 2019

Housing Needs Survey

This survey was taken to ensure that we fully understand the housing needs of our community. This included not only the need for affordable housing, but also the needs of older people wishing to downsize, families wishing to upsize in terms of house and/ or garden size and to understand the types of tenure required. A paper copy was delivered to every household in Elstead and Peper Harow, and an online version publicised.

February 2019

Detailed Site Assessment

Aecom (government approved independent consultants) were commissioned to conduct a Masterplanning / Design Code assessment on the two sites suggested by Waverley Borough Council and on the preferred site of the majority of Elstead & Peper Harow residents.

January 2019

Site Allocation Decision

Supported by new planning consultants, we successfully negotiated with Waverley Borough Council the ability to include site selection within our Neighbourhood Plan.

July 2018

Changes to the NPPF

The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) gave local Neighbourhood Plans the power to select development sites located in the Green Belt. In addition they were give the authority to review and make small amendments to their settlement boundaries.

July - September 2018

Regulation 14 Consultation

The First Draft Neighbourhood Plan was launched on Friday 6th July 2018 with an exhibition at the Pavilion, Thursley Road. This was followed by a consultation period of 8 weeks where residents were invited to give their feedback on the plan.

26 March - 7 May 2021

Regulation 14 Consultation on Housing Policies

The revised policies were made available online for the public to review and provide feedback. Zoom meetings to be held on 31st March 2021 and 6th April 2021.

Pandemic restrictions permitting an in-person session is to be arranged for mid April at The Pavilion Cafe, Tanshire Business Park.

Autumn 2017 - Spring 2018

Site Allocation removed from Neighbourhood Plan

Negotiations took place with Waverley Borough Council, who were in disagreement with our site selection choices. Without the full support of our Local Authority our plan could never have been adopted. Therefore the Steering Group made the decision to remove site allocations from the draft plan.

September 2017 - February 2018

We Draft our Neighbourhood Plan

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group work with our planning consultants to create the first draft of our Neighbourhood Plan, incorporating data from our surveys and workshops, and feedback from residents.

Summer 2017

Site Assessments take place

We engaged independent consultants to review the sites put forward as having potential for development for housing.

July 2017

Design Workshops

We held Design Workshops on the 17th, 18th & 19th July 2017 at the URC Hall, to encourage residents to think about site design for future development sites. Meetings with landowners were also held at this time.

July 2017

Public Exhibition & Meeting

We held a Big Meeting and Public Exhibition at St James' School on 6th July 2017 to take residents through the findings of each of the Working Groups and to get feedback. Over 100 residents came and provided feedback.

November 2016

Follow-Up Survey - Neighbourhood Plan Objectives & Vision

A Follow-up survey on the draft objectives and vision was sent to all residents of Elstead & Peper Harow. Over 200 responses were received.

July 2016

BIG Survey - Public Exhibition & Meeting to Review Findings

Following our Big Survey a Public Meeting was held on Wednesday 6th July 2016 at St James' School to take residents through the results of the Big Survey. Over 550 residents responded to the Survey, and over 100 residents attended the meeting. Lots of great feedback was received.

December 2015

Our BIG Survey Takes Place

Christmas Eve 2015 sees us launch Our BIG Survey, with a copy delivered to every resident of Elstead & Peper Harow. The survey asks residents questions on a wide range of topics including about housing, transport, the countryside, employment and community facilities.

July 2015

Exhibition & Public Meeting held to present Working Group Findings

On the 6th July an Exhibition & Public Meeting was held for the Working Groups to take residents through their initial findings and to seek comments and feedback. Over 100 residents attended.

June 2015

Neighbourhood Plan Area Approved

Following discussions with Peper Harow Parish Meeting, it was agreed that the Weyburn area, located in Peper Harow Parish, would be included in our Neighbourhood Plan Area. This is because of the proximity of this area to Elstead, and its importance as a local employment site, hosting both the former factory site and the Tanshire Business Park.

Waverley formally approved the Neighbourhood Plan Area in June 2015.

January 2015

Working Groups Gather Data

Volunteers from Elstead & Peper Harow formed the 'Elstead and Weyburn Neighbourhood Plan' Steering Group with support from Elstead Parish Council. Five working groups were created to explore fully the following categories:

Homes & Community Facilities
Environment, Heritage & Recreation
Local Employment & Business Support
Getting Around, Transport and Utilities
Weyburn

November 2014

Newsletter & Public Meeting

A Newsletter was delivered to every household in Elstead & Peper Harow, advising them of the plan to create a Neighbourhood Plan and inviting them to a public meeting.

The public meeting was held at St James Primary School gaining community support to commence the Neighbourhood Plan process.

October 2014

Neighbourhood Plan Kickoff Meeting

Elstead Parish council held an open meeting at The Golden Fleece on 6th October 2014 to establish the community's interest in creating a Neighbourhood Plan.

There was a great turn-out and interest in getting started.

February 2, 2014

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