Agenda item

Lea Bridge Ward Forum Meeting

Thursday 17^th September 2015, 7pm

Councillors present: Cllr Ian Rathbone, Cllr Margaret Gordon

Apologies: Cllr Deniz Oguzkanli

Members of the public: 26

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Chatsworth Road Neighbourhood Plan: update

Presented by: Euan Mills and Robbie De Santos, Chatsworth Road Neighbourhood Forum

The Neighbourhood Forum is a constituted group of residents, local businesses and community representatives working on preparing a Neighbourhood Plan for the area. The work on the plan started in 2011 following a Central Government decision to allow local groups to create a local planning policy which can help influence planning decisions for the area. Further, the remarkable speed at which the area was changing and the huge increase in residents over the last 10 years played a major part in the creation of the common aspirations.

The aim is protect the common aspirations that local people have for the area.

Around 300 surveys, 14 in-depth case studies with a diverse range of residents, meetings with local community groups and feedback from 60% of local business have helped to identify local people’s aspirations for the area. These ideas and aspirations were distilled and compared with those of the Council to ensure they didn’t contradict the wider planning policy for Hackney. Five key aspirations were drawn out of all the information gathered;

1)  Make sure people of all backgrounds can afford to live here.

2)  Create more local job opportunities.

3)  Give the full diversity of local businesses the best chance of surviving.

4)  Protect the best of the Neighbourhoods’ past, whilst making its future more sustainable.

5)  Improve how easy it is to get around the neighbourhood.

The Neighbourhood Forum’ policy summary suggests how these aspirations can be achieved;

1)  In regards to housing the Neighbourhood plan proposes ensure people can stay living in the area can be achieved by identifying sites for new developments, insisting on high quality design, 50% should be genuinely affordable social homes and shared ownership homes, making it more straightforward to sensitively expand smaller flats into family, homes and protecting the number of family sized homes.

2)  In regards to more local jobs the Neighbourhood plan proposes to protect existing employment space by protecting existing employment floor space, adding new employment space whenever there is redevelopment in the area around Brooksby's walk.

3)  In regards giving local businesses the best chance of surviving and the high street offering the right mixture of shops the Neighbourhood plan proposes to prevent shops, offices and dentists from being turned into poor quality homes by protecting the existing commercial floor space, maintaining the current number of shops as the minimum for the area, limiting the number of cafes and estate agents to keep pressure off rents by setting quotas for each use class and allowing flexibility for changing shop types within the limits above.

4)  In regards to protecting the neighbourhood’s past and making the future sustainable the Neighbourhood plan proposes to protect historic buildings, keep energy bills down and increasing our resilience to climate change by promoting the development of district heating system which could be powered by renewable energy. As well as by investing in the areas smaller open spaces.

5)  In regards to improving the transport in the area the Neighbourhood plan proposes to make cycling and walking safer and easier by directing improvements to road crossings and allowing cycling contra flow on one way streets. As well as by improving bus routes to the King’s park ward and the eastern part of the neighbourhood area by extending the no.30 and rerouting no.55.

The local residents asked a number of questions in regards to how the Neighbourhood plan will fit with the wider Council policy on planning, how they are hoping to influence the Council on this occasion as many other attempts have failed in the past. In addition, residents also raised concerns about lack of wheelchair access to new shops and cafes where the premises have previously been accessible and concerns in regards to the lack of changing facilities for the sports field in the part furthest from the disused toilets in Millfields Park.

In response to these questions and concerns Robbie De Santo,  Euan Mills and Cllr Rathbone advised:

• It is unlikely that the Neighbourhood plan will contradict the Council’s planning policy as it has been incorporated in the development of the plan. However, it is felt that the plan proposes an improved and more specific and detailed policy than that wider Council policy.

• A Council officer from the planning team has been on board with the development of the Neighbourhood plan which is seen as a pilot and if successful would be used as a template for other areas in the borough.

• The Neighbourhood plan is not to seek planning permissions; and in times of budget cuts it is unlikely that a new facility will be built in Millfields Par. However, it is useful to contact the Millfields Park User Group to raise these concerns. http://millfieldsusers.org.uk/

For more information on Chatsworth Road Neighbourhood Plan and the Neighbourhood Forum  contact;

 Robbie De Santo - robbie.desantos@gmail.com

Euan Mills - euan.mills@gmail.com