Dear Resident,
We posted a webpage on 14th October giving an overview of the outcome of the Pre-Submission Consultation that completed on 7th October.
We are now pleased to tell you that the work to ready the plan for submission has been completed and on Friday 21st October, the Parish Council as the Qualifying Body signed off the package of documents for submission. The steps required for submission were:
· Some amendments to the wording of policies and supporting text in response to community comments and as recommended by B&D BC to ensure successful examination. These changes are not extensive and retain the intentions and principles of the plan but ensure compliance with national/borough regulations and policies;
· Completion of a final version of the Sustainability Appraisal by AECOM – this concludes that the ES&BG NP is “anticipated to have a positive effect on sustainability”
· Completion of a Consultation Statement and a Basic Conditions Statement; the former is designed to show how the plan has been created on the basis of input from residents and other stakeholders and the latter shows how the plan complies with national/borough regulations and policies.
Formal submission of the ES&BG NP to B&D BC was made on 24th October. Submission triggers a set of processes that will take place over the next 13-15 weeks:
· Legal checks of the plan documents by B&D BC;
· Publication of the plan by B&D BC;
· A 6 week period for comments and representations;
· Appointment of an independent examiner who undertakes a through review of all the plan documentation.
At the end of this process, we hope the plan will be “approved” as it stands or with minor amendments and hence be ready for final approval via a referendum among residents. Our objective remains for this referendum to be held no later than the Local Elections due on 4th May 2023.
On behalf of the Parish Council, I would like to thank everyone involved for helping get us to this stage.
Marian Dain
Chair ES&BG Parish Council