The results of our second round of community consultation are now live so if you live or work in St Stephen in Brannel Parish please take a look as there’s some interesting results which will be hugely valuable as we begin to finalise our Parish’s Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP).
This round of consultation took place between November and December 2021 to specifically seek resident’s views on the proposed Vision and Objectives of the NDP as well as its key areas of Development Boundaries, Housing Need and Design.
The consultation was undertaken by the St Stephen in Brannel Parish Council’s NDP Steering Group using a digital platform created for the Parish by GoCollaborate Limited.
Residents were invited to register on the platform and encouraged to share their views. Everyone who registered was also able to leave comments about the areas under review and make comments direct to the Steering Group for their future consideration.
In all, 110 people registered on the platform. Of these, nearly 45% came from the village of St Stephen and the largest group who responded were those in the ‘45 to 55 years’ age category. The majority of respondents were equally homeowners and employed.
Vision & Objectives
Whilst most respondents agreed to the different Objectives proposed to guide the creation of the NDP, many comments were left on how these might be improved and these will be integrated into the Steering Group’s thinking over the coming months. Most people also agreed with the NDP’s overall Vision for the Parish.
One of the other key asks of the consultation was whether residents felt Lanjeth and High Street should be treated as one or two separate settlement areas. The majority who indicated a preference felt it was important in keeping Lanjeth and High Street as two separate villages when it comes of future planning in the Parish.
Housing Needs
Most of the different types of housing listed were supported with the exception of the future development of executive homes and mobile homes. The majority of respondents also indicated a future need for more two and three bedroom dwellings.
Interestingly, the consultation revealed that there was an overall need for more homes to be planned to enable people to stay living within the villages. It also showed that there is a requirement for family and affordable homes, but little requirement for self-build plots.
Development Boundaries
The finalised NDP will include Development Boundaries for all of the eight separate villages, and the consultation found that 58.4% agreed with the concept with 33.3% having no view either way. There was an even opinion regarding development infill, rounding off, building on brownfield sites and allocating sites for housing needs. It’s also worth noting that no respondents indicated a preference for large scale development.
Design
Similarly, the vast majority indicated it was important that new houses matched the styles of existing homes in our villages and these should also fit well into the local environments. There was also clear support for new houses to be built with high environmental standards and many suggestions were made as to how this could be achieved.
The majority agreed with the Housing Design Objectives and overall, the main points which people felt should be considered with any future development were slate roofing, stone features and shape and height of the build.
The Steering Group is delighted to have received such a broad range of comments and ideas from the community and this has really helped provide clear direction on how we can conclude compiling the NDP.
Full details of all the questions asked and responses can also be found here:
Please stand by for our second round of questions over the coming weeks which will hopefully capture even more of your valuable thoughts and opinions.
Cllr Kim Wonnacott
For and on behalf of the St Stephen in Brannel Parish NDP Steering Group
18th January 2022