Parish Plan and Neighbourhood Plan
Possible Conservation area designation for Clive (updated 24.07.2024)
Following discussion triggered by recent planning applications, the Parish Council has been looking into Conservation Areas and whether such a designation may be appropriate and/or desirable in Clive parish.
It is important to note that, like Neighbourhood Plans, Conservation Area designations DO NOT prevent development from happening, and currently only 11 out of the 128 designated Conservation Areas in Shropshire have Article 4 directions attached to them. Article 4 directions are where certain permitted rights developments are withdrawn, and planning permission is required to make changes to specific elements of the external appearance of buildings, e.g. windows, doors, frontages, rooves, etc.
As part of our investigations, Shropshire Council has kindly shared some historic info from a consultation in the 1970s which asked residents’ views on whether they wished Clive to be designated as a Conservation Area. We understand that the proposed Conservation Area designation was not supported by the Parish Council at the time due to the level of objections to the potential designation.
For information only, we are able to share the proposal map and a consultation booklet from the 1976 consultation (see scanned PDF below).
We must be very clear that these are historic documents, and the circumstances have significantly changed regarding planning policies, approach, local government funding and the locality itself in terms of the level of development that has taken place since the 1976 consultation.
How to influence planning and conservation in Clive: 1976 vs 2024
In 1976, residents were asked to post their written views about the potential Conservation Area designation to Shropshire Council. How can you influence planning and building conservation in 2024? As before, it is still a Shropshire Council decision whether or not to designate a Conservation Area, so a Conservation Area appraisal would be needed as well as consultation with the community to make the case that a designation would be justified in Clive parish. This kind of work is often undertaken as part of a Neighbourhood Plan, so if you would like to see Clive have greater influence over planning matters affecting the parish, and specifically on conservation and heritage matters, then please get in touch with Clive Parish Council, and consider joining the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group. Conversely, if you do not think a Conservation Area designation is right for Clive, please do share your views with us.
Clive Community-Led Plans
What is a Parish Plan?
A Parish Plan is a type of Community-Led Plan document setting out how the community's vision for their local area for the next few years. It can cover a range of issues - from provision of youth activities, to littering, to road safety, to the kind of housing that would be preferred in the parish. It will include a vision for the future, an expression of the residents' views and an action plan detailing how these developments can be achieved. It will outline how the parishioners, the Parish Council, Government (at all levels) and local service providers can act to deliver the residents' wishes.
Who creates a Parish Plan?
As the name suggests, a Community-Led Plan must be created by local residents. Assistance will be given by Parish Councillors and Shropshire Council staff (especially with the financial and practical side, e.g. printing and distribution), but the Steering Group who put together the local consultation, create the Plan, and review it must be independent.
Reviewing the Parish Plan
Clive has an excellent record in gleaning public opinion and gaining residents' input. We have a Parish Plan that was created by willing volunteers and with the cooperation of the vast majority of Clive residents. Our last Parish plan review was fully completed in 2014 and you can read the 2014 Parish Plan review document here. But in order to be taken seriously by the Planning Authority (Shropshire Council), a Parish Plan must be up to date. We need to review and refresh Clive's Parish Plan periodically, so that the views of the residents will be listened to.
Where are we up to with Clive's Parish Plan review?
Questionnaires were sent to all households in 2018 to check that the information we have is still relevant to Clive residents today, and work started on analysing the data to assess what is important to the community. Unfortunately, the parish council relies on volunteers to analyse the data from the questionnaires and this has somewhat stalled, but this will be picked up again in parish council meetings so that we can progress this as soon as possible.
Neighbourhood Plans
What's the difference between and Parish Plan and a Neighbourhood Plan?
While there are similarities, a Neighbourhood Plan is a much more thorough (and expensive) process; the Neighbourhood Plan includes actual policies, is independently examined, and eventually goes to a local referendum for the community to vote on whether or not to adopt it. As such, a Neighbourhood Plan has more legal weight than a Parish Plan; once it has been adopted by the community, the local Planning Authority must give it consideration when granting or refusing planning applications in the Neighbourhood Plan area. This does not mean that Parish Plans have no value though, as the data from a Parish Plan and subsequent reviews can be used to help build up evidence for the Neighbourhood Plan. Neighbourhood Plans can take a couple of years and cost £1000s of to 'make', however there is funding available to help local areas with consultant fees, community engagement costs, etc.
Benefits of a Neighbourhood Plan
Aside from giving the community much more of a say in the future of development in Clive, another important benefit of having a Neighbourhood Plan is that parishes with a Neighbourhood Plan will receive a larger portion (25%) of Community Infrastructure Levy (a fee that developers pay to help mitigate the effects of additional development in an area) than those parishes who do not have one (only 15%). This additional CIL funding can be used to fund important infrastructure projects in the parish area.
Update on Clive Neighbourhood Plan
Clive Parish Council has now formally started the process of preparing a Neighbourhood Plan, by submitting the proposed neighbourhood plan area designation to Shropshire Council. There is a 4-week consultation period (from 10th July to 7th August 2020) to allow members of the public to comment on the proposed area designation for the Clive Neighbourhood Plan. The application documents will be publicly available on Shropshire Council's website for all to see. Normally these documents would also be publicly displayed at Shirehall, but due to coronavirus restrictions the building is closed. Where possible the application documents will be displayed on notice boards around the Parish. Representations on whether the civil parish of Clive is an appropriate neighbourhood area may be made to Shropshire Council by emailing Planning Policy no later than 5pm on Friday 7 of August 2020.
View the application for Clive Neighbourhood Plan area designation
View the proposed Neighbourhood Plan area designation boundary map
View the Clive Neighbourhood Plan area designation consultation notice.
How you can help
We strongly encourage all residents to get involved with this first step of the process, and hopefully supporting the proposed area designation. Without community backing, our neighbourhood plan won't get off the ground, let alone pass a local referendum, so we will need all kinds of volunteers to help during this process. There is no obligation to attend every single steering group meeting, you can do as much or as little as you want, and drop in and out of the process as needed - we understand everyone has busy lives! If you are interested in being involved in any way, no matter how small, we would be extremely grateful for any help. Please email Cllr Peter Walters or the parish clerk for more information.