Lanchester Neighbourhood Plan
View the document HERE
View – Appendix 1 HERE
View – Appendix 2 HERE
View – Appendix 3 HERE
Paper copies are available by contacting the Clerk on 01207 520146 / 529415
Lanchester Neighbourhood Plan
Approved by Durham County Council 23 June 2021
Lanchester Neighbourhood Plan
Referendum 6 May 2021
89% voted YES to the plan
Durham County Council Decision Statement (Regulation 18(2)) can be viewed HERE
Lanchester Neighbourhood Plan
Submission Consultation – 6 January – 17 February 2020
The Lanchester Neighbourhood Plan has now reached the submission draft stage, the final consultation before it undergoes an examination by an independent examiner. If approved by the examiner, a referendum will then be held in the area to decide if it should be adopted. This submission consultation is run by Durham County Council who will publicise the Plan and its supporting documents.
This Submission draft consultation will run from 6 January 2020 to 17 February 2020.
View the Submission draft document HERE
View the strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulation Assessment Screening HERE
View the Consultation Statement HERE
View the Basic Conditions Statement HERE
Paper copies of the Neighbourhood Plan will be available to view at:
County Hall in Durham City
Lynwood House, Durham Road, Lanchester (by appointment only 01207 520146)
Feedback should be e-mailed to the County Council at [email protected] calling 03000 260000 or in writing to: Spatial Policy, Room 4/24, County Hall, DH1 5UQ
Please note the closing date for comments is 17 February 2020.
Lanchester Neighbourhood Plan
Pre-Submission Consultation – 24 June – 9 August 2019
View the Pre-Submission document HERE
View the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulation Assessment Screening HERE
The consultation period will take place between 24 June and 9 August 2019. During this period a summary of the document will be distributed to households and businesses. A hard copy of the Pre-Submission document will be available to view at:
Lanchester Library
Lanchester Community Centre
Lanchester Medical Centre
Lynwood House (by appointment only 01207 520146)
In addition a display about the Neighbourhood Plan will be at Lanchester Community Centre between 1 – 20 July. Members of the working group will be in attendance at the Community Centre at the following times:
Thursday 11 July 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Tuesday 16 July 2.00pm – 4.30pm
Saturday 20 July 10.30am – 1.00pm
Feedback in writing stating name/organisation will be welcomed. Feedback can be:
Dropped into the feedback boxes at the Library, Community Centre, Lanchester News and Lanchester Medical Centre.
E-mailed to [email protected]
Posted to: Lanchester Parish Council, Lynwood House, Durham Road, Lanchester, Co Durham, DH7 0LS
Lanchester Parish Council is co-ordinating the preparation of a Neighbourhood Plan which will be a community-led framework for guiding future development, regeneration and conservation over future years. The plan will set out the views of the local community in terms of planning issues such as: how much and what type of new housing may be required, and whether there is a need for new shops, offices, workshops and leisure facilities etc. It can also look at things like green open spaces, play facilities, surgeries, schools and parking – as well as measures to address the heritage assets in the Parish.
A Neighbourhood Plan is a document which will guide development, regeneration and conservation within our Parish over future years. The Neighbourhood Plan will set out the views of our local community in terms of planning issues and will contain a number of planning policies for the Parish. Once adopted Durham County Council will have to consult the Neighbourhood Plan when making planning decisions in our Parish.
A working group has been established to progress the Neighbourhood Plan. The working group includes; Parish Councillors, Lanchester Partnership, Campaign to Protect Rural Lanchester, Durham County Council and members of the community.
The Parish boundary was designated as the geographical area for the Neighbourhood Plan. The area can be viewed HERE.
During January 2015 a questionnaire was distributed in the community. This questionnaire asked some general questions about your likes, dislikes, ideas and concerns about living or working in the Parish. This early community engagement aimed to identify key themes and issues that could be further investigated to develop a Neighbourhood Plan. Completed questionnaires were received which represented views from 450 members of the community. The questionnaire can be viewed HERE.
The results of the questionnaires have been analysed and a display of the results has been compiled. The analysis can be viewed HERE.
This information was displayed in a number of community venues during June 2015. In addition two feedback sessions were organised which representatives from the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group attended.
Members of the Parish Council working group on the Neighbourhood plan were pleased that many residents took the opportunity to view the displays of information gathered in their first questionnaire on current Parish issues and concerns.
Following on from the results of the first questionnaire the group developed a more detailed survey which was sent to all households and businesses and was available on line too. A Neighbourhood Plan cannot provide a solution to every problem, but the next survey focused on what a neighbourhood plan can do in four key ways:
PROTECTING – the things which people cherish within the area
IMPROVING –the things within the area which detract from its appeal
PROVIDING – for development and use of land which will best meet the needs and aspirations of the community
MANAGING – by setting out those aspects of new development which need to be carefully managed.
This focus is because a neighbourhood plan is concerned with matters which fall under the town and country planning system. The plan cannot deal with non-planning matters. Many of the issues raised in our first consultation fall outside of this strict definition. These concerns will not be ignored but may well be recorded as supplementary issues to be addressed by negotiation with public bodies or by developing community projects. So issues like parking, traffic management, and maintenance of footpaths and so on are most likely to fall in this category. The protection of open spaces, location and volume of new housing, business expansion and so on are capable of direct planning guidance and will fall into the first category.
The second topic based questionnaire was distributed in the community to all dwellings and businesses during February 2016. The questionnaire asked for feedback on a draft vision and objectives under 7 key topic areas and some focussed questions were asked under each topic area. Respondents were able to complete the questionnaire on paper or electronically and 307 completed questionnaires were received.
The questionnaire can be viewed HERE.
Please complete the Neighbourhood Plan questionnaire here. (survey now closed)
Lanchester Parish Boundary
Settlement Boundary of Lanchester
The results of the questionnaire have been analysed and can be viewed HERE.
Following on from the community consultations in 2015 and 2016 it was necessary to draw together all the evidence, facts and public opinion to begin the process of considering policy options for the plan.
Using consultants and through work from group members topic papers and review papers have been drawn up for:
- Housing
- Historic Environment
- Green Spaces & the Rural Environment
- Transport & Travel
- Business & Employment
The next stage was to commence policy development.
In support of the Neighbourhood Plan four important documents have been completed, these being the Lanchester Conservation Area Appraisal, the Lanchester Community Heritage Audit, the Lanchester Parish Landscape of High Value Report and the Lanchester Design Statement. These three documents will provide support and evidence for the Neighbourhood Plan.
Lanchester Conservation Area Appraisal
Durham County Council in partnership with Lanchester Parish Council carried out an in depth survey of the Lanchester Conservation Area. the production of a Conservation Area Appraisal was considered important to support and provide evidence for policies for the Neighbourhood Plan as well as sitting as a document in its own right. A group of volunteers worked with the County Council and undertook a number of site visits in October 2015 to review the conservation area and article IV area. The site visits and surveys helped to identify what makes Lanchester special. The Character Appraisal was completed in early 2016 and formally adopted by the County Council in May 2016.
The Lanchester Conservation Area Appraisal can be viewed HERE.
Lanchester Community Heritage Audit
The Lanchester Community Heritage Audit was commissioned by Lanchester Parish Council. Heritage is important to the community of Lanchester. This was highlighted in the work undertaken on the Neighbourhood Plan. The production of a Heritage Audit was considered important to support and provide evidence for policies for the Neighbourhood Plan as well as sitting as a document in its own right. The Lanchester Heritage Audit was carried out by a group of volunteers from the local community with support from the North of England Civic Trust (NECT). 60 local residents attended a mapping session in January 2016 and over 200 Heritage Assets were identified. Assets identified included significant buildings, archaeological sites, industrial remains, key views and evidence of military activity over the years. Following review, 170 assets were confirmed. A group of 20 volunteers were trained in field recording, basic assessment of condition, principles of heritage conservation and understanding the concept of significance. The 20 volunteers worked over a 6 month period to record, describe and evaluate all assets. The Lanchester Community Heritage Audit was completed in December 2016 and was published and launched in March 2017. The result of the work has been the production of:
- Lanchester Community Heritage Audit Report. View HERE
- Gazetteer of Heritage Assets Photo Book. View HERE
- Gazetteer of Heritage Assets. View HERE
Lanchester Parish Landscape of High Value Report
The community worked with the County Council to explore the issue of landscape value in the Neighbourhood Plan area; to review the evidence base on factors contributing to landscape value and consider whether this would support the identification of a local landscape designation.
The Lanchester Parish Landscape of High Value Report can be viewed HERE.
Lanchester Design Statement can be viewed HERE
A sample of publicity can be viewed HERE.
If you would like further information about the Lanchester Neighbourhood Plan please contact the Parish Council on 01207 520146