Neighbourhood Planning Regulations

Source: Dept Communities and Local Govt.

In the consultation document on Neighbourhood Planning Regulations, published in October 2011 by the Department of Communities and Local Government, a number of recommendations are made about how Community Right to Build groups should be constituted:

13. For the purposes of paragraph 3(1)(b) of Schedule 4C (community right to build orders) to the 1990 Act, the following additional conditions are prescribed—
(a) individuals who live or work in the particular area must have the opportunity to become members of the community organisation (whether or not others can also become members);
(b) the constitution of the community organisation must provide that— 
(i) individuals who live in the particular area control at least 51% of its voting rights;
(ii) one of its objectives is to provide a benefit for the local community;
(iii) any assets of the community organisation cannot be sold or developed except in a manner which the trust’s members consider benefits the local community;
(iv) any profits from its activities will be used to benefit the local community (otherwise than by being paid directly to members);
(v) in the event of the winding up of the community organisation or in any other circumstances where the community organisation ceases to exist, its assets must be transferred to another body corporate which has similar objectives; and
(vi) the organisation has at least 5 members, who are not related to each other, who live in the particular area.


The Beacon Project Charlbury currently meets all of these proposed stipulations for a CRTB group, and will be discussing ways of opening the membership of the project when a site is identified and the extent of potential membership is thereby known.

Community Right to Build

Source: Dept of Communities and Local Govt.

The Coalition Government's Localism Bill, which gained Royal Assent on November 15 2011 potentially introduces important new rights and powers to allow local communities to shape new development in their area. There are two strands to the Bill in this regard: Neighbourhood Development Plans would be taken forward by either town or parish councils to decide what development they would like to see in their area, which would then be put to a referendum of the local population. The second strand is the Community Right to Build initiative, which would enable community organisations to bring forward smaller scale development proposals that are sustainable and bring benefits to their communities. The Bill states that it envisages Community Right to Build in this way:

"As part of neighbourhood planning, the Bill gives groups of local people the power to deliver the development that their local community want. They may wish to build new homes, businesses, shops, playgrounds or meeting halls. A community organisation, formed by members of the local community, will be able to bring forward development proposals which, providing they meet minimum criteria and can demonstrate local support through a referendum, will be able to go ahead without requiring a separate traditional planning application. The benefits of the development, such as new affordable housing or profits made from letting the homes, will stay within the community, and be managed for the benefit of the community. There will be support for communities wishing to bring forward development under the community right to build, providing information, advice and signposting to relevant expertise."


This initiative sits within the wider context of a proposed major shift in planning in the UK to meet the housing crisis and to drive economic growth. The proposed – and controversial – National Planning Policy Framework for instance is based on  three premises: planning for prosperity, planning for people, and planning for places (environmental role). The controversial element is the strong presumption in favour of 'sustainable development', which is as yet to be defined. Within this new framework Local Authorities should:

• Prepare local plans to meet locally assessed development needs
• Approve development proposals that accord with statutory plans without delay
• Grant permission where the plan is absent, silent, indeterminate or where relevant policies are out of date

In other words, where a proposal is consistent with an adopted neighbourhood plan it should be approved unless there is an overriding national interest reason not to, or the proposal impinges upon a site designated for nature conservation, for example under the EU Habitats Directive etc. There is an emphasis upon a 'plan-led' approach in contrast the present system of 'development control'. The sustainable component emphasises the natural and historic environment, full use of public transport, walking and cycling; strategies for health and well-being; promotion of renewable energy etc.


The Beacon Project Charlbury sees this as a potentially important step towards allowing sustainable, environmentally-friendly development in Charlbury which will bring benefits to the community in the form of more affordable, and better quality, housing, as well as potential employment.

Charlbury Quarry Site

Charlbury Quarry, Oxfordshire. Source: Google Maps

In October 2011 Beacon Project Charlbury approached the owner of the former Charlbury Quarry site off the Ditchley Road to discuss the possibility of the site as a location for the Project. The proposal suggested that a small sustainable eco development with affordable housing for the community could be located to the southwest of the site, with a management plan developed for the SSSI (site of special scientific interest for geology) area of the site, in conjunction with local and scientific groups. This would have allowed for community access and enjoyment of the whole of the site as well as an ongoing management plan for biodiversity and geological education.

In their reply to the proposal in November 2011 the owner of the site argued that the Project's proposals did not sufficiently maximise the economic potential of the site from his perspective, and that in the meantime the site would remain closed to public access, due to stringent insurance conditions, but would also be a haven for wildlife.

McCloud's Swindon Triangle

Source: Hab Oakus

Kevin McCloud's eco housing development in Swindon - called The Triangle - is making national press now it is completed. The development uses the concept of terraced living which is very much part of Swindon's industrial heritage, but arranged around a communal open space to create a sense of community. There are areas for horticulture and thought has even been given to where your store a bike in a terraced house without wheeling it through the hallway - you design a rack for it in the porch! Half of the development is managed by a local housing association, and the rest is rented or rent-to-buy, ensuring a really diverse community and yet one that should come together around shared facilities.


Read the Observer article

More affordable housing in Oxfordshire

A BBC Oxford news article today reports that an industry expert has argued for more affordable housing in Oxfordshire. Stewart Lilley, former president of the National Association of Estate Agents, said Oxfordshire district councils were averse to granting planning permission, and that many parish councillors were also unsupportive of affordable housing developments. 'It's down to the local authority,' he argued, 'in not allowing enough planning permission through the planning system.'


Read the article here

Co-housing feature in The Guardian

The profile of co-housing has been raised by a feature in the money section of the Saturday Guardian:

Read article

The group featured consists of eight people of varying ages and backgrounds who have bought a ten bedroom former children's home in east London, with planning permission for change of use. The group paid £620,000 for the property in Walthamstow, with the purchase financed by loans from Co-operative & Community Finance, the Co-operative Loan Fund as well as other sources. But the bulk of the money came in the form of a 75% mortgage from the Yorkshire-based Ecology building society.

The Drive housing co-op (thedrive.coop) will own the property as a registered not-for-profit body, but will provide accommodation on a rental basis to its members. Each member will have a single £1 share in The Drive, and will not gain or lose financially from changes in the value of the property.

Gifford Trust site

The Gifford Trust have approached the Beacon Project in relation to the potential for co-housing on their development site adjacent to the Spendlove Centre in Charlbury. The Project welcomes this development as a real step forward in the provision of co-housing or affordable housing in Charlbury, and have looked in detail at the site to see if it meets the needs of the Project's current membership. Detailed drawings were prepared and presented to the Project members for discussion (see above). After extensive discussion the Project response to the Gifford Trust was that the site did not quite meet the needs of the Project in terms of number and range of potential housing units, space for shared garden, lack of potential for self-building, lack of space for dedicated live/work studio, or space for energy generation.