Call for sites progress
Due to the holiday period there has not been a meeting during August 2018 of the Kidmore End Parish NDP Steering Group. However, the sub committee for the Call for Sites have continued to work on this aspect of the Neighbourhood Development Plan and have provided the following update for August 2018:-
A meeting was held in the Parish on 1st August 2018 with the Aecom Planning Consultant who is providing support regarding the Call for Sites aspect of the NDP. The purpose of the meeting was to enable the consultant to better understand the parish and its complexities and also to see the various sites that had been put forward during the Kidmore End Parish Call for Sites and also the South Oxfordshire District Council HELAA/SHELAA Call for Sites. As per the notes of the Kidmore End Parish Steering Group Meeting held on 31st July 2018, the Planning Consultant raised a number of issues with SODC, including the housing target, which are pertinent to the Call for Sites process and as of the 1st August 2018, these had not been resolved.
At the meeting on the 1st August the Planning Consultant suggested, and it was agreed, that the Call for Sites process be put on hold for the time being and a Facilitation support package be requested from Locality to enable Aecom to officially resolve these issues with SODC on our behalf. The decision to halt the Call for Sites process at this time meant that, although the consultant had viewed various sites, a full assessment of sites and the subsequent report would not be completed until the Facilitation support package had been agreed with Locality and undertaken by Aecom. The Call for Sites process would then resume at an appropriate time.
The Facilitation package was agreed by Locality and an inception call to discuss the way forward was held with the Planning Consultant and the Call for Sites sub committee on 23rd August 2018. It was agreed, during this call, the key issues to be resolved with SODC and to move forward with arranging a meeting as soon as possible with SODC, the Call for Sites sub committee and the Aecom Planning Consultant all in attendance.
During August it was brought to our attention that additional sites were available for inclusion in Call for Sites register and, since the Call for SItes process had been put on hold on 1st August 2018, it was discussed whether the Call for Sites register should be kept open for a short period to enable any new sites to be added to the register. Advice on this matter has been sought from the Aecom Planning Consultant as to whether this would be in keeping with the guidelines and a response is expected early in September 2018.