North Tawton Neighbourhood Plan 2016-2034

‘North Tawton, embracing the past, planning the future’

Following a successful Neighbourhood Plan Referendum on 6^th May 2021, West Devon Borough Council approved the making of the North Tawton Neighbourhood Plan on 25th May 2021.  It then became an official statutory document.  This means that, when consulted on all planning applications, North Tawton Town Council must consider how the Neighbourhood Plan policies relate to the application.  Its response to West Devon Borough Council must identify how the relevant policies relate, as appropriate, to each aspect of the planning applications.

West Devon Borough Council should also take into consideration the Plan’s policies when making their decisions on Planning Applications.  The Officer report should reflect this.

The Neighbourhood Plan addresses six Themes that reflect important aspects of life within the Parish – Conserving our Historic and Natural Environment; Community Life; Economy; Housing; Infrastructure; Energy and Environment. Within each theme there are Policies that have been set to meet the Objectives of each Theme.

These Policies must be considered when looking at each Planning Application.  Planning applicants, whether individual householders through to small and large developers, should be made aware of the Neighbourhood Plan Policies.  They should address the ones relevant to their applications.

Alongside the Plan, The Town Design Statement, Appendix (5.3.1.1) must also be consulted when considering planning applications. This is particularly relevant for applications within the town’s Conservation Area.

Monitoring and reviewing the Plan

There is currently no statutory requirement to monitor and review the impact of the Plan and its policies.  However it is good practice to periodically undertake a review of its effectiveness in the planning decision making process.

A full or partial review of the Plan may be triggered by changes in legislation or national, county or borough wide planning policies, or by significant planning issues being raised by the local community.

At the September 2021 Full Town council Meeting it was agreed that a Neighbourhood Plan Monitoring and Review Group should be set up – Terms of Reference for this group can be found below.

This group will be a Council Working Group, comprising of Councillors and members of the public, which will meet twice a year, reporting back to the Council. Notes of each meeting will be available on the Council website.

A brief history of how the North Tawton Neighbourhood Plan was developed

Application and consultation

In February 2013, North Tawton Town Council applied to West Devon Borough Council to nominate the land area of the Parish as a Neighbourhood Planning boundary. This was approved in June 2013 and the process of drawing up the Neighbourhood Plan began. A Neighbourhood Plan Development Group was formed consisting of North Tawton Town Councillors and members of the public, including representatives of local businesses. Over the period of developing the plan (2013 – 2018) membership of this group changed but always included a mixture of Town Councillors and members of the public.

Gaining the views and ideas from the residents of the Parish of North Tawton became central to the whole process of developing the Plan. This was done in a range of ways including a ‘Call for Sites’ process (2013-14); Neighbourhood Plan Questionnaire (2014); development of aims & objectives (2014-15); themes & policies (Dec 2016); designating local green space (March 2017); Regulation 14 consultation (Dec – Jan 2017-18). Further details of the consultation process can be found in the ‘Consultation Statement’ Appendix 5.1.2.

Following the conclusion of the Regulation 14 Consultation process the Neighbourhood Plan development group collated and analysed all the comments received.  The plan was then amended accordingly. This also included extensive discussions with WDBC who made a number of recommended amendments to the draft plan, most significantly the inclusion of allocated sites. The Regulation 14 responses and actions taken can be found in Appendix 5.1.4.

Regulation 15

A number of documents were prepared for submission to WDBC for the next stage of the process – Regulation 15. These included the latest revised version of the Plan, plus relevant maps and appendices; a Statement of Consultation; a Basic Conditions Statement which demonstrated that we had followed all the appropriate stages of the neighbourhood planning process; and a SEA & HRA screening report (an external assessment of the plan’s possible environmental impacts) produced by WDBC.

On receipt of these Submission Documents the Local Planning Authority (WDBC) undertook a period of public consultation with a wide range of stakeholders (people who live, work or carry on business in the Neighbourhood Plan area) as well as notifying all consultee bodies involved in this Public Consultation.

Official Examination

The final stage before the Referendum was the Official Examination, undertaken by a WDBC appointed person, agreed by the Development Group, who carried out an independent examination of the Neighbourhood Plan.

The Examiner considered whether the proposed Neighbourhood Plan met the basic conditions set out by law and that it:

• had appropriate regard to national policy
• contributed to the achievement of sustainable development
• was in general conformity with the strategic policies in the development plan for the local area
• was compatible with human rights requirements
• was compatible with EU obligations

The Examiner submitted his findings in September 2019, and following further amendments the final version was agreed by West Devon Borough Council in November 2019. North Tawton Town Council also voted in its full council meeting on November 5^th 2019 to accept the Examiner’s findings.

Final version and referendum

The final version of the Neighbourhood Plan was made available in March 2020 with the Referendum due to take place in May 2020, however as all local elections were cancelled because of Covid-19, unfortunately the Referendum could not go ahead.

The Referendum finally took place on 6^th May 2021.

 To read the North Tawton Neighbourhood Plan please click on the link below

www.northtawtonneighbourhoodplan.co.uk.

The Plan Appendices are available as PDF documents and can be downloaded from this page. There are also appendices to the Consultation Statement which are PDF documents and can be downloaded from this page.

There are also a limited number of hard copies available to borrow from the Office.

Monitoring & Review Group Terms of Reference

North Tawton Town Council – North Tawton Neighbourhood Plan Monitoring & Review Group

The North Tawton Neighbourhood Plan was approved and made following a Referendum in May 2021. The Plan must be consulted by North Tawton Town Council (NTTC) and West Devon Borough Council (WDBC) when considering planning applications. The impact of the Plan’s policies on planning outcomes will be monitored on a regular basis using a checklist and spreadsheet.

Although there is currently no statutory requirement to monitor and review the impact of the Plan and its policies, it would be good practice to periodically undertake a review of its effectiveness in the planning decision making process.

A full or partial review of the Plan may be triggered by changes in legislation or national, county or borough wide planning policies, or by significant planning issues being raised by the local community.

To ensure that the Plan is regularly monitored and reviewed it is proposed that a Neighbourhood Plan Monitoring and Review Group is established of which the terms of reference are listed below.

Terms of Reference
Composition
This is a Group working on behalf of NTTC and composed of at least three elected members plusa maximum of three members of the community (total six members). The Lead of the group is appointed by NTTC and he/she should have a good working knowledge of the NorthTawton Neighbourhood Plan and the evidence on which it was based. The Deputy Lead is also to be appointed by NTTC and should have a good working knowledge of the Neighbourhood Plan.

The members of the group will also be approved by NTTC following the recommendations of the Lead.  The composition of the membership of the group will be reviewed by NTTC after a period of 18 months.

Objectives
1. To ensure the consistent and comprehensive implementation of the North Tawton
Neighbourhood Plan.
2. To involve the community of North Tawton in achieving the delivery of the North
Tawton Neighbourhood Plan.
3. To recommend any amendments and/or modifications of the North Tawton
Neighbourhood Plan.

Tasks
North Tawton Neighbourhood Plan Group will carry out the following tasks:

1. To monitor the Neighbourhood Plan twice a year, and review the Plan and any modification required at least every 5 years following the date of its adoption;
2. To consider and recommend any amendments or modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan to NTTC, to consult with the community with regard to any proposed changes and for the Chair or Vice Chair to liaise with WDBC regarding
   matters arising in this respect;
3. To provide updates of the work of the Group to NTTC and to the community on the NTTC website

Meetings

North Tawton Neighbourhood Plan Group will meet twice a year. The first meeting will take place in November 2021, six months after the Plan was made.  Any additional meetings will be at the Chair’s discretion. Minutes of these meetings will be taken by the town clerk and published on the NTTC website.

September 2021

Monitoring & review Group Meeting Notes

NP Monitoring and review group notes December 2021

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The Tarka Trail, is 180 miles long, and follows in the footsteps of the character Tarka the Otter from Henry Williamson’s famous novel and passes through North Tawton.  Highlights of the trail include the footbridge over Bailey’s Ford which allows close up views of the river Taw, walking along the river bank on the Tarka Trail for over a mile.

Walking conditions vary from tarmac, country lanes, muddy footpaths and grassy fields. Appropriate footwear is essential for this walk due to muddy sections after rain.

The official website of the Tarka Trail Route has extensive information on how to plan a visit to walk this beautiful trail.