Neighbourhood Plan

EMBERTON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

Following a 4 week consultation period between 22 June and 20 July 2016, Milton Keynes Council has designated the Emberton Neighbourhood Area on 21 July 2016.

21st September 2020

Emberton Neighbourhood Plan Article - Update

You might be wondering what is happening about the neighbourhood plan. The parish council was obliged to stop the formal consultation earlier this year, due to Covid 19 restrictions. Since then, the newly re-formed neighbourhood plan steering committee has been working on behalf of the parish council to review all feedback received from the parish, with a view to re-starting the formal consultation, in a form which reflects the views of the majority, as soon as Milton Keynes Council gives the green light.

The steering committee is aware that the government’s white paper on planning reforms seeks to allocate all land into one of three categories: growth, renewal or protection. If the suggested reforms become law, these categories are likely to be imposed at local plan level, by Milton Keynes Council, after public consultation. In this case, our neighbourhood plan could well shift its focus: instead of designating land uses in particular locations (which would most likely be decided by Milton Keynes Council at local plan level instead), the neighbourhood plan would potentially concentrate more on matters of detail such as local design standards. While the white paper is out for consultation, with much of its detail still to be worked out, we can only speculate on its impact.

At present though, under the current planning system, getting a neighbourhood plan in place remains our best bet for shaping our community’s future.

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Emberton Neighbourhood Plan – WHY?

UK Government Housing Policy – UK Government recognises that the housing market is broken with many young people and families no longer able to get on the housing ladder

Therefore, construction of new housing needs to be accelerated and expanded. Milton Keynes is identified as an area for expansion with a requirement for an additional 86,000 houses over the next 30 years (2700 new homes per year).

Milton Keynes Council Implementation – MKC is seeking to meet this target through its 2050 regeneration strategy which includes development in the Rural North East Area.

Emberton Housing needs Assessment - The housing needs assessment conducted in 2019 identified an Emberton need for an additional 41 house by 2030. Following consultation

with residents and Milton Keynes Council, the housing needs assessment was refreshed

in July 2020 identifiying an Emberton need for an additional 10 houses by 2030.

How to ensure Emberton has Low Cost Housing for young Families - Currently Emberton has no requirement for Affordable/low cost housing which means the village has difficulty in attracting young families to live here and has impacted facilities like the School and Playing field use.

Neighbourhood Plan – The democratic implementation of a neighbourhood plan by the residents of Emberton parish provides a method to ensure that new developments meet the wishes of the village and addresses wider issues like affordable housing. Without a village plan it will be very difficult for residents and the parish council to resist future developments as MKC move to meet their housing targets.

Residents will be receiving a copy of the plan and a questionnaire week ending 15th March.