PARISH COUNCIL NEWS FROM THE MARCH 2024 MEETING
NEW CITY PLAN – The new city plan will be significant for the rural communities, with the proposal of 1100 new houses expected for the western side of Olney. Sherington is expected to take 600 houses, North Crawley 400 houses and Emberton 80 houses around the periphery. The maps shown at the meeting in Olney by MKCC held in January, were not clear as to where the potential sites were. It is understood that out of the 600 sites put forward, MKCC has rejected 300 of these. Further information on the sites put forward would come at the end of the month.
Consultation will begin at the start of June with MKCC putting forward a proposal of the sites that meet the criteria. It was noted that twice as many sites had been put forward than were needed. Following consultation, MKCC will analyse the results and come back just after Christmas with Regulation 19 for consultation until the end of March 2025. Once agreed by MKCC, the plan will be sent to the Planning Inspector at which time a public enquiry will be held allowing anyone to stand up and give a view, including developers. Following the enquiry the Planning Inspector will make either one of the 3 following decisions; 1) the plan was sound and could be adopted, 2) the plan was not sound and MKCC needed to go back several stages or start again, 3) the plan was sound provided the recommended changes were made.
It was noted that developers concentrated heavily on the above stage and this is where there was potential for sites that had been ruled out, to come back in as was the case with the 5000 houses for MK East.
MKCC are inviting all residents to participate in the various ongoing consultations which will be used to justify the New City Plan, using their dedicated website “mknewcityplan.commonplace.is” These New City Plan consultations are an ongoing item on the agenda for our monthly EPC meetings and we would welcome your feedback to help us reply to these.
LITTER ON A509 – The parish council has requested a litter pick on both sides of the A509 from the Newport Pagnell old Land Rover garage site, up Chicheley Hill and past the Emberton boundary.
ALLOTMENTS – In March 2007, the then Milton Keynes Council, transferred ownership of allotments to the respective parishes. Unfortunately, at that time there were a handful of parishes where this did not take place, Emberton being one of them. The parish council have now instructed a solicitor to act on our behalf to transfer ownership of the allotments in Westpits from MKCC to Emberton Parish Council.
SPEEDWATCH – The Emberton Speedwatch group are seeking volunteers. If you feel you may be able to help, please contact the clerk. The commitment would amount to 4 hours per month between Spring and Autumn.
HANGING BASKETS – Many of you will agree that the hanging baskets on the street columns around the clock make a welcoming addition to the village. With a very tight budget for 2024/2025, the parish council would like to explore the opportunity of businesses or residents sponsoring a basket. If you are interested, please contact the clerk.
OPEN GARDENS – Following on from the success of other villages in hosting Open Gardens, the parish council would like to explore the same opportunity for Emberton. If you are interested in either hosting an Open Garden or willing to help with setting up a scheme, please contact the clerk.