Back in 2019 a few local Parish Councillors and concerned local residents worked together to create the Arborfield and Barkham Neighbourhood Plan. I remember how important we felt “Sustainability” was, and how it was described in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). as a “golden thread” running through the entire planning system. Another key term I recall from this time was "localism".
Localism is a range of political philosophies which prioritize the local. Generally, localism supports local production and consumption of goods, local control of government, and promotion of local history, local culture and local identity.
It is important to note that producing a neighbourhood development plan is optional. They enable the community to influence how their local area should develop and must be in general conformity with local strategic policies. Giving communities greater control over planning policy in this way is intended to encourage positive planning for sustainable development.
NPPF Section 2: Achieving sustainable development.
The purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of homes, commercial development, and supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner. At a very high level, the objective of sustainable development can be summarised as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
The three main objectives of the NPPF are set out below.
Achieving sustainable development means that the planning system has three overarching objectives, which are interdependent and need to be pursued in mutually supportive ways (so that opportunities can be taken to secure net gains across each of the different objectives):
a) an economic objective – to help build a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right types is available in the right places and at the right time to support growth, innovation and improved productivity; and by identifying and coordinating the provision of infrastructure;
b) a social objective – to support strong, vibrant and healthy communities, by ensuring that a sufficient number and range of homes can be provided to meet the needs of present and future generations; and by fostering well-designed, beautiful and safe places, with accessible services and open spaces that reflect current and future needs and support communities’ health, social and cultural well-being; and
c) an environmental objective – to protect and enhance our natural, built and historic environment; including making effective use of land, improving biodiversity, using natural resources prudently, minimising waste and pollution, and mitigating and adapting to climate change, including moving to a low carbon economy.
Taking just the last of those objectives, moving to a low carbon economy, can the LPU be said to be doing the very best it can? The Loddon Valley Garden Village (LVGV) has a few “low carbon” design principles, such as;
LVGV: Key opportunities/challenges: • To improve opportunities for active travel, reducing car and vehicle dependency for local and unnecessary journeys. • To ensure new buildings meet the highest fabric and energy efficient standards, so reducing impacts on climate change from development and acting to reduce energy demand and fuel bills. • To increase resilience of communities and the environment to the effects of climate change. • To increase the amount of energy generated locally from low carbon and renewable resources.
But an alternative proposal considered as part of the LPU was Ashridge: The proposal is for “a climate positive development that will not require carbon offsetting”. What this means is that, over the course of any given year, whilst there will be times when the development imports electricity/power from the national grid, it will export more than it imports. Furthermore, the proposal is for a climate positive development that minimises the need to import from the grid, via a major focus on storing heat and power. Specifically, the proposal is to maximise the potential for power generated from onsite solar PV to feed the development directly (and therefore minimise the need to draw power from the grid) by utilising large scale battery storage, with batteries located at each of the six Energy, Mobility and Community (EMC) hubs. • The proposal is also for a heat network at the district centre, combined with thermal storage. With regards to thermal storage, as with battery storage, the idea is to store heat during times of surplus and release it when needed. In doing so, the amount of electricity needed to generate heat is minimised.
From the above it can be seen that of the two proposals Ashridge goes much further than the Loddon Garden Village in offsetting carbon through energy production on site. I think working towards delivering net zero development should be key, and I cannot understand why the LVGV does so little in this regard. Where is the commitment to onsite PV, or ground sourced heat pumps, or community heat networks, or battery storage? Most of the houses in the surrounding area to this 3,930 home proposed development are heating on oil. Where is the community engagement and environmental responsibility to help us change to less polluting forms of energy?
Conclusion.
Are you still reading this, or did your eyes glaze over a paragraph or two back and you just skipped to the conclusion? Yes, at almost 1,500 pages, with many supporting documents, charts, maps and at times confusing, technical language, the LPU is not easy to get to grips with. Some might cynically suggest this is deliberate policy, however, if we are to make the new housing that the country needs then we are going to have to get involved. What I would suggest we are trying to achieve through this involvement is the best possible outcome for our community, both in the spirit of the Neighbourhood Plan, and in the letter of the LPU.
How can we help you? Save Our Loddon Valley at Hall Farm (SOLVE Hall Farm) are running a public meeting on Saturday 12th October at Arborfield Village Hall, Eversley Road, Arborfield Cross, RG2 9PQ, from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm. The meeting will be very much a “hands on” tutorial on how to respond appropriately to the LPU to ensure your voice is heard. By that time, I, and others, will have had a bit more time to generate some more “worked examples” to show how it can be done. It is NOT about the reams of words as above, but about a carefully referenced sentence or two for the Public Inspector(s). Unlike us laypeople, the inspectors already know about the NPPF, Local Development Plans and Neighbourhood Plans!
Please note! The meeting on the 12th October will be limited to no more than 100 people. As well as help with responding to the LPU we will have maps that are legible and real people you can talk to about any concerns you may have. A link to book your place at this event is below.
Paul Stevens
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