If you weren't able to make it into the Memorial Hall on Wednesday Night....

South Bucks and Chiltern District Councils are preparing to publish their Emerging Local Plan.  The Local Plan will then be submitted for formal scrutiny by an independent Inspector at a future public inquiry.
 
Lobbying councillors is now irrelevant and the campaign is now dependant on what legal evidence and planning issues the community can submit to an Inspector. 
 
The Local Plan still includes:

• removal of all the land at Lye Green from Green Belt status
• (initial) plans for 500 homes, plus a community hub
•  5,000 sq ft shop
• 15 gypsy traveller pitches

All this will affect the town of Chesham.  

The Council has also only recently announced removal of twelve villages from Green Belt including Botley & Ley Hill.   This is disappointing, but our campaign is far from over!  

PLEASE COME TO THIS MEETING AND TELL OTHERS WHO MAY BE INTERESTED TO FIND OUT;

• WHAT BNG ARE DOING TO PROTECT OUR LOCAL GREEN BELT & THE TOWN
• HOW TO MAKE YOUR COMMENTS TO THE INSPECTOR AND WHY YOU SHOULD 
• WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

The community will shortly have just 6 weeks in which to make final comments on these unsustainable proposals once the Draft Plan is published.   This is your last chance to persuade the Council of their folly before we get into the formal consultation/Public Planning Inquiry process. 

FUNDS
We also need to raise more money as we have now retained expert consultants to advise and comment on issues of Landscape Quality, Green Belt, Sustainability, Traffic & Air Quality. In addition, we have retained a barrister from Landmark Chambers to represent us at the future Planning Inquiry Examination in Public.  

Please make any donations to BNG via the methods on our website.
please visit:  www.brownnotgreen.com/fundraising

​LEAFLET VOLUNTEERS
Our campaign would be nothing without our ever-willing cohort of leaflet volunteers.  This is a small band of very dedicated individuals who have worked tirelessly distributing leaflets around the Chesham neighbourhoods.  We are always looking for extra volunteers who wish to play a role whilst getting fitter and healthier at the same time!  We are particularly keen to hear from volunteers in the Eksdale Avenue and White Hill areas of Chesham.   Can you help?  Contact us via the website if you can.

SOCIAL MEDIA VOLUNTEER REQUIRED
We urgently require an individual who can pick up social media responsibility for the Brown Not Green Campaign.  Although we have our webmaster and email communication roles covered, a lack of time and expertise mean we are not maximising our communications over social media.  We need someone who would be prepared to take on full responsibility for feeding our social media outlets to get our message out to as many people as possible.  Might ideally suit a graduate who wishes to add another skill set to their CV.  All applications considered.  Please contact us via the website if you can help in this area.

Thanks again for your continued support.

​The BNG Team.

Chiltern District Council are meeting this Wednesday, May 15th to discuss and approve the Publication Version of the Chiltern and South Bucks Local Plan.

This is despite the fact there being no further evidence work that BNG had been promised by the Planning Department around the area of:
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• Sustainability
• Traffic generation
• "Exceptional Circumstances" as required by the National Planning Policy Framework.
  
  

​From our understanding the District Councillors have not been made aware of any further evidence around these areas.  If they have, they are keeping it quiet.   BNG cannot understand how they will be able to approve publication of a Local Plan that removes the fields to the North-East of Chesham, known as Lye Green, without first seeing this crucial evidence.  If there is evidence that is being held back, BNG feel it would be a cynical ploy for the Council to dump it all on the Evidence Base at the last minute to thwart our efforts to properly scrutinise it before the end of the 6-week Consultation Period.

Sadly, our efforts to communicate with all our District Councillors have been met with a stony wall of silence, something we as a campaign group will be considering when recommending which Councillors to vote for in the upcoming Unitary Council elections,   The Councillors who have been genuinely helpful to our cause are in the absolute minority.  There has been a shameful lack of acknowledgement to our efforts to communicate with them from our elected Councillors and this will not be overlooked next time their names appear on the ballot paper.

For this reason it is essential we have as many supporters as possible attend this meeting that is open to the public at the:
Council Chamber, King George V House, King George V Road, Amersham
The meeting starts at 6.30pm, on Wednesday May 15th.
Full details click here

As well as attending the meeting, we also now need everyone to write to their local District Councillor.  Letters are better, emails are OK, both is best.  A template letter and instructions can be found by clicking here.  We, at BNG, cannot stress enough to our supporters that we have as many people as possible at that meeting and also writing letters and emails to their Councillors.  Please spread the word and let's make some noise.

Further Action To Take

If you live on land bordering the Greenbelt under threat or are a habitual user of the fields and woodland for recreational purposes like walking. etc. please also see our pages:

• Asset of Community Value
• Gate Owners' Prescriptive Rights
• Public Rights of Way

​You can still legally play a key role in protecting our Greenbelt just from your everyday activities.  Again, this requires urgent action so please click the links above.

Thanks again to everyone in our continuing support.   We are getting to the "business end of the season" in this fight to protect our Greenbelt.  If everyone does a little bit, we will be far more powerful than a few doing a lot.

​The BNG Team

We urgently need written responses from local residents by the end of the next week (by Friday 26th April) as we go through the process of registering the fields around Lye Green as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).

The urgency is as a result of the revised Timetable for the Emerging Local Plan about to be formally adopted on 29th April by the Council.  We need eight weeks to get our ACV registered/considered before the end of any Plan consultation period and ideally before its publication. 

To support the ACV we urgently need as much evidence from the community as possible.  A member of the BNG Team has drafted his own Statutory Declaration and about 60 photographs but the support of others in the community is vital to our success.

The test we must pass to get the Local Authority to list the land as an ACV is that:
The land “…. furthers the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community, and it is realistic to think it will continue to do so in the next five years.”  

We propose to argue that it does this due to the widespread and habitual use of the land for decades for informal outdoor recreation including;
“hiking/rambling, dog walking, bird watching, jogging, and general outdoor exercise but that use has also included observing nature and local wildlife with family and children, kite flying, practicing for Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and socialising with like-minded people from the immediate neighbourhood”. 

We will be claiming these uses have taken place not just on the public footpaths but also on the many other well-trodden tracks around most of the boundaries and through the woods. Most of these can be seen from space using Google Earth!  

Ideally, those who have lived in the area for more than 20 years would provide the most persuasive evidence because twenty years' use grants “rights of prescription” to that user.  NB:  This is especially relevant to any local person who has installed a rear gate on their property that affords them direct access to the land that the landowner has never complained about. We have counted about eighteen such gates around the field! 

However, we also need anyone who can attest to the unrestrained use of the land by themselves or the public regardless of how long they have lived here or whether their house borders the site or not.

Our Planning Barrister has advised that statements and letters from any member of the community can also describe other people’s use, e.g.:
“from my kitchen window/garden I regularly see families playing with kites on the field, people walking their dogs and I have seen numerous camping / DoE expeditions over the years… I would estimate that I see dog walking across the field every day, whereas children tend to be in the warmer months and particularly at the weekends….  Family events happen across the year but especially in the warmer months…. I remember specifically when… …. “or “I have lived here for 30 years and through that time…” etc. 

We also need to know if anyone has ever had any complaint from the landowner(s) asking them to get off the land.  Have the Landowners taken action against anyone using the land on areas away from the public footpaths?

In a nutshell we need:

• Letters or signed statements from as many local people who can either attest to their own use for 20+ years or
• that they have observed many others using the land for however long they have lived here.

We will not be submitting a copy of anyone’s statement/letter to the Council without confirming via legal advice that there can be no complaint of trespass brought against any individual.

POST EDIT:  IMPORTANT:  Legal Advice received says that to avoid any (slight) risk of liability for trespass, you are strongly recommended NOT to self-incriminate or say you & your family have used the land other than via the various public footpaths that cross the land unless you have lived here for more than 20 years.  Legal advice received also suggests that you can feel safe to state that you have  regularly walked on areas away from the public footpaths or upon on the other parts of the land only If you or your family have lived here for 20 years + (Note:  19 years 11 months is not enough!)
NB: People living here less than 20 years should only affirm what they have seen other unnamed people doing.

Letters should be addressed (but NOT sent) to the Council:
Community Right to Bid - Chiltern District Council
King George V House
King George V Road, 
Amersham,
Buckinghamshire
HP6 5AW
 
Letters should forwarded/delivered to (for collective submission):
Brown Not Green Chesham Ltd,
2 Deer Park Walk,
Chesham Bucks HP5 3LJ

WE WOULD REALLY LIKE THESE ASAP or by the end of next week if possible (Friday 26 April).

If YOU WOULD LIKE GUIDANCE NOTES ON HOW TO WRITE A LETTER OR MAKE A STATEMENT OF TRUTH IN SUPPORT OF THIS APPLICATION PLEASE CONTACT US THROUGH THE WEBSITE.

Thanks very much in advance for your prompt action.  This may well be a key opportunity in our fight to save the Green Bet around Lye Green being developed.

The BNG Team

It has been bought to the attention of Brown Not Green (BNG) that, aside from various types of wildlife and endangered species of birds that have been observed at the 150 acres of land at Lye Green site that the Council are earmarking for development, Badger Setts have recently been found nearby too.  Badger activity has been observed in the area recently and at least one dead badger has been found in the road nearby.

Badgers are protected and accordingly we will refrain from identifying the exact location of the Setts to avoid them being disturbed further but worryingly some BNG supporters have also reported that it appears as if someone has recently attempted to fill in one of the entrances to at least one of the Setts.  This is unlawful and contrary to the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 under which it is an offence to: ”Willfully kill, injure or take a badger (or attempt to do so)…or to... disturb a badger when it is occupying a sett”. 
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We cannot identify who has attempted to disturb this sett or why but we would ask any of our supporters when walking near or across the various footpaths in this large area to be vigilant.  If they see any suspicious activity:

• specially anyone filling in small holes in the ground within the field
• lighting fires near or in holes in the ground
• if they have terrier type dogs
• if conversely they digging holes into the ground (possibly to capture the animals)

that they might ask the person what they are doing and why.  Note the date, time and any other information.  Report their findings via the BNG website.  We will pass the information on to the appropriate authorities.

Thanks
The BNG Team

​As this campaign drags into its third year, we are are asking all our supporters to undertake another letter writing campaign following our Barrister’s advice to keep the pressure up on the Council.  As such we need to mobilise as many supporters as possible to write now to:

• Isobel Darby, Head of Chiltern District Council
• Mr John Cheston, The newly appointed Planning Policy Manager at Chiltern District Council
• Your local Councillor(s)
  
  

with the aim of;
​

• Reminding them that Brown Not Green have not gone away
• Highlighting the argument against removal of Green Belt status at Lye Green
• Formally requesting them to remove this site from further consideration in the emerging Local Plan.
  
  

The final point is the key message which we have emboldened in the sample letter below.  As ever, letters are best but they can be sent by email too or both!

A sample letter for members / supporters to use or adapt as they see fit provided the final paragraph is included.
Click here for:  Sample Letter

Check out our How to Lobby Page for more information.

The more people who write, the greater the pressure on the Council to drop this proposal so we urge you to encourage your friends, family and other supporters to write letters.  It will help make a difference.

Thanks again for your continuous support.  
 
The BNG Team
 

Since our last newsletter, Chiltern and South Bucks District Councils have issued a “Call for Sites” asking local people to identify sites within both districts that may have the potential for development over the Local Plan period, up to 2036.
This 'Call for Sites' exercise will run from 3 December 2018 to 14 January 2019 and will be used to update the Council's Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA), which will be part of the evidence base for the new Local Plan.

From the Council email:

We would therefore invite landowners, agents or potential developers to put forward sites for consideration which might have potential for contributing towards Chiltern and South Bucks’ future needs for housing, specialist housing such as for older people .... employment uses, town centre uses, community facilities, mixed use developments, sport and recreation, no specific use, or other development uses where there is considered to be a specific or general need or opportunity over the period to 2036.

The Councils' Call for Sites web page can be found here.

BNG are hopeful that as well as bringing their SHLAA up-to-date that perhaps the Council have realised that they may have jumped the gun in considering Green Belt sites for housing development before fully exploring all other options first.

The BNG Team are aware of Brownfield sites and contaminated sites within the Greenbelt that were not considered by the Council when they originally embarked on the Draft Local Plan (2014-2016).  Examples are a seven acre site that could easily accommodate dozens of dwellings that has had planning refused.  Another current site laboriously held up in the delayed planning process but available now could accommodate 90-plus dwellings.  Neither site would impact valued Greenbelt.   The BNG Team believe there are other potential sites within the two districts that have not yet been considered or have been overlooked by the Council that could contribute to the Districts’ housing need. 

If you, or anyone you know, are aware of any such sites please send them through to us here at BNG with a map clearly identifying the boundary.  You do not need to be the landowner but ideally should provide information and the views of the landowner.

Points to note:

• Allocations for any type of land use will be considered.
• Include a map clearly showing site boundaries and land ownership
• There is no minimum (or maximum) size of site at this stage. The housing Land Availability Assessment will consider all sites and broad locations capable of delivering five or more dwellings, or economic development on sites of 0.25ha (or 500m2 of floor space) and above.

​If you are the landowner, you should complete the Site Nomination Form and send this directly to the Council but also informing BNG; otherwise send your site nominations through to us.

It is worth being fairly open-minded about what land can be used for.  For example, land that may be useful for industry but not residential should be considered.  By taking Industry out of Chesham, we free up space for residential in the town centre.   We should consider all unused sites in South Bucks & Chiltern Districts.  It is better to put sites forward and have them refused than not put sites forward at all.

As The Brown Not Green Campaign enters into its third year of existence, the BNG Team, would like to thank everyone for their continued support and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The BNG Team

It has been almost a full four months since you last heard from Brown Not Green and although the BNG Campaign team have been busy it appears that Chiltern & South Bucks District Councils have made no progress with the Draft Local Plan, as there have been no further changes to the Council Local Plan website since March.

BNG have not been able to receive a definitive answer from any Council representatives as to the reasons for or the length of the delay but we will keep on asking as the uncertainty and blight that is being forced on those that live in the vicinity of Lye Green is still causing much distress.

It had been thought that with the threat of Chiltern and District Councils being absorbed into one new unitary authority for the whole of Bucks from April 2020 that the district Planning Departments had just given up.  Following the formal announcement by the Secretary of State that a unitary authority would be the way forward for Bucks, it is now even more important that Chiltern & South Bucks expedite a Local Plan as this together with the already agreed Plans in Aylesbury & Wycombe will collectively form the Plan for the new Unitary Authority for Buckinghamshire.    
 
From the Bucks County Council website there is a link to a separate site called Future Bucks which has been set up to outline what to expect within the new unitary authority.  There is an FAQ page.    There are two pertinent questions and answers on this page:

1.  Would a single unitary invalidate the districts’ area plans?

 No, although it may be preferable to join them together over time.

2.  What will happen to our Local Plan; will this be a wasted effort with a new unitary council? Will we have to engage in the process again unnecessarily?

The three local plans will be newly adopted at the launch of a new council and will therefore not change for the immediate future. Once the plans come up for review in 2022/2023 the new council could choose to develop a single local development and infrastructure plan for Buckinghamshire

We have sought confirmation of all this from our MP which is awaited.  It should be business as usual but it isn’t as we still await our new Local Plan.  It is very important to realise that the new Unitary Proposal does not mean the threat to our Green Belt and the wider town has now gone away. It is even more important that we work with the Chiltern Planning Department to put the right solutions forward to protect Chesham’s Green Belt and Environment as we move into the new regime.

In the meantime the BNG team has had a Consultation with our Barrister having presented her with a comprehensive legal brief a couple of months ago.   The Barrister feels we have a strong case and has given us good advice on where we need to add solid evidence of important material planning considerations we have already raised with the Council.  BNG will shortly be retaining Expert Consultants with a view to putting together professional opinions that will provide supporting evidence rebuttable to the Council’s flawed plans to take the fields around Lye Green out of the Green Belt. 
Before BNG embarks on paying for any Consultants we are first reaching out to all our supporters to see if we have any professional experts locally in any of the following areas:
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• Air Quality
• Transport/Traffic
• Valued Landscapes
• Ecology & Wild Life
• Education provision
• Health Services Provision
• Ancient Woodland (pre 1600)
• The Agricultural Land quality
• Chalk Streams & Water Abstraction

 
If you, or anyone you know, is a qualified expert or professional in any of these fields above and have the time to help the BNG Campaign, we would very much like to hear from you.  Any help you can offer will be very much appreciated.  Please contact us through the BNG website.  
 
As stated earlier, this delay from the Council is helping no-one and just brings unnecessary uncertainty into local residents’ lives.   Before we all lose heart it is worth repeating a point made in our last newsletter, the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF2) published earlier this year affords greater protection to our Green Belt than when all of this started a few years ago.   The Council is no nearer demonstrating any exceptional circumstances required to modify our Green Belt boundaries and so as far as the BNG Campaign goes, we are in good shape. 
 
Thanks again for your continued support.
 
The BNG Team.

​As expected, the new revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published this week as Parliament broke for the summer recess.  The full document can be found here on the Govt website.
No doubt there will be further commentary and opinion pieces on this over the coming weeks.
So far the following commentary from The Planner Magazine seems an appropriate summary.  We have highlighted in red the important points for BNG:
 
The much-anticipated revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has finally been published with an increased emphasis on high-quality design - but there are concerns the new framework will put planners under 'significant pressure'.

Housing secretary James Brokenshire said the latest framework will make it easier for planning authorities to challenge poor quality and unattractive development. In particular, it stresses that councils “have the confidence and tools” to refuse applications when the development does not prioritise design quality or complement its surroundings.

The new framework also aims to give communities a greater say in the design of developments. Councils are encouraged to make use of “innovative visual tools” to promote better design and quality and allow residents to see schemes before they are built.

Adopted neighbourhood plans should “demonstrate clear local leadership in design quality, with the framework allowing groups seeking such plans to truly reflect the community’s expectations on how new development will visually contribute to their area”.

Councils will have to apply design policies “in the most appropriate way in their area, recognising that they are well placed to know their area’s unique character and setting”.

“I am clear that quantity must never compromise the quality of what is built, and this is reflected in the new rules,” said Brokenshire.

Local authorities are urged to “exhaust all other reasonable options for development” before considering altering a green belt boundary. It stresses that “considerable evidence” would be needed to alter any such boundary. The framework confirms the housing need methodology set out last year for calculating housing need across different forms and tenures based on a wide range of factors including affordability.

From November 2018 councils will have a Housing Delivery Test focused on driving up the numbers of homes delivered in their area, rather than how many are planned for. This will penalise councils that under-deliver over three years. The frameworks also aims to provide further protection for biodiversity by aligning the planning system more closely with Defra’s 25-year environment plan. It stresses greater importance on air quality when deciding applications and offers more protection for ancient woodland and trees. The revised document replaces the previous NPPF published in March 2012.

The full NPPF document can be accessed here.
 
The full Planner Magazine article and subsequent comment can be found here

It would appear that the revised NPPF makes it more difficult for councils to change Greenbelt boundaries than previously which is good news but concerns have also been aired around the new “housing delivery test”  notably in this article by Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

All that said, we should now see the wheels start turning again in the BNG campaign and, indeed, in the Council’s Planning Processes although at the time of writing the Chiltern District Council’s planning website shows no further updates or mention of the revised NPPF and, indeed, now appears out of date.
​
Watch this space.