Sydenham Parish Council is working on a neighbourhood plan. The process empowers local communities to help direct and shape the way their area grows and develops into the future. If adopted, the neighbourhood plan will form part of our development plan, which helps us to determine planning applications.
In June 2019, Sydenham Parish Council submitted its draft neighbourhood plan to South Oxfordshire District Council. We then carried out the statutory ‘Regulation 16’ consultation in July 2019. All comments received to this consultation were submitted to an independent examiner, who subsequently examined the plan and published a report including a number of recommendations. The examiner’s report can be viewed here.
We considered each of the recommendations made by the examiner and decided to progress the plan to referendum. This decision was made on 06 February 2020 (the Decision Statement can be viewed here).
Regulations linked to the Coronavirus Act 2020 postpones neighbourhood planning referendums until 6 May 2021.
In response to these delays, Government guidance has been updated and as a consequence the Sydenham Neighbourhood Plan can be given significant weight in decision-making.
Since making this decision, the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035 was adopted in December 2020 and supersedes our Core Strategy 2012. Amendments to the Sydenham Neighbourhood Plan are now needed to resolve conflicts between the neighbourhood plan and the adopted Local Plan.
We are required to formally consult on any proposal to deviate from the Examiner recommendations. Therefore, the purpose of this consultation is to invite comments on the council’s intention to amend paragraph 5.9 of the supporting text of Policy SYD1: Village Boundary & Infill Development. The council is also inviting comments on the reasons for proposing to make this decision.
We are inviting your comments on the proposal during a seven-week period which runs from Friday 15 January until 5pm on Friday 5 March 2021.
How to view the consultation document
The consultation document is available here:
Consultation Document – council’s proposed decision
Our district council offices at Milton Park is closed to the public until further notice. If you need support to access the paper copies of the consultation material:
Please contact Heather Mullins by emailing parishcouncil@sydenhamvillage.co.uk or calling 01844 873690.
Please contact us on 01235 422600 or email planning.policy@southoxon.gov.uk
If you know anyone you think would be interested in this consultation, who is shielding or does not have access to the internet we would appreciate your help in telling them about it. Please ask them to call us on 01235 422600 or email planning.policy@southoxon.gov.uk to get support to access the consultation material.
If you require the above document in an alternative format (for example large print, Braille, audio, email, Easy Read and alternative languages) Please email haveyoursay@southandvale.gov.uk or call 01235 422425 to arrange
How to comment
We encourage you to use our online comment form which is available here.
Comments can also be made by:
Your name, email and postal address are required for your comments to be considered.
Next steps
After the publicity period ends, the council will consider your comments and may refer the matter back to examination or make the decision to proceed to referendum. All personal data will be held securely by the council and independent examiner in line with the Data Protection Act 2018. Comments submitted by individuals will be published on our website alongside their name. No other contact details will be published. Comments submitted by businesses or organisations will be published in full, including contact details. Further information on how we store personal data is provided in our privacy statement.
Take a look at:
Supporting documents:
If you want to get involved in the process, please contact your Parish Council .
More information on the process is available on our Neighbourhood Planning Resources page.
If you would like to discuss neighbourhood planning with a member of the team, please contact us.
01235 422600
(Text phone users add 18001 before dialing)
South Oxfordshire District Council
135 Eastern Avenue
Milton Park
Abingdon
OX14 4SB
