Rye Neighbourhood Plan - Communication and Engagement Strategy (V1)

Transcription

1 Rye Neighbourhood Plan - Communication and Engagement Strategy (V1) Background Neighbourhood Planning (NP) is a flagship policy of the Government's Localism 2011 Act. It delegates the right for communities to draw up development plans within a designated planning area. Rye Town Council is seeking approval from Rother DC to plan within the Rye Parish Area. The NP is different from past development plans because it will be statutory; all future planning applications will have to comply with NP policies. If you consider that to make a Rye NP is too late (because there is so much development under way) then please remember, the horse could bolt much further, without a plan! The concept of NP is that the community has choice about development in its area. The Guide to Neighbourhood Planning (NP) from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) summaries this as: 'Planning is most effective when local residents, business and civic leaders are in the driving seat of planning for their areas and delivering the development they want to see.' A study by Planning Consultants, Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners of almost 250 neighbourhood areas and forums, indicated that, Where neighbourhood development plans are being prepared, co-operation and engagement in the neighbourhood planning process are key for moving developments forward. Communication is at the heart of the process. Locality, which acts for the Government in adminstering support to those involved with Neighbourhod Planning, says, Community engagement is necessary and important for several reasons. It is a requirement of planning legislation including for Neighbourhood Plans. It is essential in developing consensus and creating community support; finding out what people think and drawing on their skills and knowledge is an important part of developing the evidence base for an area and developing the 1

2 Neighbourhood Plan, leading to more realistic and deliverable plans and policies What are the Objectives of this strategy? To ensure effective communication and engagement with the Rye community to facilitate a bottom up NP process, resulting in a plan which incorporates sound community policies. What part does Rye Town Council play? Rye Town Council is seeking to be the Qualifying Body under the Act and has established a Steering Group (RNPSG) to steer the NP process and enable the community to develop polices for consultation and eventual consensus. The Council retains decision-making powers for the policies, the budget and the selection of those involved in the process. It will support the RNPSG by: promoting and publicising NP within the designated planning area of Rye Parish by effective public information. liaising with partner organisations, including Rother DC and adjacent Parishes (in accordance with an agreed protocol) on NP issues. working closely with the RNPSG to provide resources in response to justified bids. ensuring that any individual interests of those involved are identified and recorded. ensuring that key information will be posted on the Town Hall notice board. What is the role of the Rye Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group (RNPSG)? RNPSG, on behalf of Rye Town Council, will communicate with, and engage all stakeholders - those who live, work or study in Rye or are lead representatives for organisations based in Rye - in a timely and 2

3 effective manner, with the aim of enabling them to input to the NP. It intends to: 3 be pro-active in obtaining information on current or proposed development in the area which may well take place before the Neighbourhood Plan is adopted, but which Rye Town Council may want to influence. gather a wide evidence base and views using a range of tried and tested consultation methods. make every effort to gather and understand views expressed by individuals and groups and respond clearly to matters raised collect information and data to support the development of the plan in a transparent way unless it is provided as Commercial in Confidence or with other caveats. facilitate periodic meetings that are open to the public to ensure opportunity for members of the public to engage. make regular press releases will provide activity updates, on the website ( in Fixtures, the Rye Observer and Rye s Own. publicise agendas and records from meetings on the RNP website. produce a quarterly newsletter to be distributed widely within Rye and to adjacent parishes. be flexible in approach; if it discovers more effective ways of engaging the community, then the RNPSG will adjust its strategy. Audience - How will the Community and other interested parties be engaged? RNPSG will adopt a multi-pronged approach to communication. It will ensure that there is regular engagement with: - Rye Town Council - those councillors not directly involved with NP through updates at periodic Planning and Council Meetings;

4 - Rother DC - through its Rye Councillors and planning officers; - ESCC - through its Councillor; - the MP - Locality and RTPI to obtain the best advice and support - Community Champions - a number of volunteer community Champions who will be identified and invited to participate from all areas of the community. This would provide a true local focus to engage, interact and to enthuse their local community to participate in the process. - Community Groups - with a number of existing community groups, such as youth groups, voluntary and charitable organisations and those providing local services. Most of these will be members of the Rye Partnership (now a private provider), Rother Voluntary Action (RVA) and transport providers, libraries, medical service providers, educational facilities and local businesses. Where organisations do not wish to be involved, they will be invited to link through their community Champions. - Education - Rye Schools and educational establishments. - Business leaders through the Chamber of Commerce and hospitality organisations. - Landowners and developers - their input will be crucial to the deliverability of the plan. What are the Communication Pathways? The RNPSG will communicate to the audience through all available pathways as summarised below. 4

5 Serial Pathway Frequen cy 1 Website Continua l 2 Facebook Continua l Remarks ef=hl 3 Twitter l 4 Rye Observer Periodic 5 Rye s Own Periodic 6 Fixtures Periodic Text or leaflet 7 Poster Periodic To some 30 sites around Rye 8 E Mail Periodic To all those who register on the E Mail list 9 Events Periodic For the Public 10 Focus Groups Periodic For interested groups 11 Individual Periodic For particular targeted individuals interviews 12 Through Rye TC Periodic Regular updates to Rye TC meetings Once drafted, the Neighbourhood Plan would be subject to a formal 6 week public consultation process. This should be community-led with Community leaders and Champions being fully involved. The objective is to receive clear feedback on the proposals and to ensure that the community feel their views are represented and supported in the plan. Once the plan is agreed by Rye TC, then Rother DC, will put it to an independent examiner. If found sound then Rother DC should arrange and pay for a referendum in the Rye designated area (or an enlarged one as directed by the examiner). This process will involve significant public information by Rye TC. An important after-note is by Locality, which says, Failure to engage communities properly at an early stage is one of the main causes of 5

6 conflict later in the planning process. This can lead to additional costs and delays. Properly engaging people from the beginning of the process ensures that there is an opportunity to influence the detail of the Neighbourhood Plan, rather than just having the option to accept or reject the whole plan. What are the Five Guiding Principles for working with partners? As the development of the NP will require team work, I offer five guidelines (enclosed below) for working with multiple partners. By considering these I believe that the project will progress to fruition as smoothly as possible. ATBK PhD Vice Chair RNPSG October 2013 SHARE and DISCUSS ideas with all stakeholders early When working with multiple stakeholder groups there must be constant communication between the groups. This is the function of those acting as mentors for each group. Everyone will need to be kept up-to-date on changes and developments to enable involvement and approval. Presenting stakeholders with a done deal will not work; every stakeholder can be expected to have their own interests and may view the project differently. To secure approval or at least acceptability, it is easier to identify concerns early rather than negotiate alignment at a late stage. Therefore please share and discuss ideas with all stakeholders earlier rather than later. COMPROMISE A variance of views and interests can be expected, but that does not mean that there will not be room for negotiation as there will invariably be multiple approaches to satisfy everyone. To secure consensus there has to be compromise. Without it the project will be jeopardy Understand all stakeholders PERSPECTIVES and CONSTRAINTS 6

7 Try to understand the different requirements and constraints on stakeholders. These have to be understood and this will require discussion and reasoned argument. It may be difficult to foresee every issue, but do not allow small fires to blaze into forest fires before they are extinguished. It is easier to make changes in the early stages than it is towards the final draft. DO NOT BE OFFENDED if someone does not agree with your view Not everyone is going to agree every issue. If someone takes the red pen to your work, they are indicating a different perspective or idea of how the project should progress. Please take all comments and criticisms as ways to improve your project rather than as a personal criticism. Most projects do not evolve perfectly and will usually take several iterations before they are implemented. Be PROACTIVE not REACTIVE Do not be afraid to put forward proposals. In Neighbourhood Planning, every view counts, regardless of how it may seem to others. It is important to achieve the best plan and this will only happen with wide input of ideas and proposals. 7