Banter 93: 29Oct25 Neighbourhood Plan and Local Plan, with Sarah Whitelaw
Sarah, a councilllor at Holme Valley Parish Council, presented updates on the local plan review process, highlighting the council's efforts to influence development policies and address climate action
Video Timeline (min:sec):
00:00 - 23:30 Presentation
23:30 - 47:47 (end) Q & A
Presentation:
You are very welcome to download the presentation; a markdown copy is included at the bottom of this page to help the AI search engine
Meeting Summary:
Oct 29, 2025 11:48 AM London ID: 834 5460 8536
Quick recap
Sarah Whitelaw, a councillor at Holme Valley Parish Council, presented updates on the local plan review process, highlighting the council's efforts to influence development policies and address climate action. The discussion covered various engagement methods with the community and local council, including consultations with residents and farmers, while exploring the potential benefits of a neighbourhood plan and regenerative agriculture practices.
Next steps
Summary
Holme Valley Local Plan Update
Sarah Whitelaw, a councillor at Holme Valley Parish Council, presented an update on the local plan. She explained that Kirklees had announced their intention to review their local plan in November 2024, prompting the council's action. The council's goal was to produce locally distinctive planning policies and address climate action. Sarah emphasized the importance of acting quickly to influence the development of the local plan, highlighting the unique characteristics of the Home Valley area.
Partnership Review Group Formation
Sarah discussed the establishment of a partnership review group in response to Kirklees' early engagement consultation. She explained that Holme Valley Parish Council was chosen to lead the partnership due to its democratic mandate, with the group being as inclusive as possible. The partnership identified six key areas to address in their response to the local plan, including farming, greenbelt, heritage, housing, transport, and River Holme Connections. Sarah emphasized that climate emergency and action were incorporated into their initial response, despite the fast and dirty nature of the process.
Local Plan Review Engagement Update
Sarah discussed the challenges and progress in engaging with the local council for the local plan review. She highlighted the council's interest in working closely with them and their request for continued active engagement, including suggesting potential sites and providing feedback on local policies. Sarah also mentioned the proactive involvement of the Holme Valley Parish Council and their response to the Peak District National Park. She detailed various consultation efforts, including resident consultations, focus groups with students, meetings with farmers, and a survey of food and drink festival attendees, to gather input on food insecurity and development policies. The community's views emphasized the need for strict restrictions on development to conserve the natural environment, aligning with mandatory requirements.
Home Valley Local Plan Update
Sarah presented an update on the local plan review in the Holme Valley, highlighting key areas of focus including farming and food security, housing needs, and climate action. She discussed various engagement methods used, such as focus groups with schools and a survey at the local food festival. The group discussed the potential benefits of having a neighbourhood plan, with Stuart questioning its worth given the local plan's supremacy. Sarah emphasized the importance of ongoing community engagement and collaboration with Kirklees Council. The conversation ended with a discussion on regenerative agriculture practices among local farmers and ideas for broader community engagement.
Links and addresses:
Councillor Sarah Whitelaw email: [email protected]
https://www.holmevalleyparishcouncil.gov.uk/your-views-matter-kirklees-local-plan-review/
https://www.tcpa.org.uk/resources/setting-local-plan-policies-for-net-zero-buildings/
https:/www.riverholmeconnections.org/
Chat:
00:16:02 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): Easiest to click on participants 00:48:02 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): Isn't it 15% versus 25%? 01:03:52 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Thanks a lot very interesting. I need to go now
Audio-transcript (for Search AI):
120 00:16:18.410 --> 00:16:36.930 Sarah Whitelaw: Hope so. So, my name's Sarah Whitelaur, I'm one of the councillors at the Home Valley Parish Council, which is a fairly sizable parish council, just southwest of Huddersfield, covers the Home Valley. And I'm very pleased to see my fellow councillor, Chris Green, here. Hello, Chris.
121 00:16:37.050 --> 00:16:55.399 Sarah Whitelaw: No pressure. So what I'm… what I'm going to do here is just tell you the story of what we've been doing, and what we are doing, and continuing to do, as far as the local plan is concerned. So, I'll attempt to kick off,
122 00:16:56.190 --> 00:17:00.670 Sarah Whitelaw: Let me just… Share.
123 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:01.940 Sarah Whitelaw: Hopefully.
124 00:17:08.579 --> 00:17:09.790 Sarah Whitelaw: Oh, here we go.
125 00:17:20.609 --> 00:17:25.269 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: That looks good, Sarah. You just need to move into slideshow mode, if you can.
126 00:17:25.819 --> 00:17:26.799 Sarah Whitelaw: So, is that alright?
127 00:17:26.800 --> 00:17:28.470 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Yeah, perfect. Hold on.
128 00:17:28.910 --> 00:17:29.950 Sarah Whitelaw: Okay.
129 00:17:30.510 --> 00:17:35.230 Sarah Whitelaw: So, I'm gonna get… try and get rid of my… oh, God.
130 00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:37.990 Sarah Whitelaw: What's happening there?
131 00:17:44.630 --> 00:17:45.670 Sarah Whitelaw: Sorry.
132 00:17:49.590 --> 00:17:51.249 Sarah Whitelaw: I see. Okay.
133 00:17:51.450 --> 00:18:03.140 Sarah Whitelaw: So, as you can see from the title, it says Home Valley Parish Council and Kirkley's Local Plan, and we have a reference group on the update to the local plan.
134 00:18:04.490 --> 00:18:06.959 Sarah Whitelaw: So, the background is that
135 00:18:07.040 --> 00:18:26.390 Sarah Whitelaw: as you probably know, updating local plans is a legal requirement. What I've done here is to put in lots of detail into the slides so that you don't have to make loads of notes, but I won't read everything verbatim. The Home Valley Neighbourhood Plan is also in force.
136 00:18:27.010 --> 00:18:32.249 Sarah Whitelaw: That was done in December 2021, but in…
137 00:18:32.300 --> 00:18:43.560 Sarah Whitelaw: 2024 November, Kirklee's denounced its intention to review its own local plan, and it was that that kicked off our
138 00:18:43.570 --> 00:18:58.150 Sarah Whitelaw: action, really. So, why is Kirklees updating its local plan? Well, the red things, really, are the really important ones. It was quite clear that they wanted to develop more ambitious climate action.
139 00:18:58.150 --> 00:19:10.699 Sarah Whitelaw: policies. They also wanted to set up, where development would be located, but for us, the important thing was producing locally distinctive planning policies.
140 00:19:10.730 --> 00:19:21.470 Sarah Whitelaw: So that was the sort of background, if you like, to what Kirklees were saying they wanted to do. Kirklees is our, you know, big unitary authority.
141 00:19:21.700 --> 00:19:32.470 Sarah Whitelaw: So, what did we decide to do? Well, get in there and quickly. We felt that we needed to get our act together and, produce
142 00:19:32.890 --> 00:19:53.090 Sarah Whitelaw: a response to the existing local plan and put together the things that we thought were essential before Kirklees actually produced their own update. In other words, get in there first and say, these are the things that we need for our area. The Home Valley is very distinctive and particular.
143 00:19:53.090 --> 00:19:54.370 Sarah Whitelaw: It's,
144 00:19:55.320 --> 00:20:10.849 Sarah Whitelaw: It's an area that is to the southwest of Huddersfield. Kirklees is a big authority with some heavy urban areas, and the Home Valley is quite different from that, so it's very much a more rural area, which brings
145 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:21.290 Sarah Whitelaw: its own challenges, if you like, and makes it very distinctive, because it covers small villages and towns. And the needs of its communities are really quite specific.
146 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:39.179 Sarah Whitelaw: Now, Kirkley set up an early engagement consultation, so that was the first thing, really, that we were attempting to respond to. So we set up an initial working group, and that had seven councillors and one community member as part of it.
147 00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:44.169 Sarah Whitelaw: Home Valley Vision has been a long-standing network, which has,
148 00:20:44.390 --> 00:21:01.099 Sarah Whitelaw: hundreds of groups, actually, and individuals trying to make sure that we have something in common, share our ideas about what we want for the Valley. So that group is established in order to decide, really, how do we best proceed, what are our objectives.
149 00:21:01.100 --> 00:21:08.400 Sarah Whitelaw: and who needs to be involved. So, in November 24, we had an outline plan
150 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:23.270 Sarah Whitelaw: for a partnership review group. So, a group of people who are going to actually work on producing this initial response, and indeed the final response when we get that far. And we
151 00:21:23.270 --> 00:21:38.450 Sarah Whitelaw: We made the case, really, that Home Valley Parish Council as the only democratically elected body with a mandate to represent, should be the leaders of this partnership. But we wanted it to be as inclusive as possible.
152 00:21:38.470 --> 00:21:52.329 Sarah Whitelaw: And so we were putting out calls to people to be involved, but making it clear that this was going to involve some work. You really needed to, decide whether you could contribute, or not.
153 00:21:53.640 --> 00:21:56.529 Sarah Whitelaw: So in December, we emailed groups
154 00:21:56.690 --> 00:22:09.309 Sarah Whitelaw: and active community groups, particularly, to say what we're about. There's a need to respond, to the local plan, and would you like to join us?
155 00:22:09.370 --> 00:22:20.419 Sarah Whitelaw: So, by January this year, we'd got a group of people in place who'd said, yeah, we're up for this, and we will contribute to this whole process.
156 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:28.700 Sarah Whitelaw: So, the first task, really, was to respond to the early engagement call, and we decided to use
157 00:22:28.840 --> 00:22:42.569 Sarah Whitelaw: a set of themes which we'd identified. Now, because time was really short, it was really a pretty fast and dirty process. I'm sure a number of you are familiar with having to respond quickly to things.
158 00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:52.119 Sarah Whitelaw: And we felt we needed to do that to show that we were willing to be engaged right from the word go.
159 00:22:52.240 --> 00:23:01.620 Sarah Whitelaw: we have, I think we are really quite lucky. Maybe it's a function of the size of our parish council, or the area, or its distinctive
160 00:23:01.620 --> 00:23:19.339 Sarah Whitelaw: characteristics, but as you can see from the list there, we've got representatives from a whole range of organisations, so the conservation group, eco homes, river home connections, business associations, transport, and the list goes on.
161 00:23:19.340 --> 00:23:22.309 Sarah Whitelaw: Plus 6 councillors, and we…
162 00:23:22.310 --> 00:23:31.360 Sarah Whitelaw: We also said we'll leave an open invitation here for people to come in as time went on. So…
163 00:23:31.410 --> 00:23:39.320 Sarah Whitelaw: When we were approaching the early engagement, we decided that it was impossible
164 00:23:39.320 --> 00:23:52.400 Sarah Whitelaw: to respond to every area in the local plan, but what we wanted to make clear right from the word go was that we should incorporate and provide evidence of the ways in which
165 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:56.359 Sarah Whitelaw: Climate emergency matters can and should be addressed.
166 00:23:56.370 --> 00:24:12.119 Sarah Whitelaw: So, even in the early engagement, response, which, as I say, was, you know, fast and dirty, we were talking about climate emergency and climate action. And our response covered six areas, as you can see.
167 00:24:12.120 --> 00:24:17.129 Sarah Whitelaw: Farming and Food Security, Greenbelt, Grey Belt, Heritage, Housing, Transport.
168 00:24:17.130 --> 00:24:34.459 Sarah Whitelaw: And the river home connections, and I'll talk a bit about their, their contributions a bit later on. But the other areas, mineral and economy, etc, would be, addressed in the later plans, but we didn't have time to do that in the first instance.
169 00:24:34.950 --> 00:24:36.080 Sarah Whitelaw: So…
170 00:24:36.180 --> 00:24:45.160 Sarah Whitelaw: what we were really, really pleased about, and I'm sure this will resonate with a number of you, is you have
171 00:24:45.370 --> 00:25:09.080 Sarah Whitelaw: shall we say, some challenges in terms of communicating and engaging with the local council, and having a real solid partnership? Well, they came back to us. The woman who's the lead for the local plan review came back to us and said, yeah, we want to work with you very closely. We're really glad that you're taking an active part in this, and that you want to work with us.
172 00:25:09.140 --> 00:25:18.700 Sarah Whitelaw: And… and they… they asked us to continue to engage actively, wonderful. Suggest potential… potential sites, yep.
173 00:25:18.970 --> 00:25:38.380 Sarah Whitelaw: feedback on the local policies most use, things that aren't working and why, but also new areas of policy would be useful. And really importantly, to continue to promote and update on consultation. So, doing that, reaching out to the local community.
174 00:25:38.380 --> 00:25:41.289 Sarah Whitelaw: In every way we could think of, really.
175 00:25:41.330 --> 00:25:44.699 Sarah Whitelaw: So, what we'd got then was…
176 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:48.630 Sarah Whitelaw: A number of things that were in place
177 00:25:48.630 --> 00:26:11.399 Sarah Whitelaw: already, we'd got the Home Valley Parish Council, which had done a response to the Peak District National Park, which takes up about a third of the Home Valley. So they had been and are extremely proactive in engaging in a local plan and doing an update and review in line with the requirements. So we did a response to that.
178 00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:19.720 Sarah Whitelaw: Because, and this is why I'm particularly involved, my ward is the Upper Home Valley.
179 00:26:19.730 --> 00:26:34.700 Sarah Whitelaw: which is part of the Peak District National Park in large part. So we had a consultation with residents of Home Village, which is right… I don't know how many of you know this area, but you probably have seen pictures of Home Moss.
180 00:26:34.700 --> 00:26:44.589 Sarah Whitelaw: when you were avidly watching the Tour de France or the Tour de Autre, well, that's in our area. So we did a response on behalf of
181 00:26:44.940 --> 00:26:48.830 Sarah Whitelaw: home village. We also did a range of
182 00:26:48.910 --> 00:26:59.079 Sarah Whitelaw: engagements around food insecurity. That was the area that I'd said I would lead on. So we did, some focus groups with students at local schools.
183 00:26:59.080 --> 00:27:14.530 Sarah Whitelaw: We had a meeting with the farmers in the valley, or some of the valleys up in home, and we also did a survey of food and drink festival visitors and stall holders, all three of those attempting to get
184 00:27:14.530 --> 00:27:25.289 Sarah Whitelaw: Flesh on the bones, if you like, of the sorts of things that we felt we needed to include, or that came up and we needed to include in our response.
185 00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:30.739 Sarah Whitelaw: So, just a bit more background, really.
186 00:27:30.950 --> 00:27:45.509 Sarah Whitelaw: as I said, approximately one-third of parish council lies within the PDT. Here are some of the… this is some of the comments that came out of that response to, the Peak District National Park.
187 00:27:45.510 --> 00:28:00.020 Sarah Whitelaw: They talked about the new powers of the Environment Act being used, and they talked about the requirements being set for developments outside the biodiversity net games.
188 00:28:02.740 --> 00:28:21.280 Sarah Whitelaw: the residents' views, this is the people up in Home Village, were quite clear about two things. They didn't think that the Peak District… the Peak Park should go beyond the mandatory requirements. They thought that they should be subjected to the same rules and developments as other people.
189 00:28:21.310 --> 00:28:31.569 Sarah Whitelaw: And they also said that they thought that the tightest possible restrictions are needed, as you can see, to conserve and enhance the natural zone.
190 00:28:32.150 --> 00:28:33.330 Sarah Whitelaw: So…
191 00:28:33.580 --> 00:28:49.020 Sarah Whitelaw: some really concrete ideas, if you like, coming out from community groups. What I've done here is to just put together the headlines that came out of, our pulling together ideas for that early engagement.
192 00:28:50.260 --> 00:29:00.530 Sarah Whitelaw: As far as agriculture and field were concerned, there was a lot of talk about local produce and having outlets for local produce.
193 00:29:00.630 --> 00:29:06.729 Sarah Whitelaw: There were people talking about the built heritage being protected and enhanced.
194 00:29:07.360 --> 00:29:25.959 Sarah Whitelaw: the housing one was really one of the big ones. I'm sure that's a familiar story. The provision of suitable and affordable housing, and also the linkage, if you like, to transport locally, and the need for, you know, simplified and integrated services.
195 00:29:26.090 --> 00:29:35.549 Sarah Whitelaw: But there's a lot more than that, so these, as I say, are just the headlines, and I can share more information if people are interested, afterwards.
196 00:29:36.210 --> 00:29:40.609 Sarah Whitelaw: So, what did we look at in terms of farming and food?
197 00:29:41.060 --> 00:29:58.779 Sarah Whitelaw: We… we found that people were saying, and we were identifying, really, that the existing plan makes minimal references to agriculture and farming, and this is a concern, and that the importance of agriculture goes way beyond
198 00:29:58.910 --> 00:30:11.860 Sarah Whitelaw: purely economic visits. One of the things that this… this is from the group, the farmers group, that we consulted in Home Village, and they were quite clear that
199 00:30:12.250 --> 00:30:15.020 Sarah Whitelaw: To… to silo off.
200 00:30:15.220 --> 00:30:34.860 Sarah Whitelaw: thoughts about what agriculture and farming can do into just economy or just tourism. It's an integrated, circular economy, and that needs to be recognised. It's not subsistence or marginal. It's really absolutely integrated into what goes on in the Valley.
201 00:30:34.860 --> 00:30:55.340 Sarah Whitelaw: And the contributors gave multiple examples, and they felt that these really had to be highlighted. This whole issue of the circular economy and the role of farming and agriculture locally needs to be reflected in relation to the whole of the local plan, but particularly in relation to the home valley.
202 00:30:56.180 --> 00:31:06.399 Sarah Whitelaw: So when we talked to schools, you know, we wanted to get some young voices in here and see what they were thinking about, and as I say, this was… this was a,
203 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:17.790 Sarah Whitelaw: a talk, a focus… set of focus groups, which would… were focusing on two areas, climate action and also farming and food security. So they mentioned
204 00:31:17.790 --> 00:31:26.350 Sarah Whitelaw: Local things that they thought could be done, and that they thought were missing, so things like composting bins and better recycling.
205 00:31:26.350 --> 00:31:39.520 Sarah Whitelaw: They talked about the need to have advertising for what was being sold locally. They were interested in animal welfare and local sourcing. They talked about the role of education.
206 00:31:39.580 --> 00:31:53.080 Sarah Whitelaw: And I think this sort of highlighted for us one of the things that we need to think about when we're writing up and presenting our cases to, to Kirklees, is
207 00:31:54.160 --> 00:32:03.689 Sarah Whitelaw: The integrated nature, the overlap, if you like, in all these areas, they don't stand alone, and they've got to be seen as
208 00:32:03.890 --> 00:32:21.179 Sarah Whitelaw: connected to each other, and that's a challenge for us, I think, in terms of writing up a report, and maybe, we need to think about diagrammatic stuff in here. I mean, these are just ideas at the moment. We're only part of the way through the process. So that was the school's,
209 00:32:22.190 --> 00:32:29.190 Sarah Whitelaw: focus groups. And then, just a quick one, we did a survey at the local,
210 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:31.899 Sarah Whitelaw: Food Festival, and we asked.
211 00:32:32.110 --> 00:32:39.160 Sarah Whitelaw: To ask people what their priorities were in terms of food for their own use.
212 00:32:39.160 --> 00:32:53.490 Sarah Whitelaw: And it was really quite interesting. Again, this is a fast and dirty thing, and it's a, you know, it's sheer… sheer numbers here. We haven't… we haven't gone into great detail, but things that people were saying, were important to them.
213 00:32:53.890 --> 00:32:58.839 Sarah Whitelaw: Quality. Quality of food, product range, type of food, and that will…
214 00:32:59.010 --> 00:33:10.720 Sarah Whitelaw: And then when we were asking them about, well, where do you… when and how often do you actually buy food from local independent shops? Well, it was about 50-50, really.
215 00:33:10.790 --> 00:33:22.629 Sarah Whitelaw: people who were regularly shopping. It's only a small sample, but all these small details, I think, or small bodies of information, add to the bigger picture.
216 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:26.760 Sarah Whitelaw: So, what about housing?
217 00:33:28.930 --> 00:33:46.800 Sarah Whitelaw: this is information that came from a really solid group that we have operating locally, and I've shared their website in the list of links later on. Come to a group called Eco Homes, and they were talking about the…
218 00:33:47.100 --> 00:34:06.629 Sarah Whitelaw: the importance of smaller housing. We're not unique in this, in that we have quite a lot of large houses, a surplus of larger houses, but we're not getting the smaller homes that enable people to downsize, or enable people who are at the start of their,
219 00:34:07.230 --> 00:34:23.369 Sarah Whitelaw: purchasing of… or renting new prop… properties to get on the housing ladder, if you like. The idea of specially targeted homes, there's some real challenges, which I'm sure you are… you're familiar with.
220 00:34:24.400 --> 00:34:36.909 Sarah Whitelaw: And they talked about some specifics in terms of design requirements, so this is coming back to the idea of making sure that we've got information in there, or comments on,
221 00:34:37.020 --> 00:34:45.249 Sarah Whitelaw: Climate action, and that idea of high-quality, sustainable, energy-efficient homes being really important.
222 00:34:45.300 --> 00:35:01.169 Sarah Whitelaw: And then, of course, the infrastructure stuff to do with how transport and services link, and those getting in there, in the planning. And it's, again, it's not this standalone, but
223 00:35:01.170 --> 00:35:20.570 Sarah Whitelaw: thinking about what the whole provision needs to look like, and being quite explicit about some of the things that we needed. They talked about shared facilities, ideas that they were putting forward that would make things better in terms of planning.
224 00:35:20.640 --> 00:35:22.550 Sarah Whitelaw: requirements.
225 00:35:23.330 --> 00:35:24.570 Sarah Whitelaw: So…
226 00:35:29.540 --> 00:35:35.280 Sarah Whitelaw: When we were talking about, reducing carbon emissions.
227 00:35:35.860 --> 00:35:38.570 Sarah Whitelaw: The response from the review group was.
228 00:35:38.640 --> 00:35:55.360 Sarah Whitelaw: really, this is absolutely essential, and given that 80% of homes needed in the UK by 250 are already built, we maybe need to have a look at how our housing stock is actually being uprated and made fit for the future, not just
229 00:35:55.360 --> 00:36:00.549 Sarah Whitelaw: Focusing on building or, new, new homes.
230 00:36:01.850 --> 00:36:18.740 Sarah Whitelaw: So the last group I'm just going to talk about briefly is the group called River Home Connections, who've done a massive amount of work locally. They're an independent charity, they coordinate, they facilitate, they're very,
231 00:36:19.210 --> 00:36:37.759 Sarah Whitelaw: focused on biodiversity water quality. They work in conjunction with, Yorkshire Water, the local authority, so we were really pleased to have them as part of our group, and to contribute to our
232 00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:40.410 Sarah Whitelaw: Local plan review update.
233 00:36:42.190 --> 00:36:52.369 Sarah Whitelaw: They were… they… put together, as part of the early response, some really key points, really, about…
234 00:36:52.710 --> 00:36:59.040 Sarah Whitelaw: Firstly, about encouraging incentives and enforcement of existing loan banks, of…
235 00:36:59.180 --> 00:37:03.149 Sarah Whitelaw: been, you know, that have been approved, but not developed.
236 00:37:03.390 --> 00:37:08.260 Sarah Whitelaw: the… the use of the RHC Planning and Design project
237 00:37:08.710 --> 00:37:17.650 Sarah Whitelaw: that they develop using DEFRA money has some really concrete information there that the local authority can use.
238 00:37:17.750 --> 00:37:37.479 Sarah Whitelaw: And to say, you know, hang on a minute, we're already working towards improving a rich and diverse and healthy ecosystem. Make sure that that's embedded, that work is embedded into the planning and the review of the local plan. You know, build on what you've already got, if you like.
239 00:37:39.900 --> 00:37:50.640 Sarah Whitelaw: They also, unsurprisingly, mentioned the 106 monies and how important that can be in terms… and should be used in terms of securing,
240 00:37:50.840 --> 00:38:00.169 Sarah Whitelaw: Money for dealing with, climate action and… carbon footprint, so…
241 00:38:01.170 --> 00:38:10.920 Sarah Whitelaw: a small example… well, not so small, actually. So, River Home Connections, Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency together are…
242 00:38:11.240 --> 00:38:31.190 Sarah Whitelaw: working on a project, it'll take about 10 years to adapt and remove weirs in… between Huddersfield and Herford, and this is about migratory food, so this is, like, drilling down into some of the real small detail of the things that are going on, but are absolutely important to that whole picture
243 00:38:31.190 --> 00:38:40.110 Sarah Whitelaw: Of planning and climate action and development, So…
244 00:38:40.390 --> 00:38:53.310 Sarah Whitelaw: that's, sorry, a cook's tour, really, fast and furious, of three examples of things that we've used to contribute. So, where are we now, and what are we going to be doing next?
245 00:38:53.370 --> 00:39:03.300 Sarah Whitelaw: Well, the timescale, haha, for this work has improved. But anyway, not improved, sorry, has been put back.
246 00:39:03.360 --> 00:39:19.690 Sarah Whitelaw: Each of our section teams has been asked to provide a draft of their… so that's, you know, housing, food, minerals, economy. The whole group have been asked to produce a draft by November 7th.
247 00:39:19.690 --> 00:39:30.270 Sarah Whitelaw: But making sure, going back right to the beginning, climate action considerations are really a primary aspect of this work, and we want to make sure that each section
248 00:39:30.560 --> 00:39:49.419 Sarah Whitelaw: has a reference saying how their elements, so farming and food or economy, how climate action is embedded in that. But we also want to make sure that we've got an overview section, and that's work in progress, so…
249 00:39:50.790 --> 00:40:00.779 Sarah Whitelaw: Well, part of the way along the journey, I suppose, one of the things that we need to do more of is that wider community engagement.
250 00:40:00.850 --> 00:40:13.170 Sarah Whitelaw: The food and agriculture one is the first one we've done, but we anticipate rolling that out in relation to other areas, like the economy, for example.
251 00:40:14.140 --> 00:40:29.140 Sarah Whitelaw: there's a lot of work to do. It's a… it's a big task, for sure, but… but time is a bit on our side, I suppose, because the deadlines have been put back. But we're committed to ongoing collaboration and broadening community engagement.
252 00:40:29.140 --> 00:40:39.139 Sarah Whitelaw: And so come back to, really, what the Kirklees officer responsible said, and we will continue to actively engage with them, suggest sites.
253 00:40:39.140 --> 00:40:46.539 Sarah Whitelaw: Feedback on policies, and promote awareness, and update, and do further consultations.
254 00:40:47.940 --> 00:41:01.500 Sarah Whitelaw: Here's some useful links, there are more. More than happy for people to contact me if there's anything they'd like more detail on. If you wanted, me to come back when we get
255 00:41:01.750 --> 00:41:12.179 Sarah Whitelaw: further towards the end of the project, or maybe even the end of what we've put together, I'm happy to do that. So, that's us at the moment.
256 00:41:13.260 --> 00:41:15.460 Sarah Whitelaw: Here's my contact details.
257 00:41:15.640 --> 00:41:17.610 Sarah Whitelaw: Thank you very much for listening.
258 00:41:18.650 --> 00:41:20.599 Sarah Whitelaw: Anything you'd like to say?
259 00:41:20.970 --> 00:41:21.910 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Oh, yeah.
260 00:41:22.220 --> 00:41:34.820 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: well, I've got a whole host of questions, Sarah, but that was brilliant. Thank you so much. I think very, very useful. And, my first question is whether I could ship the whole of
261 00:41:35.100 --> 00:41:41.769 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: the local planning authority from here up to Yorkshire to learn and get brainwashed into being helpful
262 00:41:42.140 --> 00:41:46.189 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: members of the local community. That would make a huge difference.
263 00:41:46.860 --> 00:41:50.020 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: I think…
264 00:41:50.130 --> 00:41:59.590 Sarah Whitelaw: I mean, Chris, I mean, I'm sure, I hope, I think, Anu, Chris will agree with me. This is Chris Green, who's my, my colleague on the council.
265 00:42:00.370 --> 00:42:04.989 Sarah Whitelaw: Community engagement, getting messaging out, it's… it's the…
266 00:42:05.690 --> 00:42:26.959 Sarah Whitelaw: It's just the hardest thing of all, and it's an ongoing thing, not just in relation to this local plan review, but how do we make sure that people know what's going on and how they can get involved? One of the things I didn't mention is that on the 8th of November, we're doing the second of our big community celebrations.
267 00:42:27.030 --> 00:42:33.060 Sarah Whitelaw: So, local community groups coming together, we're lucky that we have a big
268 00:42:33.170 --> 00:42:49.669 Sarah Whitelaw: venue which belongs to the parish council, the Civic Hall, and we're using that, providing stalls for local community groups, but also a stall for ourselves as the parish council and our associated land charity.
269 00:42:49.780 --> 00:42:51.860 Sarah Whitelaw: To enable us to show
270 00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:59.529 Sarah Whitelaw: this work, but also other work too. So, yeah, you know, it's the same issue for everybody, isn't it, I think?
271 00:42:59.530 --> 00:43:00.240 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: And…
272 00:43:00.500 --> 00:43:10.739 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: One more question, Sarah. You didn't mention anywhere in those slides whether local developers have been involved in these discussions, because I see over and over
273 00:43:10.740 --> 00:43:27.720 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: over again the requests for smaller houses, for more affordable houses, for people able to downsize, just as you were saying, but I don't see any developers actually helping out by saying, oh yes, we've got exactly the right design for that.
274 00:43:28.380 --> 00:43:30.980 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Are they included in your discussions?
275 00:43:31.260 --> 00:43:49.259 Sarah Whitelaw: Sorry, we have, we have one. So, Eco Homes, who I mentioned, and they were the ones who were talking about the housing needs. So, John Queening, who's the, one of their, one of their people, they have a project which the land charity, which is associated to the parish council.
276 00:43:49.280 --> 00:44:02.480 Sarah Whitelaw: has supported and funded for the building of a small number of houses, just 9 affordable homes for rent in the Home Valley.
277 00:44:02.570 --> 00:44:03.600 Sarah Whitelaw: And…
278 00:44:03.660 --> 00:44:13.890 Sarah Whitelaw: eco-friendly, you know, built to the standards that, that we laid out there. So we've… we've got one… we've got one developer.
279 00:44:13.890 --> 00:44:19.580 Sarah Whitelaw: so far, who's doing that. We would very much hope that other developers
280 00:44:19.580 --> 00:44:37.510 Sarah Whitelaw: would take a lead. It's… it's not been easy. It's been, been a real challenge, and some people… not… not terribly positive, shall we say, but hey, that's what happens, isn't it? You're not going to get 100% of everybody liking everything you do, if only.
281 00:44:38.310 --> 00:44:42.330 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Well, let's move on to other people. So, David, you have a question, please?
282 00:44:43.030 --> 00:44:49.600 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): Yes. You did a focus group, with the schools.
283 00:44:49.810 --> 00:44:54.239 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): How did you do that? Did you hire consultants to do that, or…
284 00:44:54.360 --> 00:44:56.879 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): Did the school set that up? How did it work?
285 00:44:57.550 --> 00:45:06.159 Sarah Whitelaw: Well, that's… that's where… I suppose that's where my background comes… comes in. I'm an ex-teacher and education lecturer.
286 00:45:06.160 --> 00:45:20.909 Sarah Whitelaw: And did teacher training. So, I've got, and did quite a lot of research and using focus groups, so I'd got… I'd got something to build on there. So, I contacted the schools and said, this is what we're doing, this is what we'd like to do, we need…
287 00:45:20.910 --> 00:45:45.900 Sarah Whitelaw: youth voices in here. Can you set up a group of young people who would be willing to talk to us? I sent them, a sort of outline of the sorts of things that we thought we might like to talk to them about. So there was a negotiation going on with the two members of staff who were responsible for, pupil voice in the school. So they'd already got established
288 00:45:45.900 --> 00:45:48.790 Sarah Whitelaw: organisations, as many schools do.
289 00:45:48.790 --> 00:45:57.540 Sarah Whitelaw: for enabling children to be able to… young people, to be able to say the things that they're interested in. So they… we used that forum.
290 00:45:59.100 --> 00:46:03.500 Sarah Whitelaw: And I went and did… I went and did the local… the focus groups with them.
291 00:46:04.150 --> 00:46:04.920 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): Alright.
292 00:46:06.350 --> 00:46:08.070 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Moving on to Stuart, please.
293 00:46:08.690 --> 00:46:16.060 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: I'd just like to say thank you for that, it's very interesting. And obviously, a huge amount of work involved.
294 00:46:16.580 --> 00:46:23.440 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: Having a neighbourhood plan is not a statutory requirement.
295 00:46:23.970 --> 00:46:28.040 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: And, I've heard several people recommend
296 00:46:28.190 --> 00:46:32.439 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: That it's actually not worth putting in all the time and effort
297 00:46:32.700 --> 00:46:37.509 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: That the neighbourhood plan is subservient to the local plan.
298 00:46:37.680 --> 00:46:42.999 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: And any neighbourhood plan has to be compliant with the local plan.
299 00:46:43.260 --> 00:46:47.439 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: So, there's not a huge amount of influence there.
300 00:46:47.580 --> 00:46:49.299 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: I, I…
301 00:46:50.040 --> 00:46:57.780 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: Really appreciate the amount of work you've done, but, sometimes question, is it actually worth it at the end of the day?
302 00:46:58.140 --> 00:47:02.349 Sarah Whitelaw: Well, that remains to be seen, doesn't it, Stuart? You know?
303 00:47:02.350 --> 00:47:10.469 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: I mean, one advantage is that, when you have an in-place local plan, you can then claim SIL money.
304 00:47:11.220 --> 00:47:15.869 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: And I think if you've got a neighbourhood plan in place.
305 00:47:16.050 --> 00:47:24.100 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: the council will get 25% of the SIL money, as opposed to 10% if you don't have a neighbourhood plan.
306 00:47:26.670 --> 00:47:27.670 Sarah Whitelaw: So…
307 00:47:27.920 --> 00:47:30.360 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: That's a pretty big incentive, isn't it?
308 00:47:30.990 --> 00:47:31.450 Sarah Whitelaw: We have…
309 00:47:31.450 --> 00:47:34.729 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: As far as I can see, that is one of the main reasons.
310 00:47:34.990 --> 00:47:37.589 Sarah Whitelaw: as far… I mean, as far as our…
311 00:47:38.240 --> 00:47:47.390 Sarah Whitelaw: local plan update review is concerned, we decided to link what we'd got in our neighbourhood plan
312 00:47:47.580 --> 00:47:57.180 Sarah Whitelaw: to what we were saying in… what we were, yeah, saying in the, update that we're going to present to Kirklees.
313 00:47:57.300 --> 00:48:15.169 Sarah Whitelaw: So we're linking the two things together. It is a bit… I mean, it's a very valid question. Is all this work that we put in, is it… is it worth it? Well, it sort of remains to be seen, as far as our contribution to their, their…
314 00:48:15.450 --> 00:48:29.360 Sarah Whitelaw: review, they're updating, and I suppose we're… I mean, I suppose we feel that because they've come to… come back to us and said, we really want to engage with you.
315 00:48:30.190 --> 00:48:32.310 Sarah Whitelaw: We're taking them at their word.
316 00:48:33.560 --> 00:48:42.930 Sarah Whitelaw: And the other… I guess the other side of it is, we know very well, like many other local authorities, they're absolutely strapped for staff.
317 00:48:42.950 --> 00:48:56.330 Sarah Whitelaw: So the work that we're doing, and we have the example already of the conservation group, who wrote the management plan and the conservation review for Kirklees, because they didn't have any staff.
318 00:48:56.410 --> 00:49:12.710 Sarah Whitelaw: So we have precedent there about working with and working for and working alongside, but I think the challenge… the real challenge for us in the Home Valley is that because we are quite a distinctive and seen as.
319 00:49:12.710 --> 00:49:18.610 Sarah Whitelaw: distinctive and different area from other parts of Kirklees.
320 00:49:18.610 --> 00:49:24.359 Sarah Whitelaw: It's the extent to which we get that message through, the… the…
321 00:49:24.830 --> 00:49:33.780 Sarah Whitelaw: The local plan recognises the distinctiveness of different areas and their needs. It's not one size fits all.
322 00:49:34.790 --> 00:49:36.279 Sarah Whitelaw: Does that make sense?
323 00:49:36.280 --> 00:49:39.660 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: Yes, yes. No, that sounds good, thank you.
324 00:49:40.970 --> 00:49:42.160 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Preston, please.
325 00:49:42.840 --> 00:50:02.399 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Yeah, just, thank you very much, Sarah, that was excellent. Just in response to Stuart's comment, I'm slightly surprised. I think that having a neighbourhood plan, certainly in our experience in Winchfield, has made a huge difference. And it's because the local council in the local plan has to take
326 00:50:03.070 --> 00:50:22.900 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: a lot of interest, and they have to support the decisions based on what the neighbourhood plans say. So if you've got a made a neighborhood plan which says, you know, this is our strategy, the council and the local plan can't say, well, no, we don't agree. It's not consistent with the local plan. We're going to ignore it.
327 00:50:22.900 --> 00:50:26.970 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: So we find it very useful, gives us huge leverage.
328 00:50:27.160 --> 00:50:40.010 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: But I also wanted to ask Sarah, because in… in where we are, there's a lot of divergence between the strategy of the… of the district council and the strategy of our parish. So we were… we were…
329 00:50:40.010 --> 00:50:52.499 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: the district council wanted to put a new town, 10,000 houses, in this tiny little village, which we were writing… we were very against, because it would cause coalescence with the neighboring towns, and there's a lot of
330 00:50:52.550 --> 00:51:06.769 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: ancient woodland and biodiversity damage that would be done. So we… we found ourselves very much in conflict, and when we had… when we did the… the local plan, the inspector… he… the inspector said he… he…
331 00:51:07.320 --> 00:51:14.719 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: because of the work we'd done to show that the new town in Winfield wasn't suitable, and it… because we'd got it in a maid,
332 00:51:14.720 --> 00:51:30.720 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: neighborhood plan, he… he ruled against the council, and he made the council take out their plans for Winfield. So I wonder… it sounds as if you're very… there's no conflict between your… what you want to do, and what Kirkle's Council wants to do. Art is very, very different.
333 00:51:30.960 --> 00:51:32.709 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: We were absolutely at loggerheads.
334 00:51:33.190 --> 00:51:41.809 Sarah Whitelaw: I wouldn't… I wouldn't say there's no conflict. I would say that it's, it's an ongoing,
335 00:51:41.860 --> 00:51:53.970 Sarah Whitelaw: Attempt at lobbying and having conversations and trying to make sure that our local, ward councillors,
336 00:51:54.260 --> 00:51:58.479 Sarah Whitelaw: Are communicating both ways.
337 00:52:00.080 --> 00:52:11.500 Sarah Whitelaw: It's… I mean, it is… it's a real challenge, because we're… I'm not sure whether this is the way that it's working currently in other authorities, but we have…
338 00:52:11.620 --> 00:52:30.549 Sarah Whitelaw: We have been consistently told, although the direction of travel seems to be changing a bit, that the parish council has no statutory voice in relation to the council. It's viewed in the same way as any other resident. Well, I…
339 00:52:30.560 --> 00:52:32.179 Sarah Whitelaw: I think that that…
340 00:52:32.310 --> 00:52:44.129 Sarah Whitelaw: And Chris will correct me if I'm wrong here. There seems to be some small shifts in that direction, and it's the example of the engagement of the
341 00:52:44.620 --> 00:52:51.929 Sarah Whitelaw: A person who is responsible for the local plan update with us that gives us some
342 00:52:52.100 --> 00:53:06.399 Sarah Whitelaw: confidence, if you like, in terms of better working together and communication. But whether that will extend to what finally gets written in the local plan update, and how that
343 00:53:06.400 --> 00:53:12.690 Sarah Whitelaw: reflects what it is that we've had to say about the very specific needs of the Home Valley.
344 00:53:12.690 --> 00:53:14.649 Sarah Whitelaw: Remains to be seen.
345 00:53:17.120 --> 00:53:18.100 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Interesting.
346 00:53:19.670 --> 00:53:22.170 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: May we move on to Madeleine, please?
347 00:53:25.640 --> 00:53:33.370 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: Thank you very much, Sarah. I used to live in Upper Thong, so I know exactly where you're talking… talking about. Oh! Ow!
348 00:53:33.370 --> 00:53:36.300 Sarah Whitelaw: Hi! You know what I'm talking about, yeah.
349 00:53:36.300 --> 00:53:40.960 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: Now I live in the Flatlands again, and down in Cambridgeshire.
350 00:53:41.680 --> 00:54:01.260 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: Interestingly, I… what Tristram said about Stuart's comment, we, we have a neighbourhood plan in Buckton, and it has been very useful in terms of the plan, for, HDC's, local plan. HDC are now reviewing their local plan.
351 00:54:01.260 --> 00:54:06.659 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: So, what our approach has been to, to look at our
352 00:54:06.740 --> 00:54:23.649 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: neighbourhood plan, which needed updating anyway, because we adopted that in, again, 2000… I think that was 2020, and it… and we said in it that it would be reviewed in 5 years, so we need to do it. But… but our take on this is that
353 00:54:23.650 --> 00:54:40.119 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: as soon as the new local plan comes into effect, we want our neighbourhood plan to be ready to go, because that has precedence, to my understanding, over the local plan. And yes, I agree with Stuart, you can't go against
354 00:54:40.170 --> 00:54:41.880 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: you can't…
355 00:54:42.560 --> 00:54:50.929 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: you can't put things in there which go against the local plan, or against the MPPF, or anything like that, but you can…
356 00:54:51.970 --> 00:55:08.650 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: try and mold it to your particular situation, which is what we are trying to do. And I was quite interested to hear you say about farming and so on, because at the moment we don't have a section for farming and food security in our neighbourhood plan, but it would seem the very sensible thing to do.
357 00:55:08.900 --> 00:55:20.429 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: And… and also, we… we've been trying to work out how to engage with our small businesses. We've got… in the village, we have a lot of…
358 00:55:20.770 --> 00:55:25.190 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: Small, businesses, painters, decorators, builders.
359 00:55:25.410 --> 00:55:41.119 Madeline Fraser buckden pc: And trying to engage with them, I don't know if you've… if you've got any secret way of doing this, but so that… that we can try and think about them in terms of our… our neighbourhood plan.
360 00:55:41.380 --> 00:55:42.140 Sarah Whitelaw: Hmm.
361 00:55:42.350 --> 00:55:48.239 Sarah Whitelaw: That's a really interesting one, Madeline, because currently,
362 00:55:49.080 --> 00:56:02.740 Sarah Whitelaw: We have a town center development project going on, which is not without its issues, shall we say. Anyway, draw a veil a bit on that one. What it has helped
363 00:56:02.770 --> 00:56:10.199 Sarah Whitelaw: to do is to develop the existing business community group
364 00:56:10.270 --> 00:56:20.039 Sarah Whitelaw: and galvanize their collective activity. So, a couple of people who've been quite active in the business community anyway.
365 00:56:20.140 --> 00:56:24.819 Sarah Whitelaw: helped set up a Home Firth Business Together group.
366 00:56:25.270 --> 00:56:44.529 Sarah Whitelaw: And it functions largely as a WhatsApp group, but they also work in conjunction with Home Valley Vision, which was the network group I talked about, and also an organization, a company, actually, called Home Fair Forward.
367 00:56:44.530 --> 00:56:48.320 Sarah Whitelaw: Which, is focusing at the moment on…
368 00:56:48.340 --> 00:56:59.080 Sarah Whitelaw: market… on running the local market, which will move to the new site when the town center develops. So that's a complicated way of saying that
369 00:56:59.140 --> 00:57:09.059 Sarah Whitelaw: There were a couple of people who were really active in driving a business community engagement,
370 00:57:10.200 --> 00:57:16.359 Sarah Whitelaw: network, yeah, face-to-face and on WhatsApp, and…
371 00:57:16.650 --> 00:57:40.730 Sarah Whitelaw: it's proved really… it's proved really quite successful, and they're now doing… so, a colleague of ours who is at the leading Home Valley Vision, Margaret Dale, who's absolutely brilliant, has said, in all the years that she has worked with businesses locally and the local council, she's never seen the sort of collaboration
372 00:57:40.730 --> 00:57:42.460 Sarah Whitelaw: That is now going on.
373 00:57:42.460 --> 00:57:50.200 Sarah Whitelaw: But it took a couple of people, really, to kick it off. Business owners, to really kick it off.
374 00:57:52.410 --> 00:57:54.960 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Thank you, Sarah. Can we move on to Stuart, please?
375 00:57:56.190 --> 00:57:59.139 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: Thank you. On a completely different note.
376 00:57:59.300 --> 00:58:04.729 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: I was wondering how many of your farmers practice regenerative agriculture?
377 00:58:07.510 --> 00:58:08.650 Sarah Whitelaw: I don't know.
378 00:58:09.970 --> 00:58:10.630 Sarah Whitelaw: What's happening?
379 00:58:10.850 --> 00:58:11.670 Sarah Whitelaw: and find out.
380 00:58:11.670 --> 00:58:16.000 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: From a ecological carbon point of view… Yeah.
381 00:58:16.370 --> 00:58:17.450 Sarah Whitelaw: Yeah, the…
382 00:58:17.450 --> 00:58:22.109 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: Is anyone trying to explain? There are 200… 240.
383 00:58:22.110 --> 00:58:24.850 Sarah Whitelaw: plus NFU members.
384 00:58:25.170 --> 00:58:37.269 Sarah Whitelaw: in Kirklees. So, I would imagine that there are a number of them, shall we say, who would be able to answer that question and do it.
385 00:58:37.340 --> 00:58:49.220 Sarah Whitelaw: But I don't know the answer, but I can certainly find out, and it would be an interesting, addition to our section on farming and agriculture. So thank you for raising that.
386 00:58:49.620 --> 00:58:51.070 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: Okay, thanks.
387 00:58:51.870 --> 00:58:52.959 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Leave it, please.
388 00:58:55.670 --> 00:58:57.929 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): Yes.
389 00:58:58.870 --> 00:59:05.530 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): I'd like to get back to engagement, a bit broader than just the point about focus groups.
390 00:59:06.110 --> 00:59:08.490 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): I'd be interested in the ways you…
391 00:59:08.740 --> 00:59:18.110 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): What you've managed to engage larger numbers of people, The reason I'm asking… It's because…
392 00:59:18.840 --> 00:59:27.590 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): My parish, two-thirds of it, has just been entered into the Pride of Place… Pride in Place government program.
393 00:59:28.100 --> 00:59:42.990 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): as one of the most deprived areas in the country, and they're going to offer £20 million a year for development. So we've suddenly got lots of interest, and we want to find a way
394 00:59:43.470 --> 01:00:00.190 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): to actually find out from local people what their priorities are. We're thinking even of a big meeting with tables of 10 people and discussion on that, but as you've done more engagement than us, you've probably got better ideas than me.
395 01:00:00.910 --> 01:00:11.720 Sarah Whitelaw: No, I doubt that… I doubt that, David. All I would say is, I think that… my experience would be, you're not going to get a one-hit wonder.
396 01:00:11.840 --> 01:00:17.260 Sarah Whitelaw: So, putting out a survey on Facebook or Weber is useful.
397 01:00:17.360 --> 01:00:24.140 Sarah Whitelaw: But it ain't the whole story. I think… I think you really need to do a whole range of things, so…
398 01:00:24.140 --> 01:00:28.419 Sarah Whitelaw: Getting… getting local schools interested and engaged.
399 01:00:28.420 --> 01:00:48.180 Sarah Whitelaw: I think is really quite important, because then that can move out towards parents and guardians and local connections. We have a large number of sports groups operating locally. They can be really useful. We've got a whole, we've got a whole list
400 01:00:48.250 --> 01:01:06.040 Sarah Whitelaw: of people and organisations that the parish council has a database, so we can use that to put information and queries out. So, I think it's… I think the simple answer is not one size fits all.
401 01:01:06.040 --> 01:01:21.200 Sarah Whitelaw: Try the different… but use the expertise that you've got locally. There will be people who can run focus groups. There will be teachers who would say, yeah, I don't mind going out and doing a bit of surveying with. And it's every little bit…
402 01:01:21.330 --> 01:01:27.970 Sarah Whitelaw: Connects together, really, to create a… To create a diverse.
403 01:01:29.310 --> 01:01:39.149 Sarah Whitelaw: story. It's not… it's not like one story. It's lots of different contributions, which make the difference, I think, when you do a consultation.
404 01:01:41.180 --> 01:01:42.569 Sarah Whitelaw: Does that make sense?
405 01:01:43.020 --> 01:01:44.899 David Newman (Blackbird Leys): It does.
406 01:01:44.900 --> 01:02:02.029 Sarah Whitelaw: Yeah. Can I just come back to the previous question from Stuart? I don't know why I didn't mention it, about local farmers engaging in eco practices. Well, of course, not of course. Longleaf Farm, which you may know, they…
407 01:02:02.470 --> 01:02:04.860 Sarah Whitelaw: Do milk and yoghurt and,
408 01:02:05.240 --> 01:02:09.849 Sarah Whitelaw: Cottage cheese and all sorts of things worldwide, not just nationally.
409 01:02:10.140 --> 01:02:22.239 Sarah Whitelaw: they have a big program on eco-farming, and I can send a link to what they're doing. They're a big organization, but the,
410 01:02:22.240 --> 01:02:35.180 Sarah Whitelaw: Jimmy Dickinson, who is the, lead CEO, owner, and his group, are extremely proactive when it comes to this area.
411 01:02:35.240 --> 01:02:39.739 Sarah Whitelaw: So, I'll… I'll fish that… I'll fish out a concept for you, Stuart.
412 01:02:42.550 --> 01:02:43.510 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: Thank you.
413 01:02:45.710 --> 01:02:48.439 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Does anyone else have any questions, please?
414 01:02:51.150 --> 01:02:52.780 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: But you obviously…
415 01:02:52.940 --> 01:03:05.219 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: wowed us all, Sarah. But I do think that was a really helpful and useful presentation, and I'm very sorry I'm going to have to ask you to come back again in a year to tell us about Instagram.
416 01:03:07.560 --> 01:03:10.369 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: It was fascinating, thank you.
417 01:03:11.300 --> 01:03:26.639 Sarah Whitelaw: What I tried… what I tried to do, was to say, this is our… this is our experience, this is how we're working on it. We are… we're a big council, you know, there's 23 of us, and… and 12 wards.
418 01:03:26.640 --> 01:03:35.309 Sarah Whitelaw: So it's not a small number of people, but as always, it comes down to the people who are willing to put and have the time.
419 01:03:35.310 --> 01:03:38.010 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: People who have the time to put in.
420 01:03:38.010 --> 01:03:45.539 Sarah Whitelaw: So, I'm lucky, I no longer work for money, I can decide to do some work on this. That's not true for everybody, obviously.
421 01:03:46.620 --> 01:04:02.529 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: No, it does seem to be that it's true across the entire world, almost, that individuals can make an outsized contribution to get the ball rolling, and then once the wall is rolling, the volunteers start coming out of the woodwork, but it's getting started that seems to be the issue.
422 01:04:03.100 --> 01:04:13.799 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: So, I found that very rewarding, very informative, and we're about to start doing the same sorts of things down here, so there'll be lots of lessons taken to heart. Thank you very much.
423 01:04:14.120 --> 01:04:14.890 Sarah Whitelaw: Not at all.
424 01:04:14.890 --> 01:04:16.260 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Yes, thank you.
425 01:04:16.410 --> 01:04:27.130 Sarah Whitelaw: If I could just finally say, I should… I should pay absolute credit to Councillor Mary Blacker, who was the chair of the Council,
426 01:04:27.240 --> 01:04:40.289 Sarah Whitelaw: two years ago, but she has absolutely led the work on the local plan and the need to do it. So, having somebody who drives things forward from the outset
427 01:04:40.400 --> 01:04:43.590 Sarah Whitelaw: And Mary… Mary is the person responsible for that.
428 01:04:43.810 --> 01:04:46.920 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Yep, thank you, that's good.
429 01:04:47.200 --> 01:05:03.580 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: advertisement for her. I will be putting all of this up on the knowledge base, and we'll break out all the leads and the links that you gave, Sarah, including your email address and your phone number, so stand by to be pounded by people.
430 01:05:03.710 --> 01:05:15.460 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: But thank you all very much for joining us. Next week, we're going to be talking about the new local nature recovery strategy that the government is mandating districts to
431 01:05:15.470 --> 01:05:30.719 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: get on with, and what the impact has been in one area, but hopefully there are lessons there for the rest of the country. So I hope that you'll find that fascinating. And in the meantime, thank you all very much for your time, and we'll see you whenever the next time is.
432 01:05:31.230 --> 01:05:32.280 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Take care.
433 01:05:32.280 --> 01:05:34.960 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: Thanks very much. Thanks, Sarah.
434 01:05:34.960 --> 01:05:36.380 Sarah Whitelaw: Okay.
435 01:05:36.690 --> 01:05:37.320 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Isle of Wight: Bye-bye.
436 01:05:37.790 --> 01:05:38.330 Sarah Whitelaw: Bye.
Markdown of Sarah's presentation:
Holme Valley Parish Council (HVPC)
Reference Group on the Kirklees Local Plan Update 2024–2025
Presentation summary based on “Big Collaboration Presentation – FINAL”
1. Background
Legal requirement: Updating Local Plans is mandatory.
Current plans:
Kirklees Council adopted its Local Plan in February 2019.
The Holme Valley Neighbourhood Plan came into force in December 2021.
New review: Announced in November 2024, to ensure:
The Local Plan remains up to date.
Ambitious climate change policies support Kirklees’ net zero goal by 2038.
The plan delivers a vision to 2043, detailing land use, housing, jobs, and infrastructure.
Alignment with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
2. HVPC Initiative
HVPC decided to prepare an independent review of the Local Plan before Kirklees’ own draft, due to the distinctive needs of the Holme Valley’s small towns and villages.
Early Timeline
Date
Key Action
Sept 2024
Working group (7 councillors + 1 community member from Holme Valley Vision) formed under Planning Committee.
Nov 2024
Outline plan for a partnership review group established. HVPC identified as lead body.
Dec 2024
Invitation emails sent to major community groups to join review group.
Jan 14, 2025
Inaugural meeting of the HVPC Reference Group on the Kirklees Local Plan Update.
Membership
Representatives include:
Holmfirth Conservation Group
Holme Valley Vision
River Holme Connections
EcoHolmes Community Land Trust
Honley Business Association
Honley Village Community Trust CIO
Penistone Line Partnership
Holme Valley Climate Action Partnership
Longley Farm Estate
Brockholes Green Spaces & Station Adopters
Holmfirth Business Together
Six HVPC councillors
Open invitation to other interested parties
3. Key Themes
Every theme integrates Climate Emergency considerations.
Addressed in early engagement:
Farming and Food Security
Greenbelt / Grey Belt
Heritage
Housing
Transport
River Holme Connections
In development for final report:
Minerals
Economy
Greenspace
Health & Wellbeing
Design
4. Engagement with Kirklees Council
The Reference Group maintains ongoing dialogue with Kirklees officers:
Continue active engagement throughout process.
Suggest potential development sites (with willing landowners).
Provide feedback on policies:
Most used.
Not working and why.
New policy needs.
Promote awareness and participation in consultations.
5. Consultations to Date
Date
Event
Purpose
Nov 2024
HVPC Response to Peak District National Park (PDNP) “Issues & Options”
Landscape, biodiversity, nature recovery
May 2025
Focus groups with local high school students
Input on farming and food security
July 2025
Farmers’ meeting and Q&A
Input on agriculture section
Sept 2025
Food & Drink Festival survey
Insights into local food systems
6. HVPC Response – PDNP Consultation (Nov 2024)
Approximately ⅓ of HVPC area lies within PDNP.
Advocated for:
Using powers under the Environment Act 2021 to conserve landscape and biodiversity.
Setting clear Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements.
Tight restrictions in Natural Zones to protect ecology.
Residents expressed:
Desire for fairness — PDNP developments should meet same BNG rules as non-park areas.
Concern over existing planning burdens and costs.
7. Highlights from HVPC Early Engagement Response
Agriculture & Food Security: Lack of local produce outlets.
Heritage: Preserve and enhance built heritage.
Housing: Shortage of suitable and affordable homes.
Transport: Need for harmonised bus/rail services and investment in active travel.
Greybelt: Limited development impact expected in Holme Valley.
8. Theme: Farming & Food Security
Farmers’ Concerns
Agriculture barely mentioned in current plan.
Farming supports landscape, tourism, employment, and biodiversity.
Need to support the circular economy and recognise local production (240 NFU members in Kirklees).
Seek practical policy and process support from both local and national levels.
9. Theme: School Focus Groups
Key Issues Raised
Climate & Environment:
Food waste reduction.
Composting and recycling.
More education on food sustainability.
Local Food:
Promote local produce and ethical sourcing.
Improve visibility of sustainable choices.
Community Gardens/Allotments:
Encourage shared and intergenerational use.
10. Local Food Survey (n = 62)
Question 1: What matters when choosing where to shop locally?
Factor
“Quite/Very Important” Responses
Quality
51
Product Range
45
Type of Food
44
Parking
36
Opening Times
36
Location
35
Question 2: Frequency of buying from local independent shops
Weekly or more: 37/62 (60%)
11. Theme: Housing (EcoHolmes Input)
Local Preferences
Small developments (<20 units) preferred over large (>100).
Major issue: lack of infrastructure with new housing.
Desire for:
Smaller homes near centres with good transport links.
Housing for elderly downsizers, key workers, and first-time buyers.
Data Highlights
Surplus of large family homes.
Shortage of smaller affordable properties.
Many elderly residents “locked in” to large homes.
Design & Infrastructure
Sustainable, energy-efficient homes.
Communal/shared green and service spaces.
Modular, low-carbon homes proposed for affordability and sustainability.
12. Supporting Climate and Energy Goals
Strong support for retrofitting and net-zero new builds.
“Very important” to upgrade existing stock since 80% of 2050’s homes already exist.
13. Theme: River Holme Connections (RHC)
Overview
Independent local charity, key “voice for the river”.
Promotes water quality, biodiversity, and public access.
Recommendations
Prioritise existing land banks before new development.
Use RHC–Defra project (5000ha, 27 landowners) as model for planning.
Protect investment and biodiversity along the River Holme corridor.
Reinstate Section 106 funds for:
Riverside Way access.
Carbon mitigation and active travel.
Support ongoing weir removal/adaptation programme to improve fish migration and river ecology.
14. Next Steps
Adjusted timescale pending national planning guidance.
Section teams to submit drafts by Nov 7.
Include:
Climate Action in every section.
Cross-theme interconnections.
Visual/diagrammatic representation of overlaps.
Broaden community engagement and collaboration.
Continue active engagement with Kirklees officers.
15. Useful Links
16. Contact
Cllr Sarah Whitelaw
Holme Valley Parish Council
📞 07711 078981
Last updated