Upper Eden Neighbourhood Plan

As one of the Big Society vanguard areas, and in tandem with the Localism bill, Upper Eden has to develop planning policies for a Neighbourhood Plan for the area. All Parish Councils and residents are being asked to respond.

Broadly, these cover:

• Housing that is affordable and suitable for local people in rural areas
• Housing on farms and for rural businesses
• Housing for the elderly
• Housing densities that are suitable for the area
• Helping to deliver Broadband Internet Access through planning policy
• Monitoring and managing development to prevent over-development

Warcop is being asked to respond and we are therefore asking everyone with an interest in housing and broadband, now and in the future, to take a moment to read the attached documents and respond via the Parish Council or on this website.

Thank you

Parish Letter PDF to download

Issues and Consultation PDF to download







Upper Eden Neighbourhood Plan
Local Links
Vicarage Lane
Kirkby Stephen
CA17 4QX
2nd June 2011

Dear Parish

As you may know the Upper Eden Community Plan Group has been sponsored by the
Government (Department of Communities and Local Government) to prepare a
Neighbourhood Plan as part of its ʻBig Societyʼ project in the Eden Valley. These
Neighbourhood Plans are due to be one of the rights given to Communities as part of the
Governmentʼs Localism Bill later this year. Our opportunity is to be one of the first
communities to prepare our own planning policy, and; to do so with Government support.
There are three main criteria for Neighbourhood Plans. These are:
• The preparation must be supported by a Parish Council or Meeting
• The policies must fit with Strategic Policy
• It must be supported by the community in a local referendum

The Upper Eden Community Plan Steering Group has been campaigning over many years
for better planning policies in the area to help communities become more sustainable and
help local people get housing which they can afford where they need it. This is now our
opportunity to make a real difference.

The policies we want to put forward are aimed at:
• helping local people build their own houses in sensible locations,
• allow farmers and rural businesses the flexibility to manage growth and change better,
• remove density targets within existing policy,
• encourage specialist housing for older people, and
• encourage better broadband connections
• monitor and manage development rates better

In the first instance, I am writing to you to let you know that this process is starting. I will
be sending another document outlining the policy ideas in more detail very soon.
Secondly, if your parish wants a chance to vote for these policies in the referendum we will
need a letter of support for the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan. This does not
mean that you, as a parish, necessarily support the policies, only that you support the idea
of preparing the plan. All electors will have a chance to vote for, or against, the policies

The policy ideas are not fixed, and we will be consulting people and parishes over the next
5 months; but they do represent a sensible response to the issues facing our area.
Further information will be made available on our web page on www.uecp.org.uk, and you
can always call, or email me at the address shown for further information.

Yours sincerely
Tom Woof
DPS Ltd
017683 71532
tom.woof@development-planning.co.uk