The Neighbourhood Plan is now well into the Regulation 16 consultation process which ends on 11th March and precludes the statutory independent examination - probably in April. Copies of the Plan can be viewed at the Parish Office, Victoria Hall, Deva Antiques in the High street and the coffee shop at St. John's Church.

Representations to the consultation must be made in writing: so you can either:

• Complete an online form or an electronic representation form, These can be found on line at https://www.hart.gov.uk/hartley-wintney or
• Set out your comments and email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or
• Print a representation form or write a letter and post it to: Neighbourhood Planning, Corporate Policy, Hart District Council, Harlington Way, Fleet, GU51 4AE

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By the time you are reading this, the Plan will have been submitted to Hart who will be undertaking another round of consultation before it goes to an Independent Examiner. In truth, there are one or two loose ends but hopefully these will not materially impede progress.

Space constraints prevented me from bringing to your attention in my previous update a number of recurring themes in our Parish consultations about the Plan:

• A maximum of 50 dwellings on a single development: This does seem a bit inconsequential given that the Plan recommends around 23 dwellings only. It does, however, lay down a marker and reflects the overwhelming wish expressed during our consultations to maintain the scale, style and setting of the Parish settlements and avoid any disproportionate developments. This has been incorporated as a Policy which gives it weight within the Neighbourhood Plan and in addition the aesthetics of any developments fall within the scope of the Design Guide.

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On December 3^rd the Parish Council approved the Hartley Wintney Neighbourhood Plan and accompanying documents. This means it is essentially ready now to go forward to Hart District Council for the next stage of the process although there is a possibility there might need to be a review of the accompanying documentation – rather than the thrust of the Plan in light of legislative changes due to be announced at the end of December.

Nonetheless, this is a rare moment and well-earned thanks are due to past and present members of the Steering Group, our consultants, the Parish Council and those members of the community who have engaged with us throughout our long journey.

Let me just remind you that the purpose of the Plan is to sit alongside the Hart Local Plan to guide development and provide direction to any interested parties wishing to submit planning applications for development within the parish.

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We've been caught up in a sort of merry go round – though not a particularly merry one – as we've tried to establish whether a procedural piece for our Neighbourhood Plan called a Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) is necessary before we can pass our plan to Hart District Council.

A European Court ruling in the summer muddled the waters and there is still no clear government guidance on the way forward – a matter which I have brought to the attention of our MP Ranil Jaywardena and our District Councillors. As a result, our application for funding for this piece of work was turned down after several weeks of waiting. So, rather than wait any longer, we asked for the costs, some £4,000, to be met by the Parish Council. I'm pleased to say they have agreed, and the assessment has now been commissioned.

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