The Community Charter is now a reality. Although its main concern at the outset is "local amenities and sustainable leisure, fitness and culture provision", it is accepted to be a Living Document that may evolve and respond to circumstances as time passes. Its terms of reference may broaden, some details may become less relevant and be replaced by others.
The Charter Group has shown it intends the Charter to be a positive factor in the development of the Town, and not just a way to resist all change. It recognises there will be changes, but will try to ensure the direction of change will benefit the Community in ways it wants and needs.
The First Drafts of the Proposed Community Vision and Charter are available from Links at the bottom of this page. Please also read the Introduction below.
Introduction to the Littlehampton Community Charter
Most people in Littlehampton will be aware of the widespread strong reaction to the District Council’s Draft Leisure Policy at the end of last year and into this Spring.
What may not be so widely known is that the next stage of the Neighbourhood Plan development process is under way, with the Pre-Submission Version now being published for Public Comment. Littlehampton Community Groups are saddened to see that this latest version seems to gone back on many of the elements of the previous draft.
The Community Groups in Littlehampton are convinced that the new draft does not reflect the views of the majority of ordinary Littlehampton Residents, and are now proposing that we should have a Charter that makes it clear that there is a Community Consensus on how the Neighbourhood Plan should convey a true representation of the town residents’ vision for the future.
What Littlehampton needs is a clear expression of the Community Consensus – and such a clear expression will actually help the Town Council comply with the requirement that the Local Neighbourhood Plan has indeed grown out of real Community discussion and agreement, and make it much easier for the Drafters to incorporate truly representative content in the final Submission Draft, making it possible for all Littlehampton Residents to wholeheartedly support it at Referendum.
So what is different and new about a Neighbourhood Plan?
Over the last quarter of a century there has been a feeling in Britain that more and more responsibilities have been stripped from Parishes, Districts, Counties and Regions, and control has been taken over by Central Government. At all levels there has been great dissatisfaction and a feeling that decisions are being taken remotely which trample local views and needs into the ground.
The Localism Act of 2011 was introduced to reverse the move towards the centre.
On the subject of Local Planning, the Minister of State for Decentralisation’s Plain Guide says…
Instead of local people being told what to do, the Government thinks that local communities should have genuine opportunities to influence the future of the places where they live. The Act introduces a new right for communities to draw up a neighbourhood plan.
Neighbourhood planning will allow communities, both residents, employees and business, to come together through a local parish council or neighbourhood forum and say where they think new houses, businesses and shops should go – and what they should look like.
How the Littlehampton Neighbourhood Plan has been compiled, and why the Community needs to express its Vision in a Charter
Littlehampton Town Council is proud to be among the first localities to develop a Local Neighbourhood Plan, and in this process the Town Council has been closely guided by the expertise of the District Council.
But the Localism Act insists that …
The Neighbourhood Plan covers many more topics other than the Leisure Strategy, but the Community has been focussed and roused by Leisure proposals. All the same, some general principals should apply to all aspects of the Plan, with the aim of making sure the Community is fully participating in all the issues, in addition to Leisure matters. The Community Charter sets out those principals.
The latest pre-Submission draft of the Neighbourhood Plan has regressed and is less supportive of what was previously expressed as both the Community and the Town Council’s attitude. Anyone who has spoken to friends or neighbours about the proposals for shutting the Windmill and moving the Leisure Centre has probably found that very few people support the proposals as a first choice option, and most are against them.
The Starting point of the Charter is an assessment of what we want to see – our Vision. Or in fact two Visions, one we want to see, and another we do not.
We, the residents of Littlehampton stand at one extreme of the network, with Westminster at the other; the levels in between should be prepared to let the old culture go, and realise that they can no longer be the end of the communication chain with Westminster, but that the chain should now extend to the individual members of the community.
Most people in Littlehampton will be aware of the widespread strong reaction to the District Council’s Draft Leisure Policy at the end of last year and into this Spring.
What may not be so widely known is that the next stage of the Neighbourhood Plan development process is under way, with the Pre-Submission Version now being published for Public Comment. Littlehampton Community Groups are saddened to see that this latest version seems to gone back on many of the elements of the previous draft.
The Community Groups in Littlehampton are convinced that the new draft does not reflect the views of the majority of ordinary Littlehampton Residents, and are now proposing that we should have a Charter that makes it clear that there is a Community Consensus on how the Neighbourhood Plan should convey a true representation of the town residents’ vision for the future.
What Littlehampton needs is a clear expression of the Community Consensus – and such a clear expression will actually help the Town Council comply with the requirement that the Local Neighbourhood Plan has indeed grown out of real Community discussion and agreement, and make it much easier for the Drafters to incorporate truly representative content in the final Submission Draft, making it possible for all Littlehampton Residents to wholeheartedly support it at Referendum.
So what is different and new about a Neighbourhood Plan?
Over the last quarter of a century there has been a feeling in Britain that more and more responsibilities have been stripped from Parishes, Districts, Counties and Regions, and control has been taken over by Central Government. At all levels there has been great dissatisfaction and a feeling that decisions are being taken remotely which trample local views and needs into the ground.
The Localism Act of 2011 was introduced to reverse the move towards the centre.
On the subject of Local Planning, the Minister of State for Decentralisation’s Plain Guide says…
Instead of local people being told what to do, the Government thinks that local communities should have genuine opportunities to influence the future of the places where they live. The Act introduces a new right for communities to draw up a neighbourhood plan.
Neighbourhood planning will allow communities, both residents, employees and business, to come together through a local parish council or neighbourhood forum and say where they think new houses, businesses and shops should go – and what they should look like.
How the Littlehampton Neighbourhood Plan has been compiled, and why the Community needs to express its Vision in a Charter
Littlehampton Town Council is proud to be among the first localities to develop a Local Neighbourhood Plan, and in this process the Town Council has been closely guided by the expertise of the District Council.
But the Localism Act insists that …
- An essential feature of a Neighbourhood Plan is it belongs to the Community.
- Neighbourhood Plans must not be controlled or coerced or composed or imposed by Local Government
- Local Government’s duty in the process is to facilitate and enable the local community view to emerge and take shape, not to orchestrate and steer the evolution of the Plan.
The Neighbourhood Plan covers many more topics other than the Leisure Strategy, but the Community has been focussed and roused by Leisure proposals. All the same, some general principals should apply to all aspects of the Plan, with the aim of making sure the Community is fully participating in all the issues, in addition to Leisure matters. The Community Charter sets out those principals.
The latest pre-Submission draft of the Neighbourhood Plan has regressed and is less supportive of what was previously expressed as both the Community and the Town Council’s attitude. Anyone who has spoken to friends or neighbours about the proposals for shutting the Windmill and moving the Leisure Centre has probably found that very few people support the proposals as a first choice option, and most are against them.
The Starting point of the Charter is an assessment of what we want to see – our Vision. Or in fact two Visions, one we want to see, and another we do not.
We, the residents of Littlehampton stand at one extreme of the network, with Westminster at the other; the levels in between should be prepared to let the old culture go, and realise that they can no longer be the end of the communication chain with Westminster, but that the chain should now extend to the individual members of the community.
Links to the Charter Documents....
Click Here to read the The Community Vision as an Adobe Acrobat Portable Document
(Alternatively if you don't have a pdf Reader installed, click here to view the Vision as a web page)
Click here to read The Community Charter as an Adobe Acrobat Portable Document
(Alternatively if you don't have a pdf Reader installed, click here to view the Charter as a web page)
Click Here to READ THE PRESS RELEASE
(Alternatively if you don't have a pdf Reader installed, click here to view the Vision as a web page)
Click here to read The Community Charter as an Adobe Acrobat Portable Document
(Alternatively if you don't have a pdf Reader installed, click here to view the Charter as a web page)
Click Here to READ THE PRESS RELEASE