Build 50 New Houses

Where do we put 50 new houses?

According to Cornwall Council Parish Statistics and The Office of National Statistics Census Data for 2001 and 2011, the Parish of St Ive grew from 917 to 971 households. It is expected that the demand for more housing in Cornwall in general and in our parish will continue to grow. The previous growth was more than fifty households in ten years. We can expect a similar demand in the future. So where do they go?

The new Cornwall Local Plan shows the Parish of St Ive is within the new PP16 Caradon Community Network Area. This is a lot smaller than the area covered by the previous Caradon District, which no longer exists. The new Community Network Area centres on Callington and with Gunnislake, this is where most new housing is targeted.

The St Ive Parish Plan 2003 updated 2009 envisions limiting new housing to infill, and in keeping, with the exception of a small estate of low cost housing (which has since been built at St Ive Cross).

There is a view that new housing should be concentrated around towns like Liskeard and Callington, where the jobs are, since long commutes are not sustainable in a low carbon future. This appears to be the policy in the Cornwall Local Plan, But if the local jobs move to town, what will happen to the parish? Will it gradually turn into a destination for retiring pensioners from up country, and will all the young people move away?

Within the parish, Pensilva is nearly large enough to be a town. It has most of the housing, and the largest industrial estate in the parish, but narrow roads with heavy goods vehicles and commuter traffic near capacity. The hamlets of St Ive Cross, St Ive Church End, St Ive Parkfield and St Ive Keason have good communication with the A390, but little industry. Should future expansion be along the A390, or should the roads to Pensilva be widened to allow its growth?

If these issues are important to you please comment.

Public Meetings

The St Ive Neighbourhood Development Plan Working Group are holding public meetings;

• 7.30pm on Friday 29th November 2013 at St Ive Institute (Village Hall) 
• 7.30pm on Saturday 30th November at Millennium House, Pensilva

These public meetings will explain what a Neighbourhood Development Plan is, why we need it, and how the community needs to be involved.

The public meetings will also be an opportunity to find out what key issues are important to the community, and therefore need to be included in the forthcoming survey.

Hints For Cornwall Parishes Begining The Process

Where do we start?

Hint 1: Don't bother thinking about anything other than a "Neighbourhood Development Plan" for the area of your complete parish. If you look at the Cornwall Council web site under Neighbourhood Planning, you will see that no one else has. This is because any other structure has to create its own constitution, while a parish council already has one. Also neighbouring parishes you might join with are out of step, either ahead or behind in the process. Under the Localism Act 2011 there is an obligation, separate from Neighbourhood Planning, to cooperate with neighbouring areas, which makes sense anyway.
 
Hint 2: As soon as possible, get a letter and map off to Cornwall Council, applying for your parish to be a "neighbourhood plan area".  It takes about three months to get it approved, and applying for funding is a lot easier once it is approved.
 
Hint 3: Copy and adapt the documents of a similar successful parish. I've just seen the example of Tattenhall Parish Council, which Cornwall Council presented as an example. The Tattenhall Examiner's Report is particularly informative about what is a good process. 

Hint 4: Count back 26 to 40 weeks from when your referendum can coincide with a big election, (we are aiming for the probable General Election in May 2015), for when your final draft plan must be ready. It takes that long for Cornwall Council to consult, examine and organise the referendum, so that's the deadline.