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Below you will find details of the progress of the Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan.

Initial Progress

The Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan is being prepared by a group of residents against a background of the emerging Local Plan being prepared by City of York council. The previous Draft Local Plan published in October 2014 for the period up to 2030 proposed 226 houses to be built on three sites (Brecks Lane H27-102, Behind Strensall Village H30-71 and The Tannery H32-53) within the parish of Strensall with Towthorpe. Housing on this scale will significantly stretch the existing facilities of infrastructure and the organisations engaged in the provision of retail and leisure.

Progress on this Draft Plan was halted by City of York Council on 9^th October 2014 in order to review the evidence base and development strategy for new housing development across the local authority area.

Since that time a Planning Inspector was appointed by the Secretary of State to review the decision of City of York Council to allow the building of 102 properties on land to the North of Brecks Lane (Site H27). The Inspector found in favour of the Parish Council and permission was refused. This decision influenced a later application to develop part of site H30 with 11 dwellings and this application was refused by City of York Council. The remaining site was a brownfield site at the former Tannery and permission had already been given for the development of 53 dwellings on this site which was completed in 2015.

The Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan is not anti-growth but would wish to retain and enhance the following:

• To maintain the character, setting and identity of the Village of Strensall and the Hamlet of Towthorpe.
• To manage the growth of new development, particularly housing.
• To ensure any development is sustainable and respects the natural environment.
• To preserve the green belt which washes over the parish.
• To support and develop community facilities.

In 2016 progress to the emerging City of York Local Plan was approved by the City Council on 30^th June and a Preferred Sites Consultation took place between 18^th July and 12^th September 2016. The document did not contain any proposals to create further development in the parish but after taking account of the responses to the questionnaire the Parish Council suggested that unused land within the MoD married quarters should be used to provide social / affordable housing. Before the responses to the Preferred Sites Consultation could be incorporated into the emerging City of York Local Plan there was an announcement by the Ministry of Defence that the closure of the Queen Elizabeth Barracks and Towthorpe Lines would take place by 2021. City of York Councillors decided to request that the submission of the Local Plan to the Inspectorate be delayed by 6 months to allow investigation into the effect that the inclusion of MoD sites could have. This has provided a knock on effect to the compilation of the Neighbourhood Plan and members of the Steering Group have held meetings in early 2017 with City of York Council Officers to ensure the needs of the community are taken into account. Further regular meetings were arranged but have been postponed pending the outcome of talks between the City Council and the MoD and other interested parties.

The Parish Council obtained copies of the Plan for you to view by appointment and a  copy is available in Strensall Library.

City of York Council’s Local Plan Working Group decided in April 2017 that the MoD sites at Strensall and Fulford should be included in the emerging Local Plan and a further public consultation was held in September 2017.

The next stage in the Local Plan progress commenced on 21st February 2018 when the Publication Draft Plan was made available for comments to be made.  Both Strensall with Towthorpe Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group have commented mainly in support of the Local Plan.

Further Modifications to Neighbourhood Plan

A consequence of the inclusion of the MoD sites at Queen Elizabeth Barracks for residential development  and Towthorpe Lines for business use is the additional traffic generated by these developments. The Steering Group decided that it would be beneficial to provide a safe alternate route to the A64 via Towthorpe Moor Lane in accord with the expected upgrade of the A64 including the junction at Hazelbush crossroads. After discussions with neighbouring parishes an application was made to City of York Council to amend the designated boundary of the Neighbourhood Plan Area to also include the whole of Towthorpe Moor Lane. An application for City of York Council to approve the revised boundary was submitted on 31st March 2017. The consultation period for the boundary amendment was finally arranged by City of York Council and commenced on 28th March 2018 and ended on 11th May 2018 for residents to comment. This progress has allowed the Steering Group to prepare updated version of the Neighbourhood Plan. The amended boundary was approved by Councillor Peter Dew on 14th June 2018.

A questionnaire was issued to all residents via the June 2018 edition of the Outreach. In order to complete the questionnaire residents must read the policies contained in the Draft Neighbourhood Plan.  Printed copies of the Draft Neighbourhood Plan were made available at the following locations – Strensall with Towthorpe Parish Council Office at The Village Hall, Strensall Explore Library, Hairdressers in the Village, St Mary’s Church Hall, Strensall Methodist Hall and Redmayne Lodge. Alternatively an on-line version was published found on this web site.

After taking account of the responses received in the June 2018 consultation a pre-submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan was compiled. This was to be the subject of a further consultation arranged to take place between 1st March 2019 and 12th April 2019. This proposed consultation had to be postponed following advice from Officers at City of York  Council as Strategic Environment assessment and Habitat Regulation Assessment reports had to issued with the pre-submission plan.

As shown at the top of this page you will find details of the pre-submission consultation re-arranged to take place between 1st July and 26th August 2019.

City of York Council also held a Local Plan consultation, at the request of the Planning Inspector, to invite responses to the modifications to the submitted Local Plan. Of the 21 modifications the removal of the two sites at Queen Elizabeth Barracks (ST35 at the barracks) and H59 at Howard Road) and the alteration of the green belt boundary to the centre of Ox Carr Lane are of particular interest.

Taking into consideration the responses received in the July / August 2019 pre-submission consultation and the proposed modifications to the submitted Local Plan by City of York Council, further amendments were made to the Draft Neighbourhood Plan to create a version ready for submission. This version was discussed by the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group at the meeting held on 25th February 2020. Once final amendments agreed at this meeting are made, an electronic version of the Neighbourhood Plan will be compiled by the group’s Graphic Designer. Copies of this Submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan, Strategic Environment /  Heritage Regulations Assessment Report, Basic Conditions Report and Statement of Community Consultation will be presented to Strensall with Towthorpe Parish Council for their approval to submit this latest version to City of York Council who will arrange a Planning Inspector to examine the documents.

June & July 2018 Consultation

These documents associated with the June / July Consultation and the responses received were used to inform the content of the July / August 2019 pre-submission consultation.

Pre-submission Consultation 1st July – 26th August 2019

Responses received from the above consultation have been examined and the results will inform the submission version of the Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan. Amendments to the pre-submission version were agreed at meetings of the Steering Group held on 24th September 2019 and 26th November 2019 and the amended versions were passed to City of York Council Officers for their comments and advice.

An update meeting was held by the Steering Group on 25th February 2020 where the Steering Group Chair was tasked to make any minor amendments to enable a submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan to be compiled.

Progress interruption due to Corona-virus pandemic 2020/2021.

Due to restrictions on holding public meetings introduced in March 2020, limited work has been carried out to the pre-submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan. A zoom meeting was held on 17th September 2020 between some steering group members and City of York Council Officers to receive updates on the Local Plan and to make any alterations to that version arising from advice received.

In January 2021 arrangements were agreed to update the Neighbourhood Plan with the advice received from City of York Council Officers regarding the updates they had passed to the Planning Inspectors dealing with the Local Plan. These related to Green Belt designation and the latest version of the Heritage Regulation Assessment prepared by Waterman Infrastructure and Environment Ltd.

Arrangements have been put in hand to update the Draft Submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan as necessary, due to the Local Authority updates allied to the submitted Local Plan to the Inspectors, and to submit this draft final version to City of York Council at an early date.

Submission of Neighbourhood Plan – 16th June 2021

At the June 8th 2021 meeting of Strensall with Towthorpe Parish Council the submission version of the Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan was discussed and Councillors agreed unanimously to forward the Plan and associated documents to City of York Council.

On 14th June 2021 the final associated documents to the Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan were received from Directions Planning (consultant to the Neighbourhood Plan). These together with the Plan Documents were submitted to City of York Council for action on 16th June 2021.

Neighbourhood Planning Regulation 15 – Submission of Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Development Plan

 In accordance with Regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, Strensall with Towthorpe Parish Council has now submitted the Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Development Plan (‘Neighbourhood Plan’) to the City of York Council (CYC).

The submission comprises the following documents:-

• Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Submission Plan
• Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Submission Proposals Map
• Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Consultation Statement
• Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Basic Conditions Statement
• Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan SEA/HRA Screening Report & Determination Statement

This Submission Neighbourhood Plan has been submitted by a qualifying body, namely Strensall with Towthorpe Parish Council. The plan proposal relates to planning matters (the use and development of land) and has been prepared in accordance with the statutory requirements and processes set out in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011) and the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012. The Neighbourhood Plan proposal does not deal with county matters (mineral extraction and waste development), nationally significant infrastructure or any other matters set out in Section 61K of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The Neighbourhood Plan proposal relates to the designated Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Area and to no other area. There are no other Neighbourhood Plans relating to that area.

The Neighbourhood Plan evidence base can be accessed via the Submission Documents Tab

Submission Version Consultation November 2021 – January 2022

Consultation on the submission version of Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan has been arranged by City of York Council. The consultation commenced on 15th November 2021 and is for a period of 8 weeks ending at 5.00 pm on 7th January 2022.

Details of the consultation process can be viewed on the City of York Council web site by following the link https://www.york.gov.uk/planning-policy/strensall-towthorpe-neighbourhood-plan?documentId=770&categoryId=20051

Hard copies of the Neighbourhood Plan submission documents can be viewed at Strensall Library, York Explore Library or by pre-booked appointment at Strensall with Towthorpe Parish Office, Strensall Village Hall, Northfields, Strensall, YORK, YO32 5XW and City of York Council, West Offices, Station Rise, YORK, YO1 6GA.

Electronic versions of these documents can be viewed by clicking on the Submission Documents tab in the menu items at the  top of this page or on the dedicated Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan web page on the City of York Council’s web site.

Examination of Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan

Rosemary Kidd MRTPI has been appointed as Independent Examiner for the Neighbourhood Plan.

The examination commenced on Tuesday 5th April 2022.

The Examiner’s Procedural Notes can be viewed  by clicking on the following link. 2022-04-05 Strensall with Towthorpe York Examiners Procedural Note

The examination was completed on 13th October 2022 and the examiner’s report is available by clicking on the following link 2022-10-13 Strensall with Towthorpe York Examination Report final rev 

Officers at City of York Council studied the Examiner’s Report and arranged that the Report be passed to the Local Plan Working Group  on 6th March 2023. with a recommendation that the Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan be approved to go forward to the Executive.  The decision was to ask Executive to agree the Examiners Report and her recommended modifications to the Plan, the Council’s Decision Statement and that the Plan proceeds to referendum on 4^th May2023.

The Executive met on 16th March 2023 and approved the Examiners Report, Decision Statement and for the Plan to go forward to Referendum on Thursday 4^th May 2023.

Referendum

The ‘Specified Documents’ are listed below with clickable links to the documents

• Strensall with Towthorpe Neighbourhood Plan (Referendum Version) & Proposals Map (A3 size); SwTNP_Referendum_Version_Low Res_FINAL                                                                                                             SwTNP_PROPOSALS_MAP_REFERENDUM_VERSION_A1_PRINT_READY

A copy of the Neighbourhood Plan document formatted in single pages view is available to download or print from the following link;

https://www.plan4strensall.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/s_t_neighbourhood_plan_2023_referendum.pdf

• Examiners Report into the Neighbourhood Plan;                                                                                                                               Examiners_FINAL_ Report_13.10.22_PUBLISHED
• A Summary of Representations submitted to the Independent Examiner; Summary_of_Representations_submitted_to_the_independent_examiner

• A Decision Statement by the local planning authority that the draft plan meets those basic conditions in paragraph 8(2) to Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and complies with the provision made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended)                                                                                                                              Decision_Statement_Final_Published
• General Statement that sets out general information as to town and country planning including neighbourhood planning and the referendum; Gen_info_about_planning_system_neighbourhood_plans_FINAL
• Information Statement that sets out information specific to the referendum Information_Statement_for_Strensall_with_Towthorpe_NP_Final