Holiday lets? – our future town

Following a survey nearly two years ago which highlighted concerns about traffic, but also about possible pedestrianisation, as well as other issues, Rye residents were updated on the town’s Neighbourhood Plan at the start of this year; and Anthony Kimber gives a further update below.

Providing homes is obviously another  clear priority, but two major schemes, in the Rock Channel area and Tilling Green, are both back on the drawing board to be reconsidered ; and some towns, such as St Ives in Cornwall, have been exploring whether any new homes in their towns should be reserved only for people to live in full time – rather than as second homes or holiday lets.

Homes are still being built however in the Valley Park development (pictured above) , but they are mainly family homes as the planning permission has been revised since the initial application – although there is a demand for smaller homes, and more accessible ones, such as bungalows.

The development of a Neighbourhood Plan for Rye has been affected by other fairly recent changes introduced by the Government including the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) on new developments, but Rye could get a greater share of the CIL if the town has a plan – and priority areas for expenditure may include the proposed Greenway cycleway and improving the Station Approach area – and Anthony now sets out the story so far:

Those who do not follow the workings of the local council, may not know that the Localism Act 2011 enabled communities to opt to make a development plan for the next 15 years and a huge number of communities in England and Wales are doing just this.

In 2013, Rye Town Council made the decision to plan and formed a steering group comprising volunteers – with both councillors and citizens. Since then, working part time and with minimal support from professionals, the detailed work has progressed, negotiating the twists and turns of the many ongoing development proposals across Rye.

The draft plan is comprehensive and reflects input from our wide contact with the public – at periodic open events, via the website, social media and the fortnightly discussions with the Rye Town Council Planning and Townscape Committee,

Some argue: why bother? This will just be another plan on the shelf, but Neighbourhood Plans are different. They are made bottom up, based on input from the community. They have to be agreed by local referendum and they then have the statutory status. Planners and developers have to take note or risk challenge.

Neighbourhoods with plans in place attract larger amounts of developers’ contributions to spend on local infrastructure and, importantly, Neighbourhood Plans allow the community to influence future development rather than it being imposed on them.

What now? Anthony Kimber who is vice Chair of the Steering Group says that “this remains a challenging process. We have taken a strategic view and have had to balance meeting our share of national development targets with the conservation of the unique character of Rye. Many hours of hard work by a large team of Rye volunteers has enabled us to reach an advanced stage. Once refined further, we will produce a leaflet for every household and business to summarise the key elements.”

Mayor Jonathan Breeds has just followed Berni Fiddimore and Shaun Rogers as the third Mayor to head the process, and says: “The Council has been convinced of the value of taking on this project. We are grateful for the input from those who live, work or study in Rye. Once agreed by the Council and after a further series of formal consultations, those on the Rye electoral register, will have an opportunity to vote yes or no at a referendum. ”

See the draft plan at ryeneighbourhoodplan.org.uk and make your input by E-Mail, Facebook or Twitter or by any other means to Rye Town Hall including the Rye Town Council website .

Image Credits: J. Minter .