The Hove Station area is undergoing massive change. We are a group of local people who have volunteered to create a Neighbourhood Plan – to ensure the whole community can benefit from this new development.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions & Answers about Neighbourhood Planning
What difference can the Neighbourhood Plan make ?
When compared with the Council’s ‘business as usual’ approach of dealing with developers on a project-by-project basis, the Neighbourhood Plan can get a better deal to improve our local community. For instance, our neighbourhood plan will: create a framework for development to deliver a new Hove Station Quarter – straddling the railway. The major landowners have bought into and support … Read more
How long does it take to make a Neighbourhood Plan?
HSNF formally started at the end of 2014 and is nearing the end of the process. Find out the current status here. If you’d like to help, please sign up and have your say.
What’s Happening Near Me?
There are two ways to find out what developments, workshops and events are happening near you, and how your local area could be improved or affected by the Neighbourhood Plan: 1. browse articles on a map or 2. browse by your local area tag (your piece of the ‘jigsaw’):
Isn’t neighbourhood planning just a tool for those who want to block development?
In a word, no! Neighbourhood planning enables communities to shape the development of their local area in a positive way. With over 260 plans now in force, early findings suggest that when communities get a say over how their area is developed they recognise the benefits that appropriate development can bring. A community can approve the same or a greater … Read more
How is the Plan being prepared, what are the rules?
Neighbourhood planning can be kept very simple. It is the community’s plan and needs only to deal with the planning issues that matter to us. See the simple guide to writing planning policies ➔. The Forum has to follow a series of key stages and abide by the following laws (or Basic Conditions): must be appropriate having regard to national … Read more
Who’s preparing the Hove Station plan?
Neighbourhood plans depend almost entirely on the voluntary resources that a community can muster. Luckily for Hove, a group of experienced local businesses and residents (including architects and planning professionals) – the Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum (HSNF) – have volunteered to create a Neighbourhood Plan – led by a Management Committee (steering group). This Committee is developing the Plan through a … Read more
Why does Hove need a community-led neighbourhood plan?
Major developments are happening in the Hove Station area (DA6). This is the result of top-down planning by the city council. In response to this, two Neighbourhood Forums were set up in the Hove area: 1. The Hove Park Forum 2. The Hove Station Forum (what this website is all about) The Hove Station Forum are producing a two part plan: 1) … Read more
What is the City Plan and DA6?
The City Plan Part One is Brighton & Hove Council’s top-level strategic policy framework to guide the new development required across the city – including “Development Area 6 (DA6)”. The first draft of the city plan was the catalyst for Hove residents to respond through the formation of Neighbourhood Plans to the north and south of DA6. See B&H City … Read more
What is a community-led Neighbourhood Plan?
The Neighbourhood Plan is a legal document which sits alongside the Council’s City Plan and has to be taken into account by the Local Planning Authority when making decisions on planning applications. It’s purpose is to set out the local people’s vision of the future for their neighbourhood – what residents want their neighbourhood to be like in 5-10-15 years’ … Read more
How many Neighbourhood Plans get voted in / approved?
Out of 52 published referendums, the average ‘Yes’ vote was 88%, with an average turnout of 32%, slightly above local election turnouts.
Are Neighbourhood Plans worthwhile and effective?
In England, roughly 1,600 groups are currently writing Neighbourhood Plans (NPs), eight million people live in a designated NP area, and that nearly £7m in government grants has been allocated to groups across the country. Academic research also paints a broadly positive picture: A 2014 University of Reading And Locality report states that, overall: “an initiative with merit and having further … Read more
Can a Neighbourhood Plan stop development?
In theory, yes – approved neighbourhood planning documents can play a key role in stopping unwanted development. The documents name sites for housing developments and, if they are approved in a referendum, they become a legally binding element of the council’s planning policy. The council should then be able to reject planning applications for development of sites that aren’t included … Read more
How can good design be made into policy?
A neighbourhood plan enables a community to influence the design and character of future development in the area where they live. This means producing polices which set forth specific design requirements for a neighbourhood area or development site. There are a number of guides available to help, such as: 1) Locality’s Design in Neighbourhood Planning Toolkit, 2) Design Council’s guide to … Read more
What is a Master Plan?
A master plan (or SPD) is a detailed long-term planning document which will be executed until the end of a project. It provides a layout to guide future growth and development. Master planning is about making the connection between buildings, social settings, and their surrounding environments. A master plan includes analysis, recommendations, and proposals for a site’s population, economy, housing, transportation, … Read more