Thurston
12 September 2019 - Thursday - Local Referendum
Local referendum to be held to decide if the Thurston Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) should become part of Mid Suffolk District Council's Development Plan.
The question that will be asked of those entitled to vote is:
"Do you want Mid Suffolk District Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Thurston to help it decide planning applications in the Neighbourhood Plan Area?"
31 July 2019
Notices issued by Mid Suffolk District Council advising that a local referendum will be held on Thursday 12 September 2019 to decide if the Thurston NDP should become part of this Councils Development Plan.
12 June 2019
A report on the Thurston NDP was taken to Mid Suffolk Cabinet Meeting, at which it was agreed that, the Thurston NDP, as modified to incorporate the Examiner's Recommendations, should proceed to referendum.
6 March to 15 April 2019 - Regulation 17 Independent Examination of the Thurston NDP
Mid Suffolk District Council appointed Janet Cheesley BA (Hons) DipTP MRTPI to carry out an independent examination of the Thurston NDP. The examination was conducted through written correspondence. On the 15 April, the Examiner issued her final report. It recommends that, subject to modification, the Thurston NDP meets the basic conditions and that it proceed to a local referendum.
21 Jan – 6 March 2019 - Regulation 16 - Submission Consultation on the Thurston NDP
Mid Suffolk District Council undertook formal consultation on the content of the Thurston NDP to see if it fulfilled the Basic Conditions as required by Paragraph 8(1)(a)(2) of Schedule 4B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (inserted by the Localism Act 2011).
December 2018 - Regulation 15 - Legal Compliance of the Thurston NDP
The Thurston NDP was submited to Mid Suffolk District Authority for Legal Compliance Checklist to ensure that it met the basic requirements before proceeding to the next stage.
September - November 2018
The pre-submission version was updated / amended, where applicable, from comments received during the Regulation 14 Consultation.
July - October 2018
The Parish Council submitted a pre-submission version of the NDP to Mid Suffolk District Council (the Local Planning Authority) to carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) / Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) Screening check. The outcome of this was that the need for an SEA Scoping Report and the need for an HRA Scoping Report were both 'screened-out'.
9 July to 31 August 2018 - Regulation 14 - Consultation on the Thurston NDP Pre-Submission Document - draft 6.
All households should have received, by the start of the consultation, a summary of the plan outlining the reasoning behind the plan; the objectives of the plan; the policies to fulfil the objectives; where the plan may be viewed and how to make comments on the plan. The consultation on the plan took place during the above dates.
June 2018
The Thurston Neighbourhood Plan Pre-Submission (Regulation 14) Document – (Draft 6) from the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group was formally submitted to the Parish Council at its meeting of 6 June 2018. The Parish Council endorsed the principals and policies behind the plan and agreed that the plan should be prepared for a 6-week (minimum) consultation period at which comments would be invited from all stakeholders which includes businesses and residents of Thurston. These comments will then be reviewed for factual errors and omissions and changes, where relevant, will be made to the draft plan.
May 2018
The draft Neighbourhood Plan is in the final stages of being written and will be formally submitted to the Parish Council at its meeting in June 2018.
January - April 2018
The Team have been working on the final papers that will inform the policies that will be part of the Thurston Neighbourhood Plan. The draft plan is being produced based on this final stage of work.
December 2017
The Neighbourhood Plan Team have been meeting with their Professional Partner to determine the draft layout of the Thurston Neighbourhood Plan and ascertain evidential gaps.
November 2017
The Neighbourhood Plan Team is now carrying out a consultation on its Character Assessment of 7 areas within the Built Up Area of Thurston. This is an important part of the plan as it will provide a detailed description of the areas within the settlement boundary for Thurston. The Character Assessment will be used to help comment on any planned development in Thurston, for example to say whether a planned development will fit in well with nearby housing.
The consultation will run until 5.00pm on Thursday 30th November 2017. To view a copy of the Character Assessment online please click here to be redirected to the relevant page.
October 2017
The Neighbourhood Plan Team is working closely with the Parish Council to form a response to be submitted to the Planning Inspector at the Hearing called on 17th October 2017 at the New Green Centre to discuss the Planning Appeal submitted by Hopkins Homes against Mid Suffolk District Council for non determination of planning application 5010/16 (duplicate to 2797/16).
April - October 2017
The Neighbourhood Plan Team and Parish Council for Thurston have continued to meet with Infrastructure Officers of both Mid Suffolk and Suffolk County Council to discuss not only the cumulative impact that the 6 significant planning applications will have on Thurston but to also discuss the constraints to such growth given the characteristics and current infrastructure of the village of Thurston as a whole. These meetings have also included outside agencies such as Network Rail and the West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group for Health.
During this period, the Neighbourhood Plan Team has also been working on the production of a Character Assessment for a number of key areas in the village. This document will aim to describe the distinct appearance and feel of the area and will show the key physical features and characteristics that give a particular area its local distinctiveness and unique identity. This document will be out for consultation in November and your comments will be most welcome of the work carried out to date.
March - April 2017
The Neighbourhood Plan Team and Parish Council for Thurston are continuing to meet with Suffolk County Council and Mid Suffolk District Council Officers to discuss infrastructure issues facing Thurston in light of the 6 significant planning applications that have been submitted to Mid Suffolk for determination.
March 2017
The Neighbourhood Plan Team has held talks with the Head of Primary Care for West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group to have a better understanding of the General Practice Forward View as proposed by the Government and the funding of Primary Care including premises.
February 2017
The Neighbourhood Plan Team and Parish Council for Thurston will be meeting with Suffolk County Council Officers from the Highways and Infrastructure Departments to discuss constraints to growth with regards to current planning applications and future development in Thurston.
January 2017
The Neighbourhood Plan Team is in the process of forming a response to the 4 new planning applications for housing that have now been submitted to Mid Suffolk District Council for determination. To summarise they are as per the table below:
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The Neighbourhood Plan Team is also working on a Character Assessment for Thurston which will support design policies within the Neighbourhood Plan for Thurston. The benefits of such an assessment will ensure that the team has the opportunity to document and describe the existing character of the neighbourhood. The character assessment can then be used by developers and architects to help them understand the local character which in turn will help them to progress sensitively designed proposals which are in keeping with the feel and appearance of the local area.
December 2016
Following a meeting held in November 2016 with representatives from the Parish Councils of Elmswell, Thurston and Woolpit, Officers from Mid Suffolk District Council and Suffolk County Council and District and County Councillors for all three villages, at which growth and constraints to growth were discussed, the Neighbourhood Plan Team have now held a further meeting with Officers from Suffolk County Council 's Education and Infrastructure Departments. At this meeting constraints to growth, with particular emphasis on education were discussed. The meeting focused on the requirement for a new primary school in Thurston and how the County would deal with the current planning applications that had been submitted and those that were in the pipeline. All present agreed that there needed to be a strategy to deal with the amount of housing coming forth but it was proving difficult to assess the need without further input from Mid Suffolk District Local on the defined numbers required and an update on developments relating to the new Joint District Local Plan. It was felt that if the County Council and the Parish Council knew the quantum of growth a solution to the educational issue could be achieved. It was confirmed that there plans and discussions with interested parties for a new primary school for Thurston and that the County Council would be looking to secure a new site to enable a viable project to go forward.
November 2016
The Neighbourhood Plan Team has submitted a response to the Parish Council and to Mid Suffolk District Council to the following planning applications submitted to the District Council as the determining authority for all matters relating to planning concerning Thurston.
| 4386-16 - Erection of 138 dwellings. Construction of new vehicular access and provision of cycle/pedestrian link to Barton Road. Provision of road and drainage infrastructure, landscaping and open space @ land on the west side of Barton Road |
| 2797-16 - Outline planning application (with all matters other than means of access reserved) for residential development of up to 175 dwellings with associated car parking, landscaping, public open spaces, allotments and vehicular access from Sandpit Lane (revised plan as submitted) |
The Neighbourhood Plan Team and its professional partners have now completed the analysis of the factual errors sent in under the public consultation that took place over the Summer months of 2016. Please visit the Site Assessment pages for revisions - the revised document will be headed up Revised.
The Neighbourhood Plan Team also received a number of comments and observations from residents and land owners and/or agents and are again in the process of analysing these. A FAQs page will also be added to the revised Site Assessments on common themes so please revisit these pages for updates over the coming weeks.
October 2016
The Neighbourhood Plan Team would like to thank all those who participated in the public consultation on the site assessments for Sites 1 - 19 and who submitted comments and/or responses.
The Neighbourhood Plan Team are in the process of analysing the factual errors received following the public consultation of the site assessments for those sites submitted under its Expression of Interest in Sites to be developed in Thurston and for those sites that were also assessed as abutting the Built Up Area Boundary (BUAB) which whilst might not appear suitable at present for development might be considered at a later date.
August - September 2016
The public consultation on the Site Assessments as carried out earlier in the year ran from Monday 8th August until 5.00pm on Friday 16th September 2016. This provided residents, land owners and developers an opportunity to make the Neighbourhood Plan Team aware of any factual errors or discrepancies within the completed site assessments.
July 2016
The feasibility study on the site assessments for those sites submitted under the Thurston Neighbourhood Plan Expression of Interest in Sites to be developed in Thurston over the next 15 years has now been completed. The study also included those sites that abut the Built Up Area Boundary (BUAB) and whilst might not appear suitable at present for development might be considered at a later date. It is anticipated that the sites assessments will be available for comments at the beginning of August.
June 2016
The Neighbourhood Plan Team are in the process of analysing the results of the site assessments for those sites submitted under its Expression of Interest in Sites to be developed in Thurston. It has also undertaken a feasibility study and assessment of sites that have not been submitted under this call of sites but might have been submitted to Mid Suffolk under its Call for Sites in December 2014.
It is anticipated that there will be a public consultation on the site assessments later in the Summer. All information on this will be posted on this website and also on Noticeboards throughout the parish.
May 2016
Mid Suffolk has now published the Joint Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) for both Babergh and Mid Suffolk Districts. To view the draft document please click here
The Neighbourhood Plan Team and its professional partners have now carried out an initial assessment of the sites submitted under the Expression of Interest in Sites to be considered for future development. Once this has been discussed by the NPSG a public consultation will follow on the overall assessment
April 2016
Following the public meeting held on 17th March 2016 a further round of public consultation on the criteria to be used to assess sites coming forward for consideration for development and the sites submitted was held between 2nd and 19th April 2016.
The Neighbourhood Plan Team and its professional partners after 19th April will start the initial assessment of sites coming forth under the expression of interest in sites for development including sustainability assessments.
March 2016
The Neighbourhood Plan Team are currently considering and assessing the sites that have come forth under the expression of interest in sites to be developed in Thurston. This will include sustainability assessments.
The sites assessment process will be used to:
1. eliminate those sites/parcels of land which would not meet suitability criteria and therefore could not be considered to be sustainable allocations in the Neighbourhood Plan
2. identify a set of preferred sites which meet the aspirations of the Neighbourhood Plan and community engagement will help the process of determining which sites are most suitable for allocation in the Neighbourhood Plan
At the end of the assessment there will be a preferred sites consultation. This consultation will explain why the sites (or combination of sites) have been chosen and why others not.
In order to assist with the identification of preferred sites, and ensuring these meet most closely the aspirations of the community, the Neighbourhood Team held a Public Meeting on Thursday 17 March 2016 at 7.30pm in the New Green Centre where members of the community will be invited to weight certain assessment criteria in terms of Landscape; Identity and Local Distinctiveness; Accessibility to Key Services and Healthy Lifestyle.
February 2016
The Thurston Neighbourhood Plan has now reached a stage where it requires further information from Mid Suffolk District Council. This information includes potential growth numbers for Mid Suffolk and Thurston and how these figures will be allocated over the lifetime of the new emerging Joint Local Plan between Mid Suffolk and Babergh. Unfortunately this information has not yet been shared with the elected members of Mid Suffolk and Babergh and until both Councils have reviewed this information and agreed the way forward Mid Suffolk will be unable to share this information with Thurston Neighbourhood Plan.
This has had an impact on the next stage of the production of the Neighbourhood Plan and both the Neighbourhood Plan Team and the Parish Council have been pressing the District Councillors and Mid Suffolk Officers for this information relating to Thurston. As soon as more information on potential growth numbers is forthcoming this will be shared with the parishioners of Thurston.
December 2015 - February 2016
The Parish Council, in conjunction with the Neighbourhood Plan Team, has submitted a request for landowners and developers to indicate whether they have an interest in land within Thurston that may be available and suitable for development over the next 15 years, The Neighbourhood Team will not be looking to allocate particular sites for development and this process will not mean that any site included will be granted planning permission by Mid Suffolk District Council. It does however provide the opportunity for land to be put forward which has the potential for future development for residential, employment or retail use.
November 2015
The Strategic Environmental Assessment document has been submitted to Mid Suffolk District Council for onward submission to the Environment Agency, Natural England and Historic England as required by the Regulations. A response from these organisations on this document is now awaited. The statutory bodies are entitled to have up to six weeks to respond.
October 2015
The Steering Group has produced a Draft Scoping Document for the Neighbourhood Plan. It is a legal requirement to undertake such a document which will scope out all environmental issues and constraints that will impact upon the final plan that will be produced. This is not the draft plan but the Steering Group would welcome any comments on this document. Any comments should be submitted in writing to the Clerk to the Parish Council - for contact details please click here
To download a copy of the Draft Scoping Document please click here
September 2015
The Steering Group will be discussing constraints to growth and development with stakeholders. It is anticipated that this will help identify any weaknesses in the information collected to date. The group will be finalising the draft SEA Scoping Report which it is hoped will be submitted to Mid Suffolk District Council for consultation with the statutory bodies such as the Environment Agency, Historic England and Natural England.
August 2015
The Steering Group will be concentrating on ensuring comments received from the Housing Needs Survey and those made at the Public Meeting are incorporated into the Draft Vision Document.
July 2015
Firstly thank you to all who attended the Public Meeting on 9th July 2015 - your input was and is very valuable. Our Neighbourhood Plan is well on the way to completion. We have been asked a number of questions recently and we would like to share the answers with everyone when we have detailed information at hand.
Do you have a question you wish to ask about the Plan? Do let us know and we will print the answer in the Village Newsletters in the months ahead, as well as giving a personal response. If you want to come and ask questions in person, come to the Parish Office at New Green, phone the Parish Clerk, Vicky Waples on 01359 232854 or make contact by email, thurstonnpsg@hotmail.com
May 2015
The Steering Group will be concentrating on analysing the questionnaires and the responses received. Over 550 responses were posted back to the Parish Council Office.
April 2015
The Housing Needs Survey was delivered to all dwellings within Thurston during April. A response date was set for May 8th.
February 2015
There is to be a public meeting on 26th February 2015 at which further statistics and evidence along with the draft vision and objectives will be unveiled. All residents are warmly invited to attend and comment on the work carried out to date.
January 2015
The Steering Group are continuing to analyse the responses to the questionnaires received.
December 2014
The Steering Group will be concentrating on analysing the questionnaires and the responses received. As soon as more information is available public consultations will be held on the way forward.
November 2014
The individual questionnaire was delivered to all dwellings within Thurston at the beginning of November. Residents over the age of 17 were encouraged to fill out a questionnaire either on paper or online. A Business Questionnaire was also delivered to all known businesses within the village along with a Youth Questionnaire which was delivered via the Community College. The return date for all questionnaires was November 14th 2014.
September - October 2014
The Steering Committee are continuing discussions on the issues that have arisen from the comments made by the public during previous consultations and are pareparing the detailed questions for submission into the three main questionnaires: individual; youth (11-16) and business.
Summer 2014
The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee will be discussing consultative approaches for further engagement with the various communities, businesses and clubs within Thurston.
The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee will be analysing the results of the survey along with the comments made at the Village Forum. From this it is expected that a more detailed and in depth questionnaire will be delivered throughout the village.
The questionnaires will be in varying formats with hard copies being delivered to each household and business and electronic copies available on the website.
June 2014
Village Forum at the New Green Community Centre on June 9th 2014
Members of the public were introduced to the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee and a brief introduction to Neighbourhood Planning was provided by the Chairman of the Steering Committee. The surveys that had been delivered in May had been collated and from the responses the group had put together a series of questions that had a common theme. There was a display for each section within the survey and those who had attended were asked to visit each display and add further comments to the questions and statements that appeared on the board.
April/May 2014
First Neighbourhood Plan Survey
Deliver of the Ist survey to find out what residents of Thurston would like to see changed in Thurston over the next 15 years and how they would like the village to look like in the next 15 years
December 2013 - April 2014
Neighbourhood Steering Group Formed
Formation of the Neighbourhood Steering Group and collation of assets within the village
September 2013
Neighbourhood Plan Area
Confirmation of the designated Neighbourhood Plan Area by Mid Suffolk
