Planning

The Role of Winchester City Council and the South Downs National Park Authority

The Planning process is managed by Winchester City Council and South Downs National Park Authority (responsibility depends on the application location) who receives, assesses and approves/rejects planning applications. The Parish Council are consulted on all planning applications within the Parish and can formally object to applications and has done so on a frequent basis. The Parish Council has a planning committee which is open to the public and we welcome residents to attend and voice their concerns about specific planning applications.

The proposed launch of the Winchester District Local Plan was agreed at by Winchester City Council's Cabinet on 18 July 2018. The purpose of the Local Plan is to provide a planning policy framework to direct growth and change to appropriate locations, in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework requirement to achieve sustainable development. The Local Plan will also include a range of planning polices to inform the location, scale and appearance of developments. When adopted it will replace the adopted Core Strategy (Part 1), Local Plan Part 2, Development Management and Allocations and the Gypsy and Traveller & Travelling Showpersons Development Plan Document. The Local Plan will cover the period up to 2038.

The South Downs Local Plan 2014-2033 covers the entire National Park. It follows extensive public consultation with local communities and detailed scrutiny and examination by the Government’s Planning Inspectorate, which found the policies to be sound subject to a number of modifications.

The Local Plan has been informed by a range of factors relating to the special qualities of the National Park, including landscape character, biodiversity and cultural heritage of the National Park, Neighbourhood Plans, local housing and economic needs and the impact of climate change.

The Role of the Parish Council

The Parish Council is not a Planning Authority and therefore does not determine planning applications.

However the Parish Council is formally consulted by Winchester City Council and the South Downs National Park Authority on all planning applications within the Parish.

For further details on the role of the Parish Council on planning matters, please read about the Parish Council Planning Committee below.

The Design Statement

The Bishop’s Waltham Design Statement is a Supplementary Planning Document that has been researched and developed by the local community. Its purpose is to influence decisions on the design of new developments within the town through managing change, not preventing it. The Design Statement provides a background to the distinctive features of the town and its immediate surrounds which the residents value and wish to see protected or enhanced. It then provides policies to guide both developers and the local planning authority about how developments may be undertaken in order to respect the character of Bishop’s Waltham. The Design Statement builds upon the Bishop’s Waltham community planning work already undertaken to identify sites for development that has now been incorporated into the Winchester City Council (WCC) Local Plan Part 2 (LPP2). This identifies the areas where future housing and industrial development should be located as well as identifying any additional supporting infrastructure.

The Parish Council Planning Committee

The Planning Committee meet publicly once a month, the date of each meeting is posted on the website and on the Parish Council notice boards. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and make representations, especially if the particular application affects them; all comments made are listened to by the Committee and if the comments are relevant they may be included in the Council’s online reply.

To view an up to date list of Planning Applications to be considered by the Planning Committee, please click here

The areas we look at

The applications are processed in date order of the deadline date. Plans are made available on the Winchester City Council/South Downs National Park website and are studied in detail. All committee decisions are based on material planning considerations which can be viewed here.

The Committee agrees a comment and this is posted directly onto the relevant website.

Most applications are fairly straightforward and they have a comment posted of ‘no objection’. If the Committee does not agree with the application we state ‘objection’ and set out the reasons why.

We don’t have the power to refuse or grant applications

Although the Parish Council’s Planning Committee does not have the power to refuse or grant any applications we are able, through the process, to make a difference where necessary.

How to find out the status of Planning Applications

To view planning applications: please click here to go to the Winchester City Council website or click here to go to the South Downs National Park Authority website. You will need some details about the planning application in order to conduct a search.