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A well-attended public meeting heard in October 2019 from the Chair of the Parish Council and two members of SODC’s Neighbourhood Development Plan team.
They explained the reasons why Eye & Dunsden might consider making a plan and the limitations of the process. There were some lively questions and at the end a number of people committed to being part of a NDP team.
A copy of the slide presentation from the evening is available to download here.
At the October meeting of the parish council a decision was taken to go ahead with a Neighbourhood Plan.
December 10, 2019
First meeting of the new plan steering group.
February 2020
SODC confirmed the plan area to be the whole parish.
March 2020
Steering group resolves to meet by Skype during Corona-19 outbreak.
April 2020
£5,000 grant funding secured from SODC.
May 2020
Review of Reading Transport Strategy and the Examination in Pubic of the Local Plan begins, climate change seminar attended.
June 2020
Survey responses collated, high turnout, advertising campaign including posters to end July. Consultants appointed.
July 2020
Vision statement, Locality bid and framework documents in draft. A significant increase in new planning applications noted in the parish.
August 2021
Public consultation event held at Dunsden village hall.
September 2021
Online business consultation even held.
Spring 2023
Review of draft plan received from our consultants prior to submission to SODC for consideration.
Section 14 consultation expected later in year.
Anyone interested in contributing to the plan is welcome at our meetings which are either held on Zoom or in the village hall.
Please email Ian Dick for further information: plan@eyedunsden.org
We are asking for your feedback on the parish issues most important to you. Your responses will directly influence the shape of our plan. The survey can be quickly and easily completed online at this address.
We will also be posting a printed copy to ever household on the electoral roll. The form
can either be sent back using a pre-paid envelope or emailed back in scan form.
We hope a significant percentage of the approx. 150 households in the Parish will complete the survey, which is just four questions and takes no more than five minutes to complete. The deadline for completion is the end of July. We look forward to hearing from you!
If you’ve been reading any local news about the Third Thames Bridge, Gladman Developments or other threatening schemes, you might be forgiven for thinking the parish of Eye & Dunsden is under constant attack.
Greedy developers, land grabbing Reading, gravel extraction that may worsen flooding and a potential new Thames crossing with a motorway-style link road all contribute to the feeling of powerlessness in the face of corporate power and indifferent local authorities based in distant Oxford and Didcot.
But there is something local communities can do to assert what development they consider is acceptable. By making a Neighbourhood Development Plan places like ours can tell the planners exactly where they think new development should or shouldn’t go. The process splits into various clear stages and relies on proving the plan has strong support from within the community. It requires a team of enthusiastic volunteers, including both members of the parish council and people from the villages concerned (in our parish these are Dunsden, Littlestead Green, Playhatch and Sonning Eye).
Professional help is available with things like landscape assessments and so too are grants of around £9,000, but first we need a group of at least a dozen people to commit to the process. Around ten have already expressed an interest. Will you consider joining us?
Locality is the Government’s Neighbourhood Planning advice site
Neighbourhood Planning in South Oxfordshire provides SODC guidance
Oxfordshire Neighbourhood Plan Alliance is ensuring that county planners take account of NDPs
Community First Oxfordshire provides a paid for consultancy
CPRE guidance on Neighbourhood Planning
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