Testun llawn:
Dear Sir/Madam
NEIGHBOURHOOD AREA CONSULTATION- LAPWORTH PARISH COUNCIL
Thank you for giving notice that Lapworth Parish Council has applied for designation as a Neighbourhood Area under Part 2 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012.
English Heritage has no objection to this proposal.
We would like to take the opportunity of the consultation to outline the range of support English Heritage is able to offer in relation to Neighbourhood Plans. It would be helpful if this response can be copied to the Parish Council for their information.
Neighbourhood Plans are a positive way to help communities care for and enjoy the historic environment. English Heritage is expecting that as Parish Council's come to you to seek advice on preparing Neighbourhood Plans they will value guidance on how best to understand what heritage they have, as well as assistance on preparing appropriate policies to secure the conservation and enhancement of this local heritage resource.
Information held by the Council and used in the preparation of your Core Strategy/Local Plan is often the starting point for Neighbourhood Plans as for example the Historic Environment Character Assessments completed by Warwickshire County Council. Other useful information may be available from the Historic Environment Record Centre or local environmental and amenity groups. English Heritage also publishes a wide range of relevant guidance. Links to these can be found in the appendix to this letter.
Plan preparation also offers the opportunity to harness a community's interest in the historic environment by getting them to help add to the evidence base, perhaps by creating and or reviewing a local heritage list, inputting to the preparation of conservation area appraisals and undertaking or further deepening historic characterisation studies.
English Heritage has a statutory role in the development plan process and there is a duty on either you as the Local Planning Authority or the Parish Council to consult English Heritage on any Neighbourhood Plan where our interests are considered to be affected as well as a duty to consult us on all Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders.
English Heritage will target its limited resources efficiently. We will directly advise on proposals with the potential for major change to significant, nationally important heritage assets and their settings. Our local offices may also advise communities where they wish to engage directly with us, subject to local priorities and capacity.
English Heritage fully recognises that the neighbourhood planning process is a locally-led initiative and communities will shape their own neighbourhood plan as informed by the issues and opportunities they are most concerned about and relevant to the local area. As a national organisation we are able to draw upon our experiences of neighbourhood planning across the country and information on our website might be of initial assistance http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/get-involved/improving-your-neighbourhood/. It is envisaged that the website will be progressively updated to share good practice in the management of the historic environment through neighbourhood planning.
The proposed neighbourhood plan area contains a range of heritage assets including the Lapworth designated conservation area and a number of listed buildings, doubtless also there will be many other undesignated heritage assets including archaeological remains that are valued by local people and that positively contribute to local character and distinctiveness. Due account should be taken of the conservation of all of these assets and their settings in formulating the neighbourhood plan proposals.
Should you wish to discuss any points within this letter, or if there are issues about this Neighbourhood Plan Area where the historic environment is likely to be of particular interest, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours faithfully