Dear villagers,

Here is my latest newsletter, on schedule for a change! The next one will be published during the week beginning 22nd. October.

This period is traditionally quiet and so I have taken the opportunity to run a short "primer" on the subject of planning applications. Only read it if you're interested in these things, it's a bit technical.

An Apology

In the last issue I commented on how much was going on in the village and produced a long list of important events that had taken place in the preceding eight weeks alone. Just to prove how much does go on, I forgot to mention one event. Gardens in Grayshott was yet another wonderful weekend event and the weather was fantastic. Praise and thanks from me to the organisers of course and also to everyone who spruced up their lovely gardens so beautifully.

Hampshire Village of the Year

Yet again our fabulous village has won another prestigious award. This year Grayshott has been declared Best Village in East Hampshire, following a series of fantastic achievements in this competition going back over several years. A great deal of work goes into preparing the village for this award and all our volunteers deserve huge thanks. Great job guys!

The Pharmacy

Several people have complained to me that the new owners are not keeping stock of the items they have always purchased from The Pharmacy. This is one for B.I.G. and Dick Smith has written to the regional management of Lloyds Chemists asking for the stocking policy to be reconsidered. This was a recent correspondence and their response is awaited.

War Memorial

I was very pleased to be able to attend the War Memorial rededication on 4th. August. This was another well supported event and I think it's a good idea to remind everyone of how we came to retain our freedom as a nation. I's also a good opportunity to applaud the great work of the Royal British Legion and, specifically, the Grayshott branch.

Grayshott's Conservation Area

The village has an officially designated Conservation Area which covers the older properties along Headley Road and Crossways Road, plus small stretches of Hill Road and Whitmore Vale Road, close to the Fiveways Junction. My view, which is shared by the Parish Council, is that this area is nowhere near large enough. We have a great many properties of similar historic importance further along Headley Road and Crossways Road and also in other roads in the village.

About a year or so ago I asked the District Council to reappraise the scope of the Conservation Area. this was done and a tentative agreement was reached that it should be increased in size. However there have been some staffing changes since then and the project stalled. I'm pleased to say that following a reminder from the Parish Council I have agreed with the relevant Head of Service at EHDC that contract assessors will be brought in during October and Grayshott will be the first village to be reassessed.

The New Toilets

I'm pleased to see these are now open. They seem to be of a very high quality and I think do the village great credit. There is, would you believe, a British "Loo of the Year" award, presented by the British Loo Council, (seriously), and I am told that our toilets may be in the running for the next one. Yes, lots of jokes can be thought of can't they!

Planning Applications - A Primer

If planning doesn't interest you, just skip this bit. But if you are interested, it's worth a read.

There was, just recently, the most important planning application in Grayshott since I became a councillor in 1999. Yet it passed through with almost no comment even though I did draw attention to it in my previous newsletter. The application was for the Donec home and no matter what one's views may be, it deserved greater discussion.

I am worried that the key planning issues may not be generally understood and so I have summarised them below, not to have a debate about Donec at all, but to be sure that when these issues come up again, as they surely will, the village is as well prepared as possible.

1. Settlement Policy Boundary.

Grayshott is bounded by a line drawn on a map called the Settlement Policy Boundary, often abbreviated to the SPB. In layman's terms you can think of the SPB as defining the "built up area".

In planning terms, inside the SPB there is generally a presumption that building development will be permitted. Thanks to Government directives there is also a presumption that development within an SPB must be a minimum of 30 dwellings per hectare and a maximum of 75. Outide the SPB the situation is totally different and there is a presumption of no building development at all and also very tight limits on extensions to properties. The area outside the SPB is often referred to as the countryside by planners.

The retention of Grayshott as a village and with a clearly separate physical identity from Headley and surrounding settlements, depends almost entirely on retaining the SPB. Without the SPB, building development could extend until Grayshott just became a rural conurbation blending into surrounding villages.

Grayshott is also kept physically separate from Headley by a "Local Gap" of open land along the Headley Road opposite Ludshott Common. At present the SPB goes nowhere near the Local Gap. However if the SPB was allowed to creep westwards, the integrity of the Local Gap could be compromised.

The message from me is this. The SPB is fundamentally crucial to the retention of Grayshott's physical identity as a village. Any threat to it has to be taken very seriously.

The risk is real. A Hampshire village not far from us and about our size, was unsuccessful in retaining its SPB only a few years ago. They had no defence to a proposal to build over 200 houses. There is now a very present risk that they will be absorbed into a neighbouring large settlement.

What has Donec to do with this? Donec is outside the SPB but the owners have secured planning permission to build flats for the residents. The flats are needed and it would have been difficult to refuse planning consent, but this is a breach in the SPB.

Why was it allowed? There is a short list of a few exceptions to the SPB ruling. One refers to amenities of local importance to residents. The Donec application was approved on the amenity exception.

Now to the second point.

2. Classes of Use.

The protection still afforded to the village is that the owners of Donec, the Elizabeth Fitzroy Trust, cannot use the land, or sell it, for any other purpose. The purpose, or use, of land and buildings is called a "Class of Use" by planners. A change of class of use requires planning permission, so it is controlled.

But how well? On the face of it, the flats at Donec can never be used for any purpose, (class of use), other than the well being of the young folk with learning disabilities who are growing up and need their own accommodation.

However there is, as I have said, the facility to apply for a change of class of use to private residential. This could arise if the Trust needed cash for liquidity reasons or were confronted by an offer from a property developer that could not be refused.

The developer would apply for a change in use. What would happen? Well, all that matters is how Her Majesty's Planning Inspectorate would see the situation. They would see a site already populated with flats, on a 'bus route, close to shops and a school and not that far out of the village, with the SPB just across the road. To an Inspector I believe the approval of a change of use will be an easy decision even though the site is outside the SPB. The consequence will be, and the Inspector would know it, that at the next review of these high level planning rules, the SPB would be extended westwards to embrace the site we know as Donec. That would take the SPB close to the Local Gap and open up more areas of the village for intensive development of a minimum of 30 to the hectare.

The site is 0.7 of a hectare and could support a minimum of 21 private dwellings at 30/ha. However the upper limit for flats is 75/ha and it is conceivable, (but unlikely), that the site could support over 50 dwellings. The SPB is just over the road at the Waggoner's Estate.

The trouble is that in these situations money talks and it talks far louder than a District Council.

3. What Should We Do?

For now, just be vigilant. As you can see, planning gets quite complicated. Also, villages like ours can get caught out by the interaction of different planning principles which makes it even more complicated.

Any proposed breach of the SPB should be taken extremely seriously by every villager concerned for Grayshott's future. Specifically any proposal for a change of use at Donec should be examined minutely.

The high level planning rules that I referred to are just about to undergo full revision. The process is called "The Local Development Framework", or LDF for short. We will be consulted over any changes to the village proposed in the LDF and we must be sure to oppose any suggested extensions to the SPB.

I am a fully trained councillor planner, so it's my job to try and sort all of this out. However without local support this can be an uphill struggle. I can't do it without your letters.

I am arranging to provide planning training for the Grayshott Society to help them phrase their planning objections with more technical content so that they are more persuasive. The Parish Council have been trained by EHDC already, but this is a complex and very fast changing area and I hope to offer some refresher training soon.

I hope you found this short primer useful.

Movies in Grayshott

I think this is a great innovation, but after a good start, the attendance at The Da Vinci Code seemed to me to be surprisingly small. The movies are put on very well and you can have an ice cream or a glass of wine amongst friends - it's a very pleasant way to watch recent movies. Peter Hatch is promoting the next movie on this website, which is "Mrs. Henderson Presents" on 28th. September.

Scout sponsored walk

I thought the idea of the boundary walk was great. Even after 30 years in Grayshott, I have never walked the curtilage of the village. Now we can all do it on 23 September. The Scouts deserve our support - were lucky to have such an active scouting community in a small village.

Do You Live in Kingswood Firs?

If you do, you will have received a letter from PDS Ltd. telling you that you can build a Leisure Complex or a Gymnasium in your back garden without planning permission.

Be careful; be very careful. Maybe a summerhouse, but even that has to be treated with caution.

"Permitted Development Rights" allow you to add a window here, or a door there, without planning consent. It makes sense doesn't it?

How about a play house in the garden for the children? Not necessarily; there are size and height restrictions that prevent you from building a two storey five bedroom "play house". How about a new fence? Not necessarily, there are height restrictions.

Kingswood Firs also benefits from the highest level of protection that EHDC can offer a residential development - policy H9 applies. No new building is permitted anywhere in Kingswood Firs. You can, of course extend provided it is architecturally in keeping.

In your own interests, if you are tempted to take up this company's offer and have something built, just check it out with the Planning department at EHDC first. The advice is free, would you believe!

If PDS's advice is wrong, the EHDC Planning Enforcement department can legally make you take down the construction and return the site to its original condition, all at your own expense.

Please take care.

And finally...

...to all of you with children or grandchildren about to start their first term at University or a new school, I wish you well, it can be a testing time.

As usual, if you want to comment on what I have said, or you wish to agree or disagree, just contact me by 'phone on 01428-609858 or email fcowper@aol.com

Best wishes,

Cllr. Ferris Cowper
EHDC Councillor for the ward of Grayshott and Leader of the Council