Cannock Wood Neighbourhood Plan

A Neighbourhood Plan enables members of a local community to create planning policies for the neighbourhood in which they live. It is written and developed by a community, usually led by a town or parish council. Once a neighbourhood plan is made and adopted, its policies will form part of the planning policies Cannock Chase District Council must apply when deciding on planning applications for Cannock Wood.

Cannock Wood Parish Council is responsible for neighbourhood planning but a Neighbourhood Plan can’t be created without volunteers coming forward to assist with community engagement and evidence gathering. This is vital so that our Neighbourhood Plan is based only on the unique characteristics of Cannock Wood, including being wholly within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Progress so far:

• Parish designated Neighbourhood Plan area at the request of the Parish Council (June 2019)
• Working Group set up made up of volunteers from the community (October 2021)
• Survey prepared, printed and distributed including consultation on draft Vision (November 2021)
• Grant funding secured (November 2021)
• Consultant appointed to provide specialist advice and research and full day visit to Cannock Wood (November 2021)
• Communications strategy agreed involving website, noticeboard, newsletter, Nextdoor (November 2021)
• Detailed analysis of survey results including every comment made and published (December 2020). Results relevant to local organisations provided to them in bespoke documents between December 2021 and February 2022.
• Draft Objectives formulated and a second major document with feedback on the Survey Results and the Draft Objectives distributed to every household (February 2022)
• Drop-in event at Village Hall offered residents the opportunity to have a chat about the Neighbourhood Plan, ask any questions and provide feedback (February 2022)
• Draft Policies developed based on the Vision and draft Objectives, comments received and a substantial Evidence Base (February and March 2022).
• Evidence gathering on-going from October 2021 to May 2022, both from pre-existing sources and reports commissioned for the Neighbourhood Plan including a Design Code and Character Assessment from our consultant, Housing Needs Assessment from AECOM and Ecological and Nature Sites reports from Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.
• Informal policy consultation and subsequent adjustments to policy wording based on comments received (March and April 2022)
• Screening Report prepared by our consultant for Strategic Environment and Habitat Regulations Assessment purposes with formal consultation period (March to May 2022)
• Neighbourhood Plan document compiled, referenced, illustrated, proof-read and a second more accessible summary document also prepared (March to May 2022)
• Pre-submission consultation with a closing date of 11^th July 2022 (May to July 2022)

Neighbourhood Plans within Cannock Chase are listed on the Cannock Chase Council website and detailed guidance can be found at Home – Locality Neighbourhood Planning.

The Neighbourhood Plan is being prepared for Cannock Wood residents by Cannock Wood residents. Everyone is giving their time voluntarily to be part of the Working Group the Parish Council has set up. We have all offered to help because we all care about the village.

There is a register of interests for members of the Working Group and this is held by the Parish Clerk.

• Draft minutes of CWNP Working Group meeting 22.9.22
• Minutes of CWNP Working Group meeting 28.4.22
• Minutes of CWNP Working Group meeting 24.3.22
• Minutes of Neighbourhood Working Group meeting 02.03.22
• Minutes of Neighbourhood Plan Working Group meeting 13.01.22_
• Minutes of Neighbourhood Plan Working group 07.12.21
• Minutes of Neighbourhood Plan Working Group 11.11.21
• Minutes of Neighbourhood Plan Working Group Meeting 25.10.21
• Minutes of Neighbourhood Plan Working Group Meeting 11.10.21
• Working Group Terms of Reference NHP 11.11.21

As the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group create working documents and publish reports, relevant items will be linked in here so that residents are able to review and contribute to the process.

• Cannock Wood Parish NHP Examiner Report 19th September 2023
• Examiner Procedural Matters and Questions – Cannock Wood NDP 21st August 2023
• CANNOCK WOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN submission version October 2022
• Basic Conditions Statement October 2022
• Pre-submission consultation summary NP May 2022
• Pre-submission consultation full NP May 2022
• CW SEA + HRA Screening March 30 2022 incl. consultation comments August 2022
• Parish map of the Neighbourhood Area (PDF)

The Neighbourhood Plan Working Group is hoping that residents will assist in providing images that aid the process of understanding the present and hoped-for future built environment in our Neighbourhood Area. As pictures become available they will be added to an external gallery which you can view by clicking on the link below.

You can view the gallery contents on Dropbox.

These links are to the relevant evidence documents for the Neighbourhood Plan. Note that they may be to other web pages and/or to Adobe Acrobat documents.

1. Summary results of June 2018 survey
2. Minutes of Parish Council meetings 2018-2022
3. Cannock Wood Character Assessment
4. Cannock Wood Design Code
5. Cannock Wood Housing Needs Assessment
6. Historic Farmsteads
7. Staffordshire Historic Environment Record
8. Neighbourhood Plan Survey 2021 and results
9. Character Type Descriptions: AONB Landscape Character Framework, Stage 2 Landscape Character Type Descriptions, 2017
10. Cannock Chase Local List
11. Historic Environment Assessment Cannock Chase AONB, June 2015
12. Historic Environment Assessment Addendum 2017
13. Cannock Chase AONB Design Guide
14. Cannock Wood Views Assessment
15. Cannock Chase AONB Views and Settings Guide
16. A Green Future: 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment
17. Cannock Chase District Council Website – Castle Ring
18. Ancient Woodland Standing Advice
19. Biodiversity 2020: A Strategy
20. Historic England Interactive Lidar Map
21. Cannock Chase AONB Management Plan
22. Making Space for Nature: Lawton et al 2010
23. Viability Assessment September 2022
24. Staffordshire Wildlife Trust Evidence on Cannock Wood
25. Cannock Chase District Nature Recovery Network Mapping, FINAL REPORT, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust 2020
26. Environmental Capacity in Cannock Chase District, Final Report Prepared by LUC, January 2013
27. Green Infrastructure Assessment (Final Version), March 2011, Cannock Chase District Council
28. Biodiversity Net Gain. Good practice principles for development. A practical guide.
29. AONB Dark Skies
30. Dark-Sky Lighting Basics
31. National guidance on how to consider light pollution in the planning system
32. Artificial Light in the Environment, Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, 2009
33. Cannock Chase AONB Annual Review, 2020-21
34. Manual for Streets, Department for Transport, 2007
35. Assets of Community Value in Cannock Chase

Why have a Neighbourhood Plan as well as AONB and Green Belt designations?

The Neighbourhood Plan will be made up of planning policies which will sit, with equal importance, alongside the planning policies of Cannock Chase District Council. With appropriate Neighbourhood Plan policies it is more likely that any development within the village or extra housing forced on the village in future by allocation from the District Council is appropriate to the needs and choices of Cannock Wood residents. The policies can give the village more input into decisions over what gets built and where, bolster existing Green Belt and AONB policies in Cannock Wood, and give added protection to our community assets like the playing fields and village hall.

What if we don’t have a Neighbourhood Plan?

Although the Parish Council is consulted on planning applications it has no more power than a member of the public in commenting on a planning application. The Parish Council can give an opinion but planning applications are primarily judged against the policies in the Local Plan. With a Neighbourhood Plan, there will be extra policies to safeguard Cannock Wood.

Why is there a survey?

Community engagement is a fundamental part of developing Neighbourhood Plans. The detailed survey in November 2021 takes forward the outline survey the Parish Council carried out in 2018, and there will be further consultations next year.
The survey is a paper document so that every household has access to it and no-one is digitally excluded.
The survey enables the Neighbourhood Plan to be targeted on what’s most important to the residents of Cannock Wood.

When will the results of the survey be available?

Every household will receive a booklet in the first part of 2022 showing the consensus of opinion, the objectives arising from that, and draft policies intended to work towards the shared vision. Your comments on that will be requested next year as community engagement is a fundamental part of developing Neighbourhood Plans.

What other evidence is used for the Neighbourhood Plan?

The evidence base is drawn from many sources, principally residents and village organisations. Other organisations outside the village are also being asked for information including the county and district councils, AONB and Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and a specialist consultant is providing research and advice too. The evidence base, when it’s ready, will be available for all to see on the Neighbourhood Plan website.

Who decides?

You decide! The survey is a way for the whole community to pool ideas and concerns about much wider issues than solely land use and development. The Neighbourhood Plan will reflect community wishes on housing, environment and sustainability, well-being and more – depending on the answers.

There will be at least one more community-wide consultation in the first half of 2022, and eventually before the Neighbourhood Plan can come into force it must be approved by majority vote at a formal referendum; ultimately the decision whether to adopt the Neighbourhood Plan will be made by the electorate of Cannock Wood.

What other communities have Neighbourhood Plans?

In the last ten years, over 2400 communities have made Neighbourhood Plans. Among those are some close to home including Hednesford, Longdon and Burntwood – their neighbourhood plans are available on the Cannock Chase and Lichfield District Council websites.

(We will shortly be adding details here explaining how you can contact the Working Group)