Codicote Neighbourhood Plan 2024 - 2031 Submission
2 Vision and Objectives Comment
2.1 Neighbourhood Plan Vision Statement
2.1.1 The vision for the Neighbourhood Plan was drawn partly from the consultation undertaken on the 1st draft plan, the ideas and aspirations of the Steering Group, and the reality of accommodating new development in the village following the adoption of the North Hertfordshire Local Plan.
2.1.2 Based on data obtained from a parish-wide survey and Neighbourhood Plan open days, it is evident that the residents of Codicote and the surrounding Parish are not in favour of any further large-scale expansion. Whilst recognising that the village is already of medium size, they wish it to retain its small village feel, character and diversity of population.
2.1.3 If, however, significant expansion is mandated it should include a mix of housing types, including affordable homes. Development design should be low-rise and blend in visually with the existing wide variety of housing type and density. Development should avoid visually dull estates comprising a sprawl of dwellings of repetitive design, but should utilise variation of size, roof height, brick and window style, and change in building aspect, along winding rather than straight roads. Developments should include green open spaces to facilitate merger with the surrounding countryside.
2.1.4 The residents currently enjoy a small number of local retail shops and wish to see the village attract more such businesses, as well as small non-retail businesses and facilities such as a doctor's surgery or medical centre.
2.1.5 Prior to any further development, the existing significant problems with traffic congestion and parking in the High Street, St. Albans Road and other bottlenecks within the village, should be resolved. Likewise, it is essential that any necessary infrastructure upgrades be carried out prior to village expansion as some, including sewers and electricity supply, are already regularly overwhelmed.
2.1.6 These considerations have led to the following concise vision statement:
To retain the 'village' feel and village character, development will blend with the built area whilst reflecting the countryside around it. Homes will include a variety of styles, sizes, and affordability, to retain the diversity of its residents. Village shops, services and amenities are valued and will grow in number to meet local needs. Infrastructure will keep pace with developments and the needs of the population. To ensure that, all forms of development in the parish are sustainable, and the natural environment, heritage assets and landscape character will be protected from harm, nurtured, and made available to residents and visitors.
2.2 Neighbourhood Plan Objectives
2.2.1 The following list of objectives is derived from the Vision Statement above and designed to set the parameters for the policies in the Neighbourhood Plan. A list of objectives was consulted on in the Spring of 2023, and amended to be more concise and remove duplication:
Design
|
No. |
Objective |
Policies |
|
1 |
To retain the village's relaxed, rural feel, and sense of community by thoughtful, attractive, development designed to enhance the village. |
COD1, COD5, COD7, COD17, COD21, |
|
2 |
To ensure realistic numbers of formally designated parking places for residents and visitors are provided within each new development. |
COD1, COD7, COD9, COD21, |
|
3 |
To encourage renewable energy and low carbon technology to be incorporated into new housing and other developments. |
COD1, COD2, |
Amenities
|
No. |
Objective |
Policies |
|
4 |
To ensure the High Street remains attractive to existing and new shops and services. |
COD1, COD5, COD6, COD8, COD11, COD12, COD14, COD15, COD17, COD21, COD22, COD23 |
|
5 |
To ensure provision of social, leisure, health and education facilities keep pace with population growth and wider needs of the diverse community. |
COD8, COD9, COD10, COD11, COD15, COD23 |
|
6 |
To protect precious green spaces for recreation and leisure use. |
COD3, COD8, COD10, COD11, COD19, COD20, COD23 |
Infrastructure
|
No. |
Objective |
Policies |
|
7 |
To ensure infrastructure improvements are sympathetic to the rural setting of the village. |
COD1, COD7, COD9, COD17, Cod18, COD20, COD23, |
|
8 |
To alleviate the existing parking problem in the village, especially the High Street and feeder roads, and the impact on pedestrian safety, disabled access and traffic congestion. |
COD1, COD6, COD9, COD12, COD13, COD14, COD15, COD21, COD23 |
|
9 |
To minimise the impact of traffic generated by new developments on air quality, congestion, delays and safety within the village, especially the High Street and at key junctions, prevent cut-throughs on country lanes and misuse by HGV's. |
COD1, COD6, COD9, COD12, COD13, COD14, COD15, COD23 |
|
10 |
To improve the frequency and accessibility of public transport. |
COD13, COD23 |
|
11 |
To improve the uptake of active travel modes, on foot, by bicycle and by horse, ensuring easy, attractive and safe access to the village centre and amenities. |
COD1, COD14, COD15, COD23 |
|
12 |
To ensure the demand for water does not exceed extraction capacity of local water courses. |
COD1 COD16 |
Natural Environment
|
No. |
Objective |
Policies |
|
13 |
To ensure development design protects the flow rate and health of the River Mimram (chalk stream). |
COD1, COD16 |
|
14 |
To ensure development design retains existing hedgerows and established trees, enhances green corridors and wildlife habitats, to increase biodiversity and retain their amenity value. |
COD1, COD4, COD16, COD18, COD19, COD20, COD23 |
|
15 |
To ensure development design enhances landscape features, minimises the impact on existing vistas and opens new vistas to the countryside. |
COD1, COD17, |
|
16 |
To minimise vulnerability and improve resilience to climate change and its impacts. |
COD1, COD2, COD3, COD16, COD20 |
Heritage Assets
|
No. |
Objective |
Policies |
|
17 |
To protect the historic environment, including the conservation area, by avoiding, minimising and mitigating the impact of development. |
COD1, COD21, COD22 |
|
18 |
To identify, reveal and enhance the significance of heritage assets and their settings. |
COD22 |
Figure 2: Codicote High Street
