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Design Statement Update Dec 2007
Membury Design Statement Update Work has progressed at quite a pace! We have completed our Draft Report - which has included all the inputs we had from the Exhibition responses (see Jim's report in the Summer Mercury), comments you have made in person and by letter - and fully debated and discussed this as a group before it was taken to and debated with East Devon District Council Planning Dept. Following a meeting with the Senior Planning and Urban Design Officers in the Strategic Planning group, we now have a Design Statement that we, in our working group, are all happy with and feel will positively augment the statutory planning processes in our parish. We had few problems at our meeting with the planners and, instead, compliments on the depth and breadth of our document. The only bone of contention resulted from an Exhibition suggestion that any multiple development must reduce the risk of flooding. It seems that we can not legally require a developer to improve the status quo. However, following two internal meetings within EDDC they have agreed that all and any application, within or adjoining a Flood Zone, as identified by the Environment Agency, (at the moment limited to Membury village centre), must specifically address and include an appropriate water drainage plan (say, an appropriate soak-away) and be approved by the Environment Agency. This should ensure that there is not a gradual reduction in flooding safety margins due to piecemeal development. This final document will be discussed in Council (26th November, Village Hall) and, subject to approval there [Council unanimously approved the Document], be submitted to EDDC full committee on 11th December for formal adoption by them and implementation as a legally binding design guidance document which is specific to our parish. There still remains the preparation and publishing of our brochure - but at least we are now on a downhill path! And, still on schedule for public launch in the spring, 2008. Alex Tasker
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