4. Community Views on Planning Issues

4.1The community has been engaged with the development of the Neighbourhood Plan for several years. In 2015 The “Community Choices” initiative included a questionnaire sent out to all parishioners to identify priorities for the community. This resulted in the Community Choices Report 2016. As a result of this project Albury Parish Council decided to develop a Neighbourhood Plan. After a 6-week period of public consultation the parish was designated a Neighbourhood Plan area on 22 February 2017.

4.2In 2018 volunteers were recruited to join the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group. The Steering Group formed in January 2019 with 12 members from across the parish. The Steering Group set about identifying key areas from the Community Choices project that were priorities for the community and prepared evidence-based reports (See APPENDICES D to I) to support these which were developed into policies. Updates were provided to the community via regular leaflets (Albury Parish Matters), the Annual Parish meetings, via social media, the Parish and Neighbourhood Plan websites and community meetings. Housing Needs Surveys were sent out to all homes in the parish in 2018 and 2024 to determine affordable housing need. The Steering Group assessed the viability of pursuing Neighbourhood Development Orders but opted instead for a more informal approach after public consultation events.

4.3By 2023 the evidence reports, a draft Neighbourhood Plan and the first Housing Needs Survey (2018) had been prepared. A Parish Design Guide was commissioned from AECOM in 2024, APPENDIX A.

4.4In response to the 2018 and 2024 Housing Needs Surveys a call for sites was made to landowners. Landowners were identified in the Guildford LAA (Land Availability Assessment) reports and adverts were placed in the parish magazine inviting them to put forward potential sites suitable for affordable housing. These sites began formal assessment by AECOM in 2023 and their “Site options and Assessment Report” was published April 2024. APPENDIX B

4.5Throughout late April to June 2024, community events were held inviting parishioners to view and comment on the draft Neighbourhood Plan and policies and sites identified as “potential” for affordable housing and rural enterprise. This informal process of consultation ended in June 2024, and the Steering Group incorporated these views into the final draft of the Albury Parish Neighbourhood Plan which was submitted under regulation 14 in (????). The outcome of this (period???? week) consultation was further incorporated into this version of our Neighbourhood Plan.

4.6The outcome of the 2024 parish consultation can be found in APPENDIX L.