MKC - Public Consultations on Planning Policies

• Milton Keynes Council are in the process of releasing 3 important planning policy documents for public consulation.
   

  Site Allocations Plan

  *** 27 October 2015: The consultation has now been released - click here ***

• On 13 October, MKC approved the release of the Site Allocations Plan - Emerging Preferred Options, October 2015 - for a 12 week public consultation. The draft is currently available in the CMIS section of the MKC website.
   
• It is significant that, whilst it lists the Sherington Sites that were previously identified by MKC, the assessment of them has now been delegated to Sherington's Neighbourhood Plan. Newport Pagnell and Olney are being treated in a similar manner, so the SAP now focuses on the urban area.
   

  Mineral Plan - Final Draft

• Approval for release of the Final Draft of the Minerals Plan was given at the MKC full Council Meeting on 21 October, albeit with a change to the conditions to be imposed on the Lathbury sites. The document is currently available in the CMIS section of the MKC website.
   
• Both the proposed Lathbury sites (Northampton Road and Quarry Hall Farm) have been identified as Preferred Options, but not to be developed simultaneously. The Northampton Road site lies next to the river and extends to Sherington Bridge.
   
• The PC is concerned that its comments made in 2014 during the public consultation on the previous draft do not appear to have been takn into account. It is therefore cirulating these to Council Members prior to the meeting.
   

  Plan:MK     ***29 Oct 2015 - Document now available online on the CMIS section of the MKC website. ***

• ***24 Oct 2015 - MKC Press Release ***
   
• ***22 Oct 2015 - MK Citizen Article ***
   
• Plan:MK is the successor to the Core Strategy adopted in 2013 and takes planning up to 2031, with a vision for 35 years beyond that. Approval for the document to be released for public consultation will be considered at the MKC Cabinet meeting on 9 Nov. The document is now available online on the CMIS section of the MKC website. It is Item 12 on the Agenda: Draft Strategic Development Options Consultation.
   
• There are 4 options, which came out of Vision Workshops held earlier this year, not from MKC Planning themselves. Sherington is one of the 'Satellite Settlements' in Option 3, which means at least 5000 homes, which will be sufficient to justify a secondary school. These are only options, not actual plans, and therefore may not happen. MKC Planning have not endorsed any or even evaluated them. However, it appears that MKC Planning's opinion is that the Satellite option is not feasible in terms of cost or sustainability.
   
• The Parish Council is discussing its response at the 3 November meeting.