Cookham Neighbourhood Plan – Q & A

Q & A - Click on each title to find out more...

• Why is a Neighbourhood Plan being prepared?

  The purpose of the Cookham Neighbourhood Plan is to help improve the quality of life and environment for the community as a whole. The Neighbourhood Plan will be set in the context of the new Local Plan prepared by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

  The emerging Borough Local Plan sets housing targets for new development in Cookham, and has specifically allocated land for this in Cookham Rise. The Cookham Neighbourhood Plan can seek to influence the form and quality of the new development, so that this reflects local character and qualities.

  Importantly, because the Cookham Neighbourhood Plan will be produced with extensive input from the local community, it will reflect local issues, concerns and aspirations. It will have very real potential to influence change for the better – more so than any other documents prepared before.

• Can the Cookham Neighbourhood Plan be used to stop development?

  No. Government policy does not allow this. The Neighbourhood Plan has to work on the basis of the amount of new development set by Windsor & Maidenhead for Cookham.

  But the Cookham Neighbourhood Plan can be used to make sure that future development in Cookham reflects the characteristics and qualities of the area that we value and enjoy, and brings as many benefits as possible to Cookham.

• Aren’t there already policies for Cookham in the Windsor & Maidenhead Local Plan?

  The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead has prepared a new Borough Local Plan for the entire borough. This is currently subject to examination. This identifies land for development in Cookham Rise.

  This Neighbourhood Plan provides scope to influence the shape of future growth, as well as establishing policies for Cookham as a whole, providing more locally based policies than set out in the Windsor & Maidenhead Local Plan. This can cover aspects such as important views, the natural setting, access and movement.

• We already have a Village Design Statement. Why do we need a Neighbourhood Plan?

  The Village Design Statement is not a formal ‘planning document’. Officially it is only ‘guidance’, and is mainly about style rather than what can be built and where. This means that the planners can give it little weight when making serious decisions about Cookham.

  A Neighbourhood Plan is a formal ‘planning document’, which means it must be followed when planning decisions are made.

• Why don’t we have a Neighbourhood Plan already?

  Cookham has history went it comes to Parish planning.

  The first attempt at a Cookham Plan was made a bit over a decade ago. It was not successful. What was successful was the following effort to create the Village Design Statement, which will, obviously and rightly, closely inform the CNP. The Parish Council then waited to see how the Borough Local Plan would work.

  Now is the right time for the Cookham Neighbourhood Plan.

• How will infrastructure improvements be paid for?

  Developers of schemes over a certain size are required to pay a Community Infrastructure Levy to the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. Currently, on developments that take place in Cookham, 15% of the monies come back to the Parish Council. If and when our Neighbourhood Plan is made this increases to 25%.

  This will help pay for improvements to things such as green spaces and play facilities, walking and cycling routes, important road junctions and improved community facilities. The Neighbourhood Plan can include a set of projects that we would like to see funded.

• Who is preparing the Neighbourhood Plan?

  The Neighbourhood Plan is being led by a Working Party set up by the Parish Council comprising Parish Councillors with ‘permanent’ consultees from important local groups, like the Cookham Society, WildCookham and Save Cookham.

  As work on the Neighbourhood Plan progresses the Working Party will reach out to and engage carefully with local residents as well as businesses institutions and organisations of all kinds.

• Will Windsor and Maidenhead have any say in the Cookham Neighbourhood Plan – or help us?

  The Royal Borough has already drafted the Borough Local Plan, within which the Cookham Neighbourhood Plan must ‘fit’. The Royal Borough also has a ‘duty to co-operate’ with Cookham as Cookham develops the Cookham Neighbourhood Plan. We are in touch with them accordingly.

  The Royal Borough’s resources are limited, of course, so most of the work falls on Cookham.

• The Parish Council are amateurs. How can they create a Plan that works?

  The Parish Council has engaged specialist consultants, Troy Planning + Design. They will do the technical work with the Working Party to make sure that the Plan is sound, legal and appropriate. They are paid for mainly by grants which the Parish Council has applied for from bodies funded by the Government specially for this purpose.

• What is the referendum?

  Everyone who is eligible to vote in Cookham will have the chance to say whether they think the Neighbourhood Plan should be used to begin shaping future change and determining planning applications.

  If more than 50% of the votes cast agree with the Neighbourhood Plan, then it will become part of formal planning policy for Cookham.