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This is to invite you as a Hampstead resident to comment on a revised draft of the Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan. It includes new policies that will help to make development in Hampstead more sustainable. In addition, it has new provisions to encourage considerate construction and enhance the natural environment.
We have created a short survey in which you can express your opinions on key elements of the new document and, if you wish, view and comment on the whole draft. Please do take a few minutes to complete the survey by clicking here. (The survey closed on 28 February 2024.)
You can read the full draft of the revised Neighbourhood Plan here.
A paper copy of the draft is available to view at Keats Community Library.
Please send any comments or questions to info@hampsteadforum.org
The existing Neighbourhood Plan passed referendum in 2018 after wide public consultation, and now sits alongside the Camden Local Plan as a statutory document. Applicants for planning permission, as well as Camden’s planning officers, have to follow its policies.
We believe the Plan has had a positive influence on development in Hampstead over the past six years. But the accelerating climate crisis demands new technologies that reduce consumption of fossil fuels, such as solar power and heat pumps. The idea behind our new proposals on sustainable design is to encourage such energy-saving measures while protecting the important heritage of Hampstead’s Victorian houses.
New construction is very damaging to air quality. So the revised Plan encourages adaptation of existing houses rather than replacing them with new ones. However, refurbishment projects too can be very disruptive to neighbours, especially in our dense, hilly and narrow streets. Therefore, we are proposing new policies that will require builders to be more considerate.
In addition, we seek to build the innovative ‘biodiversity corridors’ designated in the existing Plan into a biodiversity network with fewer barriers to flora and fauna moving through the area, especially around the fringes of Hampstead Heath.
Extensive public consultation is essential under the Localism Act 2011, which introduced neighbourhood planning as a way of giving local communities a bigger say in shaping their areas. Please do let us know your thoughts. The survey will close on 23 February.
After taking into account the views expressed, we will submit the new Plan to Camden for approval. After that, it must pass an independent examination to ensure it complies with planning law. Then, it will be subject to a public referendum. If the new Plan passes through these steps, it will take statutory effect and replace the existing Plan - which meanwhile remains in force.
Thank you in advance for taking part.
Email: info@hampsteadforum.org