INTRODUCTION

The current Melton Local Plan gives details of what types of development we will and will not allow in the area. However the plan is now becoming out of date and we have decided to review it.

The new plan will be called the Melton Local Development Framework. We started a consultation exercise in March 2003 on a series of discussion papers. The paper 'Village Envelopes and Important Open Areas' (issue 3) was published in May 2003. The paper outlines the way the Council wishes to control future development in villages by drawing up new village envelopes and important open areas to be protected.

DRAFT VILLAGE ENVELOPES AND IMPORTANT OPEN AREAS CONSULTATION

We want to give local communities an opportunity to comment, and make their own ideas known on the draft envelopes and important open areas for their own villages.

Your parish council has agreed to lead a local consultation exercise by distributing the draft plan for your village (Burton Lazars and Great Dalby shown below) and by publicising it locally. Your parish council will explain the local consultation arrangements.

Any representations you wish to make during the consultation exercise should be sent to your parish council. They will be considered by the parish council and then passed on to the Borough Council. We will consider the parish council's comments and all the representations received before the final draft envelope and important open areas are drawn up.

Village envelopes identify an area within which most forms of development would normally be allowed. They also act to protect the form and character of a village and the surrounding countryside. A village envelope does not mean that all development proposals within it would be approved. A proposal would need to be acceptable in terms of design, form, scale, access and other relevant matters. In the countryside outside a village envelope development would normally be limited to agricultural buildings and other uses appropriate to the countryside.

Because village envelopes offer a general presumption in favour of most forms of development, there is a need to specifically identify and protect from development those open areas that are within the envelope and are important to the appearance, character or form of a village.

The 'Development Strategy' discussion paper (issue 2} was published in April 2003 and looks at the amount of new development that is planned for the Borough and where it should be located. It says that most new development will be in and adjoining Melton Mowbray. The villages are placed in the following 3 categories according to their suitability for new development.

Category 1- Asfordby, Bottesford, Long Clawson, Waltham on the Wolds.

Category 2- Ab Kettleby, Asfordby Hill, Barkestone, Buckminster, Burton Lazars, Croxton Kerrial, Eaton, Frisby, Gaddesby, Great Dalby, Grimston, Harby, Hoby, Hose, Kirby Bellars, Knipton, Nether Broughton, Old Dalby, Plungar, Queensway, Redmile, Scalford, Somerby, Stathern, Thorpe Arnold, Thorpe Satchville, Twyford, Wymondham.

Category3 -Asfordby Valley, Ash by Folville, Barsby, Belvoir, Bescaby, Branston, Brentingby, Brooksby, Burrough on the Hill, Chadwell, Cold Overton, Coston, Easthorpe, Eastwell, Edmondthorpe, Freeby, Garthorpe, Goadby Marwood, Harston, Holwell, John O'Gaunt, Knossington, Leesthorpe, Little Dalby, Muston, Normanton, Pickwell, Ragdale, Rotherby, Salt by, Sax by, Saxelbye, Sewstern, Shoby, Sproxton, Stapleford, Stonesby, Wartnaby, Welby, Wycomb.

Category 1 -These villages have a good range of local community facilities and regular public transport. The paper says if we need to identify sites for housing or employment development outside Melton Mowbray we will look at these villages first.

Category 2 -These villages generally have a more limited range of community facilities and are only suitable for small-scale infill development.

Category 3 -These villages generally have a poor range of local community facilities and limited public if any. They would not be sustainable locations for new housing or employment development. Strict controls would apply to these villages so there would be no need for them to have village envelopes.

Please note that it is possible that some Villages may change category. There will be further consultation on this

The Draft Village Envelopes have been drawn to allow for small-scale infill development only. We do not expect, land for market housing or other development outside the village envelopes of Category 2 villages. Should there be a need to identify sites for market housing, business or other uses on land adjoining a Category 1 envelope, there will be further consultations with the village communities involved.

The ‘Housing Opportunity & Choice' discussion paper (issue 8), was published in August 2005 and looks at the way we can contribute to meeting affordable housing needs in the rural area. The paper discusses the identification of 'exception' sites where affordable housing could be allowed on land adjoining Category 1 and Category 2 villages that would not normally be granted planning permission for market housing. If there is local support for the identification of affordable housing sites there will also be further consultations with village communities affected.

GUIDLINES USED TO DEFINE DRAFT VILLAGE ENVELOPES AND IMPORTANT OPEN AREAS

The draft village envelopes and important open areas have been drawn in accordance with a set of guidelines that were contained in the discussion paper 'Village Envelopes and Important Open Areas' (issue 3). Responses to the consultation exercise on the discussion paper indicate widespread support for the guidelines. The guidelines exclude some existing commercial and business uses that are separate or peripheral to the built form of a village. Where appropriate, the future development of these sites will be dealt with by specific policies, within the new plan.

The plan overleaf shows the existing village envelope (broken blue line) and existing important open areas !n (solid green areas). The draft envelope is shown as a solid red line and the draft important open areas are shown by a green hatch. Through the on-going PAl (Positional Accuracy Improvement) mapping programme, the Ordnance Survey has updated the base map of the borough since the original village envelopes were drawn, The map overleaf is the most up to date version and is not compatible with the version previously used. Consequently, the existing village envelope and important open areas do not always accurately follow the base detail.

We would like you to consider the draft village envelope and important open areas for your village and let us know

• If you agree with them
• If you think they should be changed; and if so 
• How and why they should be changed.

 BURTON LAZARS