Background

The Medstead Parish Plan built upon previous community-led initiatives: our 2001 Village Appraisal and 2003 Village Design Statement.

Village Appraisal

In October 1999 Medstead Parish Council called a public meeting to discuss the potential of carrying out an appraisal in the Parish. Following this a small group was formed to undertake the appraisal.

Our Village Appraisal, completed in 2001, provides a background to key facts and issues in Medstead. It was based on a questionnaire delivered to 713 households in Medstead. 529 questionnaires were completed and analysed, a response rate of 74.2%.

Village Design Statement

Building on the Village Appraisal, our Village Design Statement, completed in 2003, describes the distinctive character of Medstead and how local people want the village to change and develop in future.

It includes design principles based on the character of our village and makes specific recommendations in six areas: agriculture and land use, the environment, equitation, heritage, sport and recreation and traffic and transport.

Following a public meeting in Medstead Village Hall in October 2001 organised by Medstead Parish Council, a small team volunteered to act as a Steering Group. Working in partnership with the local planning authority, East Hampshire District Council (EHDC), six sub-groups set up to research the specific topics.

Contact was made with village organisations to seek their involvement, a workshop was held in April 2002 to gather and disseminate information and a questionnarire was distributed to all households, which achieved a response rate of over 70%.

The work was displayed at the Village Fête in July 2002 and the Village Design Statement was endorsed by Medstead Parish Council in November 2002.

It was adopted by EHDC in January 2003 as Supplementary Planning Guidance. The guidelines within the Village Design Statement are part of the decision-making process for planning applications and should be taken into account by developers and property owners when considering future development in Medstead.

Parish Plans & Village Design Statements

A Parish Plan and a Village Design Statement are both about managing change at a village or parish level. They are both produced by and reflect the views of the local community, with full community involvement and consultation, and identify features and local characteristics people value.

So how do they differ?

Village Design Statement	Parish Plan
A single focus, on design.	A holistic document which can cover social and community issues, services, economic development, environment and principles of design.
Clear and simple guidance for the design of all forms and scale of development in the village, but is not focussed on specific actions.	Statement of how the community sees itself developing over next 10 to 15 years and a plan of practical actions to achieve this.
Purpose is to ensure development respects and reflects local character.	Purpose is to identify what needs to be done to bring about improvement and to safeguard what is valued.
Can be used as material consideration in planning decisions. Some planning authorities are prepared to consider adopting Village Design Statements as Supplementary Planning Documents.	No formal status but has potential to influence a wide range of organisations. Local Authorities are increasingly looking to Parish Plans to inform local community development strategies.
Can be one element of a Parish Plan or prepared on its own.	Can include a Village Design Statement or an action might be to prepare one.
Support of planning authority members and officers important.	Support of a range of different agencies, including the Local Authority important.

The July 2007 edition of Parish Plan News contains more information on how Parish Plans and Village Design Statements compare.

You can download the extract here.