What can a Neighbourhood Plan or Forum do?

• A Neighbourhood Plan can provide the North Kingston Forum with the chance to shape the future development of our area.

• It can set local design standards based on community consultations and preferences.

• It provides a basis on which to influence and decide local development proposals.

• It can, in some cases, set higher standards than national or local ones.

• It can protect local assets such as parks and open spaces, community buildings etc.

• It can use local knowledge, for example, about areas prone to flooding or to protect well used pedestrian routes.

• The Forum can bring to the attention of the controlling authorities disrepair of heritage assets and unauthorised alterations that significantly detract from the neighbourhood.

• Once the Plan is approved by the local community, the Forum can influence how CIL(Community Infrastructure Levy) funds from new development in our area is spent in our area.

• Read the Neighbourhood Plan here.

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What can’t a Neighbourhood Plan or Forum do?

• It cannot prevent all change and development. Most of this is beyond the control of a Neighbourhood Forum or Plan.

• It cannot override or contradict building regulations, national planning and building legislation, the London Plan or the Kingston Plan.

• It cannot determine Opportunity Area boundaries, which are determined by Kingston Council in the Kingston Plan, or set or allocate housing targets for Kingston.

• It cannot realign roads or cycle paths.

• It cannot protect all local businesses from changes of use, particularly those that are not viable.

• It is not responsible for building or extending schools, medical or care facilities etc. in response to changing demographics – that is the task of the Council.

• It cannot address matters that may be important to local people, but that are not planning issues, e g policing, waste and litter collection, park and street furniture maintenance…

• Neither the Plan nor the Forum have powers of enforcement to remedy breaches of planning permission or failures to obtain planning permission.

• It cannot please everyone; for example, owners of land or properties often have very different views from their neighbours.

• Read the Neighbourhood Plan here.

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Is the North Kingston Neighbourhood Forum for or against development?

• The Forum’s responses to proposed development will be on a case-by-case basis, with the Neighbourhood Plan, once agreed or “made”, as its guide.

• The proposed Opportunity Area for development in our area has been identified by the Greater London Authority, not by the Forum.

• The Neighbourhood Forum has no links to any developers, is not a branch of Kingston Council, and can make independent responses to all planning proposals.

• The Neighbourhood Forum has been guided by an independent Neighbourhood Planning Consultant throughout the process.

• Read the Neighbourhood Plan here.

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Will the Neighbourhood Plan permit 6-storey development wherever this shown as zoned on the Plan map?

• No! Areas within 800 meters of a railway station have been designated as suitable for intensive development by the London Plan and this has been further tuned byKingston Council's emerging Local Plan.

• The NK Neighbourhood Plan attempts to introduce policies to ameliorate development in these areas and restrict the number of new dwellings to the southern boundaries of our area and to areas identified as growth areas.

• The Mayor of London must take account of Local and Neighbourhood Plans.

• Read the Neighbourhood Plan here.

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How is the Neighbourhood Forum funded?

• Committee members are all unpaid volunteers.

• Central government via Locality…. 67%

• Council Grants and Ward Councillor Funding .... 24%

• Donations e g, at AGMs & Gifts in Kind …. 9%

• View NKF’s audited accounts here.

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How democratic is the Neighbourhood Forum?

• The NKF committee stands for election at every AGM, to which all residents are invited.

• Interested residents and businesses are welcome to stand for the committee or to attend monthly committee meetings as co-opted members until the next AGM.

• The Forum has carried out numerous consultation events over the years and has done its best to include relevant responses and preferences in the Plan.

• The democratically elected councillors for the two North Kingston wards are invited to all Forum meetings.

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What would happen if there were no North Kingston Neighbourhood Plan?

• Development in North Kingston would depend almost entirely on proposals from developers and the policies of the London Plan and the Kingston Plan.

• There would be no policies specific to North Kingston or particular areas of North Kingston, other than those decided by London or Kingston.

• If the draft plan were rejected at referendum, the current North Kingston Forum committee would stand down.

• Individual residents would still be able to oppose planning proposals.

• Residents could set up a new Neighbourhood Forum to try to come up with a more acceptable Neighbourhood Plan.

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What about my questions/comments at the AGM or on the draft Plan?

• Click here to read detailed responses to some less frequent questions and comments.