WORK required to complete Liphook’s Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) will be carried out to coincide with key stages of East Hampshire District Council’s new local plan review.

Members of Bramshott and Liphook’s NDP steering committee agreed to work to the same timetables as the district planning authority’s upgrade of its planning masterguide as they overlap in many key areas.

Following a briefing by district council officers earlier this week, the steering committee is now in the process of working out a timetable for its NDP – and is aiming to have the first draft ready for public consultation by early 2019, in line with EHDC’s review.

The district council’s existing local plan – called the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) created in partnership with the South Down National Park Authority – shows how many homes will be built, where they will go and what infrastructure should be provided to support it.

But new Government planning rules say all local plans must be reviewed every five years, meaning EHDC’s current blueprint will be out of date by the middle of 2019.

East Hampshire residents are now being urged to help update the plan in the parts that lie outside the South Downs National Park and will have the chance to have their say and submit their proposals before May 4.

Public discussions are planned by the district council throughout 2018 on key parts of the local plan – including infrastructure, housing, the environment and employment.

A draft local plan should be ready for consultation early next year with completion and adoption expected by 2020.

The steering group discussed the call for suitable sites by EHDC and felt that it should also make proposals for sites within the parish which could be used for anything other than housing, alongside local lan`d owners, to be included in the local plan before the May 4 deadline.

EHDC’s draft plan will outline further housing proposals which can be incorporated into the Liphook NDP before it is due for adoption.

The district council will also be conducting a wider traffic survey across East Hampshire to assess the transport infrastructure.

Bramshott and Liphook is currently awaiting the results of its own traffic survey and impact study, which will be published in the Atkins report, commissioned by EHDC, which is due to be delivered within the next few months.

Liphook’s NDP should benefit from the local plan review and the steering group is keen to work hand-in-hand with the planning authority and its timetable.

NDP vice-chairman Chantal Foo stressed any planning inspector looking at the finished NDP proposal would only pay attention to what was in place in the local plan at the time, highlighting the importance of working with EHDC.

The interim report by independent consultants Feria Urbanism points out that conformity with EHDC’s local plan is the key to getting the NDP adopted, saying: “If an allocation in a neighbourhood plan is not in conformity with the relevant local plan, an examiner is likely to find against the neighbourhood plan.”

EHDC will also carry out work on a community facility audit to catalogue the village halls, pubs and other facilities communities currently use or may need.

An open space sport and recreation study will establish the current provision in the part of the district outside the national park and future requirements.

The district council is also required to provide a certain number of pitches for gypsies and travellers and plots for travelling show people to meet local needs.

The location and number of these will be identified in the revised local plan following local consultation.

The NDP steering group is now expecting to set up working parties, which have attracted 23 volunteers so far, who will be allocated to the seven policy themes set out Feria Urbanism’s report.

They include access and movement, community, sports and recreation, housing, heritage and design, public services and employment.

The NDP will be seeking to deliver a total of 10 objectives, which should be met through the implementation of around 30 policies and projects.

The steering group’s proposals will have to be endorsed by Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council on Monday, February 26.