This page covers a variety of background information relevant to the Blewbury Neighbourhood Plan. The items below might be of interest if you’d like to find out more about:

• the 2004 Blewbury Parish Plan;
• the Blewbury Parish Council;
• census data on people in Blewbury;
• the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty;
• designing houses within an AONB; or
• Community Land Trusts.

Blewbury-specific

  Click on map image to see it full size

Blewbury Parish Plan 2004

The Blewbury Parish Plan (2004) (pdf) is now somewhat dated but still well worth a look. Note that a parish plan has a much broader remit than a neighbourhood plan. A neighbourhood plan is principally about housing: where we would like new housing, offices, etc. to go and what they should look like. A neighbourhood plan is produced in the hope that it will influence planning permission for new buildings we want to see go ahead.

In comparison, a parish or community plan sets out a shared vision for the community over the next decade and contains a detailed action plan for achieving this vision. Each plan is different as it reflects the unique set of issues that are important to that community. The plan sets out how community action can meet local needs, it can help to prioritise resources and can provide important information to help influence the policies, decisions and actions of others such as the local authority.

The big difference is that a formal referendum is held as part of the process of approval of a neighbourhood plan. The residents of the parish vote to approve the plan, and if it is accepted by over 50% of those who vote it will form a legal document which must be taken in to consideration by the local planning department when considering planning applications. A parish or community plan does not have to be taken into consideration.

Blewbury Parish Council

The Blewbury Parish Council web pages are part of the main Blewbury website. It includes minutes of Parish Council meetings, the agenda for the next meeting, and information about the Freedom of Information Act.

Blewbury census statistics

The following two documents are analyses of 2001 and 2011 census data:

Short analysis of statistics from 2001 and 2011 census data for Blewbury and Upton (pdf)
This is a very brief profile of household size, age distribution, health and occupation of residents.

Rural community profile for Blewbury Parish (pdf)
This is a much more comprehensive analysis of the census data, carried out by the ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) Rural Evidence Project and OCSI (Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion). It was supplied to us by Anton Nath of ORCC (Oxfordshire Rural Community Council).

[To find the raw census information for various types of area (e.g. for Blewbury parish), go to www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Under “select the type of area” you need to first click on “More areas” to add “parish” as an option, then select “parish” and type “Blewbury” in the box at the top. Click “Search” and you’ll get a complete list of the many datasets available.

North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

The entire village of Blewbury is within the North Wessex Downs AONB. This is a serious influence on deciding planning applications in Blewbury.

Chilterns Design Guide

The Buildings Design Guide is about designing new houses to fit in with the Chilterns AONB. This free guide (pdf) is available from the Chilterns AONB website. Blewbury is close to the Chilterns, and much of this guide is also applicable to us.

Community Land Trusts

Becoming a Community Land Trust is an alternative way to take more control of housing development. Could it work for us?

Community Land Trusts are examples of communities taking control and transforming the future of their local community. They are non-profit, community-based organisations run by volunteers that develop housing, workspaces, community facilities or other assets that meet the needs of the community, are owned and controlled by the community, and are made available at permanently affordable levels.
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