BRAMSHOTT and Liphook parish councillors have been criticised for not making any progress with the village’s neighbourhood development plan.

During the annual parish meeting, the public wanted answers about the delay in setting up a steering committee, after a dozen volunteers had come forward since the appeal was made last September.

Alistair Cameron, one of the volunteers, praised the work done on the parish plan but felt it had little direct influence and limited authority.

He told the meeting: “What has authority is a neighbourhood development plan. It can represent Liphook and Bramshott residents, irrespective of district and South Downs National Park boundaries, can be apolitical, not influenced by pre-conceived ideas and can be produced by an independent body under an independent chairman.

“The idea has been waiting to happen for more than two years and a number of individuals – at least 12 – have now volunteered, a chairman has been selected, yet endless reasons continue to come from the parish council for stalling or delaying the start date.”

Mr Cameron added: “Indeed it might be construed this parish council is not keen on a neighbourhood development plan for whatever reason – or is it just incompetence?”

Susan Garnett, who was appointed plan chairman after she was co-opted on to the council in December, made it clear the first meetings to form a steering committee would not be called until September.

She said she had talked to neighbourhood development plan chairmen in Alton, Liss and Bentley on what was the best format and confirmed work had been going on behind the scenes.

Mrs Garnett said: “We are hoping to attract people with the best knowledge in order to get it right. The dozen volunteers who have put their names forward might not be the most valuable people for the committee.

“It has been more complex than I imagined and with the summer holidays ahead we are planning to start in September.”

Mrs Garnett added that the steering committee did not have to be made up of a specific number of volunteers but would need people on board with the right expertise. Volunteers would also be needed for different working parties within the neighbourhood development plan structure.

The qualifying body to lead a neighbourhood development plan is Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council and it is recommended some parish council representatives, as well as a district councillor, should be included in any steering group, which would require a strong chairman, skilled volunteers and a broad spectrum of residents.

The parish council held a public meeting at the Millennium Centre back in September to inform residents about the key elements, procedures, added value, funding resources and benefits that a neighbourhood development plan can have for the village.

East Hampshire District Council’s planning policy manager, Simon Jenkins, gave a comprehensive presentation outlining all points.

He urged Liphook to put together a “slimline” version, concentrating on the most important issues concerning the parish.

He also explained the different stages a neighbourhood development plan had to comply with, starting with its scope – what the plan will aim to do – followed by a consultation with the community and the preparation of a plan.

During the formal consultation, the community will be invited to comment on the plan before a submission can be made to the district council and the South Downs National Park Authority, which will finally examine the plan and, if it is passed, call a referendum.

It is necessary to gain more than a 50 per cent ‘yes’ vote in a public referendum to bring a neighbourhood development plan into force. Once it has been approved it will form part of the local development plan.

That statutory status gives neighbourhood development plans far more weight than some other planning documents, such as parish plans, community plans and village design statements.

An existing parish plan can, however, be integrated into a neighbourhood development plan, having identified main issues.

The neighbourhood development plan needs to recognise the requirement for housing development and conform to the joint core strategy and the South Downs National Park plan, which is still being prepared.

Liphook is in a somewhat unique position having to deal with two planning authorities – EHDC and the national park authority – so the plan will have to straddle the two authority boundaries.

A neighbourhood development plan also increases the community infrastructure levy paid by housing developers to pay for infrastructure – such as schools, community facilities and GP surgeries – from 15 to 25 per cent.

The national park authority wants all neighbourhood plans completed by the time its own local plan goes out to public consultation in October.

Park planners, who are against plans for housing at Bohunt Park, fear gaps in the number of housing allocation sites could put the plan at risk of being thrown out by a government planning inspector sparking a developers’ free for all.