It’s good that The Village magazine highlights and has always supported the Alvechurch Parish Neighbourhood Plan. But in the article “The Housebuilders’ Neighbourhood Plan” in your October edition, I believe there may be some confusion.
In paragraph 4, you say: ”Doubling the size of a settlement should be planned very carefully with an over-arching vision to improve the lives of present and future villagers (or townies!)” You then go on to say in the opening to the next paragraph: “That is the aim of Alvechurch Parish Neighbourhood Plan (APNP) . . . ”
I am concerned that some readers may be under the impression that this is actually the aim of the APNP, although I’m sure that was not your intention.
Such proposed enlargements to our village are wholly the wish of developers, many of whom are champing at the bit right now on hearing of the imminent Green Belt and Bromsgrove Local Plan review.
It is definitely not the wish of the APNP to double anything, it is in fact; to meet our future local housing need as stipulated in the policies of the APNP and of those, to which we must comply, in the Bromsgrove District Council Local Plan.
The actual wording of the aim and vision of the APNP is: “Alvechurch 2030 – where managed change and celebration of its rural character combine in a community made better by design.”
Doubling is a game for bridge card players, not the APNP!
Adrian Smith, Chairman of APNP Steering Group
The Editor writes: The article last month highlighted the pressure on Alvechurch parish from housebuilders, demonstrated by their responses to the draft APNP, and pointed out that such submissions “show the importance of villagers getting behind the APNP process”.