How are the proposed development sites being selected?

The Steering Group wanted the assessment process to be as fair, transparent and evidence-based as possible.

All known landowners with land adjoining the village were invited by the Steering Committee to submit sites if they wished them to be considered. In addition, other potentially suitable sites were also assessed, even where landowners had indicated they had no intention of developing.

Not every landowner wished to promote their land for development. While some potentially suitable sites were identified and assessed as part of the evidence base, only sites that were both suitable in planning terms andcapable of being brought forward within the Plan period could realistically be considered for allocation.

Every site was assessed using Wiltshire Council’s site assessment methodology and considered against a wide range of planning, environmental and community criteria, including:

· landscape impact

· flood risk

· ecology

· highways and access

· heritage

· relationship to the existing village

· deliverability

· ability to provide wider community benefits

The assessments built upon the professional work carried out for the previous Neighbourhood Plan and were reviewed by Steering Group members with relevant professional expertise.

Following this process, two sites emerged as the preferred options because they best balanced the anticipated housing requirement with the opportunity to deliver wider benefits for Hullavington.

Further details of the assessment process, including why other sites were n

ot selected, will be published alongside the draft Plan.

Every site has been assessed using exactly the same methodology. The aim is to identify the locations that could best meet the village’s future needs while protecting what residents value most about Hullavington.

Without a Neighbourhood Plan, we lose our chance to choose the best sites before development comes forward

Development will happen.

But without an up-to-date Neighbourhood Plan, Hullavington will not have its own process for deciding which development sites are best for our village.

Instead, developers can bring sites forward through the planning system and Wiltshire Council will decide whether planning permission should be granted.

We can still comment or object when an application arrives — but by then we are reacting to somebody else’s proposal.

We have lost the opportunity to look at the possible sites ourselves, compare them, assess what each one would mean for the village and decide which are the best options for Hullavington.

With a Neighbourhood Plan, we can do that work before planning applications arrive.

We can look at potential sites and ask:

· Is the location right?

· Can the roads cope?

· What will it mean for traffic?

· Is there safe access?

· What about drainage?

· What impact will it have on the countryside and village character?

· Can schools, healthcare and other services cope?

· What could the development provide for the community?

We can then identify the sites we believe are the most suitable and put policies in place setting out what we expect from development.

The difference is simple:

We cannot decide whether development happens. But we can fight to have a real say in where it happens — before somebody else makes that choice for us.

Without a Neighbourhood Plan, Hullavington does not get to run its own process to compare possible development sites and decide which are the best fit for the village.

Developers and Wiltshire Council are in the driving seat — not us.

We can still comment on or object to planning applications when they come forward, but by then we are reacting to someone else’s proposal rather than deciding in advance which sites are best for Hullavington.

We cannot decide whether development happens. But we can fight to have a real say in where it happens — before somebody else makes that choice for us.

Can the proposed development sites change?

Yes. The sites shown in the draft NDP are the Steering Group’s current recommendations, based on the available evidence gathered so far.

The forthcoming consultation is an opportunity for residents, landowners, statutory consultees and other interested parties to comment on those recommendations. The Steering Group will consider all feedback and evidence before making its recommendations to the Parish Council, which will decide which site or sites to include in the Submission Draft Plan.

Even after submission, the independent examiner may recommend further changes before the Plan proceeds to referendum.

So, in summary:

· The Steering Group recommends

· The Community expresses views

· The Parish Council decides

· Independent Examiner may recommend further changes