PART ONE : INTRODUCTION
Parish Plans are a significant component of government initiatives to give local communities greater powers to control their own lives. PPS 1 stresses the value of Community Involvement stating that “It is vitally important to planning and to the achievement of sustainable development.” Local communities, such as Taplow, “should be asked to participate fully in the process of drawing up specific plans or policies and to be consulted on proposals for development.” The administrative framework for the implementation these objectives is expressed in the statement from PPS 1 that says : “Local authorities, through their community strategies and local development documents and town and parish councils, through their parish plans , should play a key role in developing full and active community involvement in their areas.”
Parish Plans are intended to form the bedrock of the Local Development Framework which replaces the present Local Development Plan system as well as provide input to the development control system. It is recognised in the guidance literature that communities may well wish to preserve the distinctive character of a Parish and this mandate is one that has found strong resonance in Taplow. The preservation of the rural environment, in particular, its important not only as a visual but as a functional amenity, is seen as vital by the residents.
PART TWO : HISTORY
Taplow has a long history from the earliest evidence of its existence recorded in the physical remains of an Iron Age Hill Fort and of Roman settlements to its later documented history recording the build-up and the changes to Taplow Parish’s great estates. The history of Taplow is very much the history of the origins and fortunes of the Taplow Court, Cliveden and Dropmore Estates. Outside the purview of the estates the strategic advantages of the topography and the river were added to in the nineteenth century by the coming of the Great Western Railway which not only increased the accessibility of Taplow but also left a fine architectural legacy in the form of the Brunel Bridge. Taplow village itself offers an architectural heritage from Tudor times and has kept its historical heart. After the second world war until the 1970’s, however, many of its largest houses were lost to redevelopment. The village tripled in size but its growth did in part continue Taplow’s architectural distinction with the development of the prize-winning estate of Cedar Chase.
PART THREE : PROPOSALS & ACTIONS
- The primary purpose of the Parish Plan is to translate the aspirations and priorities of the community into tangible proposals for action. Action Areas are grouped together under the following functional headings:
- Environmental Issues – aimed at conserving and enhancing the natural and built environment, particularly the amenity of the rural areas for informal leisure
- Traffic Issues – to address the problems of speeding, traffic flow and lorries as well as problems associated with the school and the village proper
- Non Motorised Traffic Issues – to provide a parish wide network of footpaths, cycle tracks and bridle ways and improve their maintenance
- Public Transport Issues – to increase both rail and bus use
- Housing Issues – the major proposal for further housing provision is to ensure the preservation of the character of the natural and built environment and only sites already identified for redevelopment or change of use should be considered suitable.
- Community Facilities Issues – to investigate possibilities for improving facilities and suggesting ways of introducing informal contacts by citing examples
- Administrative Issues – to improve the spreading of information; to mark the boundaries of the Parish with roadside signs; to set up a system to monitor change and development in the Parish; to introduce procedures for working with adjoining authorities and to ensure the implementation of national, regional and local policies on community involvement
PART FOUR : MAKING IT HAPPEN
In order for the proposals in the Parish Plan to be carried out they must be both an accurate reflection of the community’s aspirations and be in line with the current national, regional, county and district policies. The Taplow Parish Plan has met both these requirements through the careful interpretation of the representative views gathered from the household questionnaire and a comparison of them with the relevant policies.
The next stage in the implementation process is dependent on the creation of a successful negotiating structure to ensure Bucks C.C. and SBDC are aware of the Taplow residents’ aspirations and be willing to carry them out. It is essential that County and District authorities recognise and act on the government guidance that places community involvement at the heart of the planning process both in the preparation of the Local Development Documents and in the operation of the development control system.
PART FIVE : COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN PLAN PREPARATION
Community involvement was achieved by a three stage consultation process. Firstly, a wide range of Local Interest Groups were consulted without the restraint of any agenda as to their views on the future of the Parish. Their comments, plus the material emerging from the Geographical and Topics Groups, provided the basis of the second stage of the consultation exercise, the Exhibition Open Days. The main purpose of these was to provide an opportunity for residents to comment on all or any aspects of the Exhibition plus any other matter they wished to raise.
Using all the information gathered from the first two stages a household questionnaire was then devised to provide substantive data on the aspirations and priorities of the community that could then be translated into the Proposals and Action Areas that form the major part of the Parish Plan.
