STRATEGY GUIDANCE FOR LAMMAS GROUPS

Lammas groups look like starting in Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

Broadly the Local Development Plan process is meant to be different from the present system in that it is to be (as they say) "front loaded". What this means is that they are meant to involve communities and public interest groups in the development of policy rather than developing policy and then going out to the public for comment. The other big change is that they have to do the process in an agreed time scale so that plan preparation can't just go on for ever. The first stage of this new process is what is called the "Delivery Agreement". This is an agreement between the Local Authority and WAG which sets out the time table for plan preparation and also what is called the Community involvement scheme. They have to consult on this document before finalising it. Different Local Authorities are at different stages in getting this document together. eg Ceredigion are consulting on it at the moment while Carmarthen have agreed with WAG to have theirs in place by July. Lammas groups need to find out what stage things are at where they are.

The delivery agreement is very important for a variety of reasons. First it is meant to tell people how they will be consulted and second when. It may be written in a style which makes it difficult for people to engage with it/the process. Also it may be silent on how it will reach certain sections of "the public" eg those living in dwellings not sanctioned by the planning system. Also the mechanisms for engaging may themselves be improvable. For all these reasons and probably others which you will only be able to consider when you read the document engaging with the consultation exercise is important. Also of course it is your first opportunity to say to the Local Authority that you want to be involved in the process. Saying this as part of a group has obvious advantages. For a start groups tend to count for more because they are representative of a body of people which gives them a sort of added legitimacy. The bigger the group the better. Secondly if the group is itself part of a larger movement then this again adds weight to what it says. It also means that in formulating its views the group can work with groups in other counties to build the strongest arguments and to put forward the best possible policies for each county to adopt as part of their plan. Finally being part of the Lammas "family" means that your groups details will be available to all so that anyone from your county looking at the Lammas web site will know what to do to join you in making a difference where you are. So far the Lammas site has received over 3.5 million hits so this is a very effective way to build a movement.

Once the consultation on the Delivery agreement has taken place each County Council will finalise the agreement and submit it to WAG for agreement (assuming you are in Wales). Once agreed they have to stick to the timetable and they have to follow what has been agreed.

As mentioned above this involves consultation on possible policy approaches. Here you need to do 2 things. The first is to look at their current Development Plan. To find out what this is look at their site. It will probably be a Unitary Development Plan supplemented by a local plan. Most policy makers start from what they've got. So it's worth starting there yourself. Look at what it says and ask what's missing and what you agree with. In particular note that apart from Pembs you wont find a Low Impact Development (LID) policy there. Then next thing to think about is what is needed by way of policy because it is always good to have a clear idea of what you will argue for when consulted.

There will be plenty of time to develop these ideas and you will know from the DA when you will need them by.

Above all make sure you are on the LA's database.

It will not be enough for counties to simply copy the present Pembs policy since while it is a good start there may be elements of it which could be improved.

Finally there may also be aspects of national policy that we can contribute to including national policy on LID which is meant to be out for consultation sometime later this year.