The long road to the Village Green

Scroll to the bottom to download copies of the provisional plans

Way back in 2011  a process was started to develop the existing Chilton Club into a Village Green with a full community Centre and supporting facilities such as a playground and pavilion combined with housing and nursing care.

The information below charts the long process towards realising this project and demonstrates the effort and commitment required to launch and deliver community based projects

Copies of the latest plans and documentation are available to download at the end of this page

1) Neighbourhood Planning

a) Meeting 31st October 2011

  • i) convened to specifically review the Vale of Aylesbury Plan (VAP) it was agreed and minuted that Chilton would endeavour to return a Planning Statement by 30th December 2011 and the results of a questionnaire required to be completed as part of the Planning Statement

b) Meeting 12th December 2011.

  • i) The results of the questionnaire were reviewed. 31 people responded and the results were collated and returned to AVDC
  • ii) An application was also agreed to be made for funding under Neighbourhood Planning Front Runners Scheme (NPFRS)

c) Meeting 16th April 2012

  • i) Confirmation of a successful application for NPFRS in the sum of £20,000
  • ii) AVDC representative advised the process for producing Neighbourhood Plan, the main priority was to conform with the AVDC plan

d) Meeting 9th July 2012

  • i) Following attendance of various meetings with AVDC it was advised that a team of 4-6 people should be put in place to deliver the plan and liaise with the community and Parish Council

e) Meeting 10th September 2012

  • i) A summary of the results of the Questionnaire were reviewed and communicated to AVDC
  • ii) The requirements of the Neighbourhood Plan were communicated to the meeting and how they tied in with AVDC’s local plan
  • iii) 7 volunteers were appointed to collate the information required to compile the Neighbourhood Plan

f) Meeting 3rd October 2012

  • i) a progress report was provided to the meeting

g) Meeting 10th December 2012

  • i) The Difference between a Neighbourhood Plan (NP) and a Neighbourhood Development Order (NDO) was explained to the meeting. The main difference being that a NDO was specific to a single site where as a NP was relevant to a the whole Neighbourhood.

h) Meeting 29th April 2013

  • i) A report on the volunteer’s progress was reported on site options and overall concepts. Concern was raised about the delays but this was due to AVDC finalising its plans and it was hoped this could be concluded in May

i) Meeting 1st July 2013

  • i) The NP team approached 3 architects for quotes in producing a draft plan. Quotes were in the region of £2-3K

j) Meeting 16th December 2013

  • i) NPFRS an application was made to designate Chilton Parish as a Neighbourhood Area. The consultation period would run form 17th December 2013 to 11th February 2014

k) Meeting 14th April 2014

  • i) no issues relating to the scheme were raised

l) Meeting 30th June 2014

  • i) Reported on open meeting which presented the updated plans
  • ii) There were a few objections: height of buildings, planting and the transition period
  • iii) Generally, there was approval for the scheme
  • iv) Coleman Hicks, Architects, had submitted a proposal amounting to £38K plus £6-8K of consultant’s fees. The increase was due to conservation issues and the listed buildings. In addition as AVDC had not produced their plan, the NDO has to comply with National Planning Policy
  • v) Concerns over the increased costs were raised and a review was commissioned to look at the costs of NDO and any other planning works.

m) Meeting 29th September 2014

  • i) Full costs were reviewed and it was determined that the costs for producing a NDO would be in the order of £80K. There were 2 options considered
  • ii) To continue with the NDO and try and raise the required funds
  • iii) Chilton Estates funds a full planning application
    • (1) AVDC indicated that if PC and Village supported the basic concept that AVDC would provide some free pre-application advice
    • (2) Another public meeting was planned

n) Meeting 15th January 2015

  • i) No progress to report

o) Meeting 10th May 2015

  • i) AVDC had still not produced their plan
  • ii) Confirmed that PC would not proceed with the Neighbourhood Plan due to prohibitive costs of £80K
  • iii) Confirmed Chilton Estates would move forward with plans as a private development in close consultation with Parish Council and Community
  • iv) Update plan was circulated for discussion and would be forwarded to AVDC for pre-planning advice

p) Meeting 14th September 2015

  • i) No progress at this time due to considerable investment requirements by Chilton Estates for this next stage

q) Meeting 14th December 2015

  • i) Interim costs for the work commissioned by the PC were presented at a value of £12,000
  • ii) A request was made for a breakdown of these charges

r) Meeting 27th January 2016

  • i) Agreement to formally hand over the development of the project to Chilton Estates
  • ii) Agreement to contribute to the estimated costs of circa £44K (see 30th June 2014). The agreed contribution was £10K from the NPFRS funding received. This would leave £10K to be used towards community amenities and facilities of the completed development for express benefit of the residents as a community. This was agreed as a full and final contribution towards the Village development which would include a community building, village green and war memorial. (The original Club had been dedicated as a War Memorial)

s) Meeting 19th April 2016 Public Meeting

  • i) No progress to report – a public meeting to be held in the near future

t) Meeting 20th September 2016

  • i) No progress to report but the tenancy of the Club had been extended for 18 months

u) Meeting 21st November 2016 Public Meeting

  • i) Statement on the Status of the Chilton Club which advised the tenants had rescinded their tenancy because of the building being unfit for use due to electrical failure the costs of refurbishment were prohibitive to the viability as a commercial premise
  • ii) A full background of events since 2011 was given to the meeting
  • iii) The proposed plans were revealed and explained that due to Listed Buildings Compliance and Planning Complications that the planning permission application would be split into two phases
    • (1) Village Green and Pavilion
    • (2) Village Community Building(s) and housing development
      • (a) Planning application will consist of Assisted Living / 5 Terrace Houses/ 2 Houses and pavilion for the use of the village residents and the Bowls Club. The Assisted Living facility would be linked to Chilton house
      • (b) The planning would be subject to a Section 106 Protection Order which will ensure the Village facility is built before the housing can be occupied

v) SUMMARY

  • i) The above provides a chronological review of events specifically related to the Village Green Development and copies of minutes are available from the Clerk on payment of the statutory fee. Alternatively, all minutes will be posted on the Parish Council Website shortly when it is launched in the next month or so
  • ii) Chilton Estates will be posting latest plans in a public location in the near future