First Annual General Meeting of The Billericay
                       Design Statement Association

Steering Committee hard at work analysing YOUR opinions Wednesday 14 November 2007 Agenda                                     click here to download the 2007/2008 accounts 1 Introduction Many people feel that they have no say over what development takes place in their community; but Design Statements offer a constructive solution to this dilemma. Local communities have an unique appreciation and understanding of their own place, and a Design Statement is based on this knowledge. It describes the qualities that residents value in their town and its surroundings. Around 200 English communities have completed Design Statements to date. A Design Statement sets out clear and simple guidance for the design of all development in a town, based on its character. It is an advisory document produced by the community, not by the planning authority. It will not stop change from happening, but it can help effect how any new building fits in to the town. It is intended to influence the operation of the statutory planning system, so that new development is in harmony with its setting and makes a positive contribution to the immediate environment. An effective Design Statement: • is developed, researched, written and edited by local people; • reflects the representative views of a community; • involves a wide cross-section of residents in its production; • describes the visual character of the town; • demonstrates how local character and distinctiveness can be protected and   enhanced in new development; • is compatible with the statutory planning system and its local application; • should be accepted as supplementary planning guidance (and thereby   influence developers and decisions on individual planning applications); • is relevant to all forms and scale of development, and • is about managing change in the town, not preventing it. A Design Statement is unlike any other planning document. It gives planning advice directly applicable to the statutory planning system and is entirely community based. (www.countryside.gov.uk) 2 Chairman's Report The Association's first year The Inaugural General Meeting of the BDSA, initiated by Billericay Town Council, took place in March 2007. A Steering Group, comprising residents as well as representatives from Billericay organisations and societies, was appointed, and a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary elected. Since then the Steering Group has devoted its efforts to two essential aspects of a Design Statement: - Preparing a written description of Billericay, supported by appropriate   illustrations, largely in terms of the town's built environment and its setting in   the surrounding countryside - A public consultation programme, via a series of road shows at various   venues around the town, to obtain the community's views on how they see   the town today and how they wish it to develop in the future. The road   shows consisted of a series of display panels which explained the concept   and rationale of Design Statements, and used a Questionnaire to canvass   visitors' opinions. These two primary tasks are now nearing completion. The text of the descriptive sections or chapters of the Design Statement is at an advanced stage and amounts to more than 25000 words in draft form. It is being edited to produce a coherent and consistent document. The results of the first public consultation about the current state of the town and its future direction are as follows: • 811 questionnaires returned (about 15% of those distributed), expressing   34563 opinions • 5007 comments under 268 headings obtained via questionnaires and notes   posted on exhibition panels Preservation of the surrounding Green Belt and open spaces within the town, conservation of the historical nature of the town centre, the growing number of restaurants, and the generally poor state of roads and footpaths, are major issues emerging from our initial analysis. The next stage As noted above, the first public consultation generated a large amount of data covering a myriad of complaints about Billericay, plus hopes and fears for its future. An important outcome is that most people regard Billericay as a nice place to live, and think that the town has a distinctive character which must be protected against ill-conceived or insensitive changes. Indeed, a number of respondents expressed their aversion to the unfortunate buildings constructed in the High Street during the sixties. With community feedback now available, the next priority for the Steering Group is to distil these comments and opinions and derive a meaningful series of recommendations relating to future planning controls within Billericay. These recommendations will be presented to Basildon District Council, as the Planning Authority for the area, with the aim of including them as part of the Local Development Framework which is currently in preparation. The LDF will be the criterion for planning policy in the District for the next ten years, so it is vital that the BDS proposals are tabled well before the LDF is finalised. A further series of road shows will be arranged during the coming months, to give all those interested an opportunity to examine the draft Design Statement and review the Design Guidance recommendations. All comments arising from this second phase of consultation will be considered and, where appropriate, used in editing the final version of the document. Other issues not relevant to the LDF which were highlighted by the first consultation will be notified to the relevant body for consideration and any necessary action. Finally, may I thank members of the Steering Group for their hard work, the many people who contributed in other ways, the Rural Community Council of Essex for its encouragement in establishing the BDSA, and the Town and District Councils for their support during the year. 3 Treasurer's Report This report should be read in conjunction with the enclosed Income and Expenditure report. The report provides a detailed statement of costs and funding received. One point to note is the Insurance cost of £200.This represents the annual premium for Public Liability Insurance that the Steering Group was advised as necessary in the event of an accident arising at a Public Consultation meeting. Soon after the Association was formed, an estimate was made of the likely costs of producing a Design Statement for Billericay. This estimate was based on several assumptions regarding the main costs for producing a Design Statement i.e. the Public Consultation process and the printing and distribution of the final and interim documents. Using estimates of printing costs together with information received from other villages and towns that had already produced Design Statements, the Association Steering Group estimated the total funding requirement to be around £14,500 with most of that expenditure to be incurred towards the end of the project. To date, cash funding of £5,650 has been received and expenditure of £2,075 incurred, primarily on the Public Consultation process. Costs incurred to date have been broadly in line with our original estimates. The Steering Group estimates that a further £12,400 will be needed to produce a document that will be of value to the community of Billericay. With current Bank deposits of £3,605, it is anticipated that the shortfall of about £8,800 will be met by further contributions from both Billericay Town Council and the Parish of Great Burstead and South Green, together with donations from Basildon District Council and Essex County Council. It is important to state that the major cost of producing a high quality Design Statement is not the cash cost but the notional cost of the time spent by the individuals on the Steering group and those that assist them. To date, close to a thousand unpaid hours have been devoted by these individuals on working on the project. Another 'unseen cost' is the value of the services provided free to the Association by Billericay Town Council, notably use of premises for the Association's monthly Steering Group meetings. 4 Election of Officers The existing officers being eligible for re-election are willing to stand: Chairman - Ian Davie Vice-Chairman - Ron Capes Treasurer - Alan Veats Secretary - Lynda Kelly There were no other nominations. 5 Composition of Steering Group In addition to the officers, founder members who continue to serve on the Steering Group are: Peter Bowditch; Jo Clark; Trevor Draper; Andrew Dyckhoff; Susan Hunt; Clifford Mullett The following members were co-opted to serve on the Steering Group subsequent to the Inaugural General Meeting of the Association in March 2007: Susan Savage Sue Sheppard Mik Dunn Marie Dear In accordance with the Constitution, the appointment of such members must be confirmed at the Annual General Meeting. 6 Amendment to the Constitution It is proposed that the Clause 3.3 of the Constitution be amended as follows: "3.3 To submit the Design Statement to Billericay Town Council and Great Burstead & South Green Parish Council for comment, and to secure approval as planning guidance by Basildon District Council." (Existing clause reads: "3.3 To secure approval of the Design Statement by Billericay Town Council and as planning guidance by Basildon District Council") 7 Any other business