Arising from the recent Slingsby Parish Plan, a group has been formed to develop a Village Design Statement to give guidance to anyone doing new or alteration work in the village, such as extending or creating new buildings, building garden structures such as boundary walls, or planting or felling of trees. To develop the guidance the group needs to gather the opinions of the village community.
There are already a number of things which influence what is built in the village. Most influential is Ryedale District Council’s Local Plan, ( The Local Development Framework) which is put together after long public consultation, and covers matters which influence the type of development and where it can take place. It also lays down like the position of the village boundary and the extent of the conservation area. It also protects some, but not all open spaces. The County Council controls how the roads and footpaths are designed.
The Village Design Statement cannot change what is already in the Local Plan, but is intended to be used in addition to it and is something which the planners would expect developers to take notice of, because it is put forward by local people. It can influence future changes in the village positively, and is therefore worth doing. Its aim is to talk about things which are specific to Slingsby which the wider plans do not cover, and to explain what gives the village its particular character. It highlights the things which the village community values and wants protected, such as important buildings and features, views, single or groups of trees, open spaces etc. It gives details about the type of materials used and architectural features like window design that is considered to fit in with the particular character of Slingsby. It main objective is to make sure that any changes fit in well or are an improvement. It can also contain a wish list of improvements that local people would like to see.
The working group aims to send out a simple questionnaire to all households in the village. Many different opinions are expected. In order to get everyone thinking about this and looking at where we live with fresh eyes, a guided walk around the village has been suggested. The walk will take place on Saturday 17th September and be led by Dr. Kate Giles, Director of Studies at the Department of Archaeology, University ofYork, Margaret Mackinder, a local architect and John Clayton , Ryedale District Council’s Tree and Landscape officer. All of whom are Slingsby residents.
The walk is free and will be of about an hour’s duration. It will point out and answer questions on the less obvious interesting features in Slingsby, and will start from the Maypole at 10.30 a.m on Saturday 17th September. All are welcome – please just come along,
Margaret Mackinder, 18 July 2011
