The Steering Group have worked on the wording of the Vision and Objectives of the Neighbourhood Development Plan for the Parish of Findern, to try to encapsulate in words what the plan hopes to achieve.

The draft versions are below and the group would welcome any feedback or comments from residents in the parish before the final wording is agreed upon. Email any response to neighbourhoodplan@findernparishcouncil.org

VISION

By 2040 Findern Parish will be a sustainable and thriving community. Quality of life and a sense of community spirit will have been maintained and where possible enhanced. There will be continued and extended direct access to the countryside for leisure and recreation. Local facilities, including schools, a village hall, church, shop and access to a community building at Highfields, will be sufficient to meet local need.

The Parish will contain a mix of housing types, some within a rural setting and some next to Derby City. New development will be of a high design standard, that has reinforced the local character and is of a low carbon construction. Development will be designed and located to respect the wider landscape and the sense of openness and separation between the urban edge of Derby City and the rural character of the rest of the Parish will have been retained. Areas that have environmental significance will remain protected.

The proximity to the A50 and A38 will continue to provide good connections to the strategic road network and to neighbouring towns and cities for residents and businesses. The combined benefits of a network of Parish wide walking and cycling routes and site related local enhancements will provide active travel options and recreation.

In combination this ensures that residents have a healthy, happy and prosperous life.

OBJECTIVES

Community Objective 1: To support sustainable growth of an amount and type that meets objectively assessed local and district need. Most growth will be on allocated sites.

Community Objective 2: To protect the rural character of Findern village (reflecting local densities and the historic character) and to protect the sense of openness and separation between Findern village and Highfields.

Community Objective 3: To protect and enhance the landscape, and surrounding open countryside, ensuring development minimises its impact on the natural and built environment. Ensuring that the green spaces on the western edge of Highfields are protected, maintained and enhanced, reflecting their function as a community asset and providing a soft transition from the edge of Derby City to the countryside.

Community Objective 4: To ensure development is designed to a high quality that reflects local character, topography, landscape sensitivity, green gaps and views as detailed in the Findern Parish Design Code 2024.

Community Objective 5: To protect and improve the parks, play areas and other green spaces that are highly valued assets for local people.

Community Objective 6: To contribute to an improving quality of life for all residents by promoting a level of growth that is balanced with an expansion in the range of local facilities and services (where possible) that will enable Findern Parish to thrive. Particularly providing a community building at Highfields.

Community Objective 7: To protect and enhance access to the countryside for walking and cycling to access jobs, services and for leisure and recreation.

Community Objective 8: To protect and enhance the rich flora and fauna of the Parish particularly the mature trees, hedgerows and areas designated for their nature conservation.

Community Objective 9: To ensure development does not increase surface water flooding, taking into account existing water courses and high ground water levels across the whole Parish, and to encourage design solutions that incorporate sustainable drainage systems that have multi benefits like increasing the biodiversity of the area.

Community Objective 10: To ensure future expansion takes into account the existing road infrastructure capacity and enhances non-vehicular routes for walking and cycling so that the pedestrian and cyclist environments are enhanced by an improved and extended integrated network of active travel routes across the Parish.