Welcome to the joint website of the High Bickington Community Property Trust Ltd.
and the High Bickington Parish Council.
We hope that your visit to our site will be both enjoyable and informative about what is happening in our parish.
High Bickington is a small rural parish situated within the Torridge District of North Devon. The current population totals around 800 people. High Bickington is situated some 9 miles from Barnstaple, 10 miles from South Molton, 8 miles from Great Torrington and 33 miles from Exeter.
Over the last few years both the Parish Council and the High Bickington Community Property Trust have been piloting a new form of "Community Led Planning" and, initially, this led to the 'High Bickington Parish Plan 2003 to 2023'. Based on Parishioners’ needs identified by a very successful Parish Appraisal, work on the first phase of the Parish Plan is in the process of implementation. The first phase is centered at Little Bickington Farm which adjoins the southern end of the village of High Bickington and which has been declared ‘surplus to requirements’’ by the Devon County Council Farms Estate Committee. The development plans include the provision of affordable local needs housing, workspace, a new school, new community buildings, sporting and recreational facilities. Also included was the planting of a community woodland, comprising some 3,000 broad-leaf trees. This was planted in January 2005 by 53 adult volunteers and 63 primary school children.
An outline planning application for the rest of the development was submitted by the Parish Council in November 2003, was approved by Torridge District Council but was then referred to the Government Office for the South West as a ‘Major Departure from the Local Development Plan’ and this eventually led to a Local Public Inquiry in January 2006. The Inspector recommended refusal and this was endorsed by the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Ruth Kelly MP, in May 2006. The grounds for this decision can be found in the Inspector’s Report and Secretary of State’s Decision Letter, which can be downloaded through the following link: (Download [1])
Despite this initial setback, both the Parish Council and Community Property Trust, working in partnership with Devon County Council and Torridge District Council, remained determined to continue to meet the community’s needs and aspirations. The objective was to achieve this through the sustainable development of Little Bickington Farm in a way that would ensure a sustainable and viable social and economic future for High Bickington parishioners both now and in the future. This determination is shared by more than 200 local people who have become members of the High Bickington Community Property Trust, many of whom have freely given extensive amounts of their time, energy and ideas to enable the plans to be developed. The project has received extensive financial support from public and charitable sources for which those involved are most grateful.
In August 2008 a new Full Planning Application, for a “Mixed Use Development on Land at Little Bickington Farm, High Bickington”, was submitted to Torridge District Council. This was approved by the Council on 15th January 2009 subject to the completion of a Legal Agreement and submission to the Government Office for the South West as a Major Departure from the Local Development Plan. On 20th February 2009 the Secretary of State decided not to intervene in the application and returned it for determination by the Torridge District Council. This means that Full Planning Permission to build 16 ‘affordable’ homes (9 for Equity Share and 7 for rental); 18 homes for market sale; 5 ‘Barn Conversion’ homes; 6 workshops for local businesses; a new 120 place primary school; community and sporting facilities fit for the 21st Century has been granted.
To achieve this major step towards becoming a sustainable rural community has taken High Bickington CPT over 9 years during which time we have faced numerous hurdles that have often been placed in our way by the very governmental departments and agencies that say they “want local communities to get involved in planning their own futures”! The work being done at High Bickington proves that such aims can be achieved and that local communities do have the capacity to achieve success.
We are now keen to move forward with the physical building needed at Little Bickington Farm and to continuing with the implementation of phases 2 and 3 of the High Bickington Parish Plan 2003 to 2023!
Click Here [2] to learn more about the Story to date
