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The Neighbourhood Plan

A unique opportunity

In the past, decisions about planning were simply made by the government and the local Planning Authority, with the Parish councils having very little influence. But, this has now changed. Preparing a Neighbourhood Plan gives us a unique opportunity to shape what development is carried out in our locality. It will include:

  • the preferred location, size and character of new homes
  • what other development, including infrastructure is appropriate
  • environmental and sustainability requirements
  • transportation and vehicular use

The stages of Plan preparation

The Neighbourhood Plan needs to follow a number of stages from inception to adoption by the Planning Authority:

  1. The neighbourhood is defined and a definitive map prepared showing the extent of the Parish that is covered by the Plan. (see Transport and highways)
  2. Local organisations, residents and businesses are consulted through surveys and consultation meetings, and their views and preferences recorded.
  3. Drafts of the Neighbourhood Plan are prepared setting out the proposals drawn from the results of the consultations and local research, including well documented supporting evidence. A number of drafts are likely to be needed before a final version can be submitted to the Planning Authority.
  4. Once the Neighbourhood Plan is prepared, an independent examiner checks that it meets the basic requirements of a plan and recommends any changes thought necessary.
  5. When any changes have been incorporated by the Planning Authority, the Plan is put to a referendum of residents and businesses in the Parish. If more than 50% of those voting in the referendum approve of the Plan, the Planning Authority will adopt it.

The Task Groups

In order to prepare the Plan, the Steering Group has created four sub-groups, or Task Groups, to investigate different issues that the Plan needs to cover. These are:

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