This page
gives a brief guide to Neighbourhood Planning in North Somerset and
how you can find out more. It will be updated as new information is
available.
The Localism Act,
which received Royal Assent on November 15 2011, introduced new
rights and powers to allow local communities to shape new
development by coming together to prepare neighbourhood development
plans.
Neighbourhood
planning can be taken forward by two types of body - town and
parish councils or 'neighbourhood forums'. Neighbourhood forums are
community groups that are designated to take forward neighbourhood
planning in areas without parishes. It is the role of the local
planning authority to agree the neighbourhood forum for the
neighbourhood area. As North Somerset is a parished authority it is
envisaged that most neighbourhood development plans will be brought
forward by parish councils.
Three elements of neighbourhood planning
-
Neighbourhood
forums and parish councils can use new neighbourhood planning
powers to establish general planning policies for the development
and use of land in a neighbourhood. These are known as
neighbourhood development plans.
-
In an important
change to the planning system communities can use neighbourhood
planning to permit the development they want to see - in full or in
outline – without the need for planning applications. These are
called neighbourhood development
orders.
-
Local
communities can also prepare a community right to
build order. This allows communities to build new homes or
facilities without the need for a seperate planning
application.
Local councils
will continue to produce development plans that will set the
overall planning context within which neighbourhood development
plans will sit.
Basic
principles
They also have to
meet a number of conditions before they can be put to a community
referendum and legally come into force. These conditions are to
ensure plans are legally compliant and take account of wider policy
considerations (e.g. national policy).
Conditions
are:
-
They must have
regard to national planning policy.
-
They must be in
general conformity with strategic policies in the development plan
for the local area (such as in a core strategy).
-
They must be
compatible with EU obligations and human rights
requirements.
An independent
qualified person then checks that a neighbourhood development plan
or order appropriately meets the conditions before it can be voted
on in a local referendum. This is to make sure that referendums
only take place when proposals are well conceived and
deliverable.
Neighbourhood
development plans or orders will only take effect where there
is a majority of support in a referendum. If proposals pass
the referendum, the local planning authority is under a legal duty
to bring them into force.
Neighbourhood Plans - getting started.
Within North
Somerset Backwell Parish Council and Long Ashton Parish Council
both successfully bid for funding under the Neighbourhood Planning
Front Runners scheme. The grants are to be used to help local
planning authorities gain insight into how the provisions for
neighbourhood planning are likely to work in practice following
commencement of the Localism Act.
Other parishes
within North Somerset may also decide that they now wish to produce
neighbourhood development plans for their area. There is no right
approach to neighbourhood planning. The Government has been
deliberately light touch in its guidance and experience from the
Front Runners scheme is already showing that different communities,
different settlements and different neighbourhoods require
different approaches.
An essential guide
to getting started in neighbourhood planning is
"
How to shape where you live:a guide to neighbourhood planning"
produced by CPRE and NALC.
A useful quick
checklist has also been developed
to help you establish whether producing a neighbourhood
development plan is the right approach for your parish.
Funding
The governments
Front Runner Funding has now come to an end. There are currently no
plans to extend this. However the Government has
funded four organisations to provide support to local groups
preparing neighbourhood plans. These are:
Princes Foundation
Locality
CPRE/NALC
RTPI Planning
Aid
Help and
advice
There is
no template for producing a Neighbourhood Plan. Below are some
links to information you may find useful:-
General information
The Localism Act
Plain English Guide to the Localism Act
DCLG "An introduction to Neighbourhood Planning"
Planing
Advisory Service -FAQ's about Neighbourhood Planning
Planning Portal -a brief description of neighbourhood
planning
RTPI "A Quick Guide to Neighbourhood
Planning"
Journal of Local Planning Issue 5 winter
2011-useful advice and overview of the process
Planning Aid Advice to Front Runners- April
2012
The
process
The regulations
-simplified -North Somerset Council
Broadland District Council " Neighbourhood
Planning Guidance"-as an example from elsewhere.
DIY SA:Sustainability appraisal of Neighbourhood
Plans
Assessing Neighbouring Development Plans. What you need to
know-August 2011.
Presentations from 21 February Neighbourhood Planning
Event
Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)
workshops
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) are running free
workshops to help people to understand how they can get involved in
developing plans for their local area. The workshops cover changes
in planning law including the Localism Bill and the new National
Planning Policy Framework. They also cover the powers and
responsibilities of parish councils, local authorities,
neighbourhood partnerships and other community groups.
North Somerset Council gave a
presentation (pdf, Mar 12, 2MB)
at an event organised by CPRE held in Long Ashton on
Monday 5 March.
Their next workshop for the Avonside area is in Bristol on
Saturday 24 March. See here for details:
http://www.planninghelp.co.uk/what-were-doing/supporting-communities-and-neighbourhoods-in-planning/events/277-avonside
Gathering
evidence and data
We have put
together a
guide to information
available detailing sources of information that may be
useful when preparing a neighbourhood plan.
