A Guide to Neighbourhood Planning
Version 25th March 2011
We have published this note to help explain the key principles of the new neighbourhood planning system which will be introduced by the Localism Bill when it is enacted.
Reforming the Planning System
The planning system has an important role in delivering sustainable cities, towns, villages and neighbourhoods that improve the quality of life of everyone who lives, operates business and works in them. Planning is fundamental to delivering economic growth, meeting housing aspirations and enabling people to directlyinfluence what happens to their communities.
Planning is most effective when local residents, business and civic leaders are in the driving seat of planning for their areas and delivering the development they want to see. Neighbourhood planning is a radical new right being introduced in the Localism Bill to reflect this underlying principle .
The Government’s top priority in reforming the planning system is to promote sustainable economic growth and jobs. The Government’s clear expectation is that the answer to development and growth should wherever possible be “yes”. We are giving neighbourhoods and local councils more power to shape their local areas, providing incentives that reward and support places that encourage development. The Community Infrastructure Levy and the New Homes Bonus therefore complement neighbourhood planning by ensuring that there is funding to provide the infrastructure and services needed to support growth, such as improved local schools, parks and roads.
Neighbourhood Planning
The Localism Bill will give communities powers to plan for their areas and deliver the development they want through neighbourhood planning. Communities cancreate their vision of what their area should look likeand have a far greater influence in decidingwhere new shops, offices or homes should go and what green spaces should be protected. A referendum at the end of the process ensures communities have the final say on whether a neighbourhood development plan or development order comes into force in their area.
Neighbourhood planning can be taken forward by two types of body– town andparish councils or ‘neighbourhood forums’. Neighbourhood forums are groups that are designated to take forward neighbourhood planning in areas without parishes. Just like there can only be one town or parish council per town or parish, there can only be one neighbourhood forum per neighbourhood area. It is the role of the local council to agree who should be the neighbourhood forum for the neighbourhood area. We anticipate that many new and existing residents’ organisations, business and community groups will put themselves forward and have thus kept the criteria for establishing neighbourhood forums as simple as possible. Forums will need to have an open approach to their membership, including local residents, employees and business organisations. Local elected members should play a central role in neighbourhood planning activity in both parished and non-parished areas, demonstrating real leadership to their communities.
Investors, developers and other commercial organisations will be encouraged to work withneighbourhood forums and town and parish councils to develop neighbourhood development plans and orders. The Government announced as part of the Growth Review, that business could take a leading role in neighbourhood planning in their areas, bringing forward plans and orders subject to getting the agreement of the local communityand passing independent examination. This reflects the fact that even in predomninantly residential areas, the role of local business is often crucial to the wellbeing of the neighbourhood.
Neighbourhood forums and parish councils can use their new neighbourhood planning powers to establish general planning policies for the development and use of land in a neighbourhood. This is the ‘neighbourhood development plan.’
Perhaps most radically, communities can use neighbourhood planning to permit the development they want to see in their neighbourhoods. This is the ‘neighbourhood development order.’ Developments that have been given planning permission through a neighbourhood development order will not require a further planning application to be made to the local council thus encouraging the growth of the neighbourhood.
A Wider Community Planning Activity
The elements of a community planthat don’t relate strictly to the development and use of land would not legally become part of the ‘neighbourhood development plan’ and thus the statutory development plan for the local area. But communities may wish to use the plan-making process as an opportunity to discuss, identify and develop policies related to wider community development issues.
They could develop a shared vision for the community/locality, creating a collective sense of how the neighbourhoodshould be developed and shaped. Communities could also use this opportunity to set out an investment or action plan for their area, or to set out how they wish to manage existing community assets (e.g. village halls, local green spaces, local shops and pubs). This builds on the very best experiences of community-led planning and the diverse range of community plans that have been produced.
Promoting Sustainable Growth
Neighbourhood planning will give communities a much greater say on what gets built in their areas but we need to strike the right balance between conservation and growth. Neighbourhood planning should not be used to stop or restrict development from happening or to replace parts of the planning system that already exist.
Whilst, neighbourhood development plans are an opportunity to control the type, design, location and mix of development they cannot underminewider ambitions for growth in the council’s development plan.Neighbourhood development plans and orders must have an appropriate fit with local and national planning policy and can be used . to promote more development than is set out in a local plan. The new national planning policy framework will help clarify the role of neighbourhood planning in promoting locally supported development.
Crucially even if an area is covered by a neighbourhood development plan or order, developers can still submit an application for planning permission to the local council. The local council will use any neighbourhood development plan which is in force in deciding planning applications in the neighbourhood.
There are some types and classes of development which are excluded from neighbourhood planning due to their scale or complexity. For example, minerals proposals, most waste development and nationally significant infrastructure projects are excluded.
Another Tool in the Toolbox
We believe the benefits will make it worthwhile for every neighbourhood to engage in neighbourhood planning. The Localism Bill gives neighbourhood forums and town and parish councils the ‘right’ to produce a neighbourhood development plan or order, but there is not a requirement to do so.
Neighbourhood planning is therefore another tool in the toolbox communities can use to plan for their area – it is flexible. We are leaving it to communities to decide what level of detail they want to provide and how they want to use neighbourhood development orders, neighbourhood development plans and the community right to build orders. They could choose to have a neighbourhood development plan with just one or two policies for a part of the neighbourhood or several policies fortheir area. They could decide to use neighbourhood development orders to give full or outline planning permission for certain developments in their area or to permita range of development proposals(e.g. householder extensions).
Safeguards
Neighbourhood planning introduces very powerful planning tools. As already mentioned, a neighbourhood development plan will guide decisions on planning applications, while a neighbourhood development order grants planning consent. A minimum level of checks and balances are needed to ensure that neighbourhood planning isn’t captured by unrepresentative interests or used to block key infrastructure or development proposals from proceeding.
Neighbourhood development plans or orders must meet certain conditions before they can be put to a community referendum and come into force.
These basic conditions willensure plans and orders are legally compliant and take account of wider policy considerations.
- they must have regard to national policy
- they must be in general conformity with strategic policies in the development plan for the local area (i.e. such as those policies in a local plan)
- they must be compatible with EU obligations and human rights requirements.
Other conditions are:
- there can only be one neighbourhood development plan per designated neighbourhood area (though there can be more than one neighbourhood development order);
- neighbourhood development plans or orders cannot extend beyond a single local planning authority area;
- plans and orders must be submitted by a parish council or a neighbourhood forum;
- neighbourhood development plans or orders are subject to effective consultation, participation and publicity requirements.
Unlike with applications for planning permission – all ‘other material considerations’ do not come into play when a local councilis considering proposed neighbourhood development orders. This is because we want as many local, detailed considerations to be left for the community to consider.
An independent qualified person will check that a neighbourhood development plan or order meets the conditions set out above before it can be voted on in a local referendum. This will make sure that referendums only take place when proposals are workable and of a decent quality.
Proposed neighbourhood development plans or orders need to gain the approval of a majority of voters of the neighbourhood (or an extended area if appropriate) in order to come into force. This is an important safeguard which means plans and orders cannot take effect unless there is support from the wider community. If proposals pass the referendum, the local council will be under a legal duty to bring them into force.
Local and Neighbourhood Planning
The relationship of neighbourhood planning with local plans is important, as we need to ensure that the ambitions of people for their very local area are consistent with the needs and ambitions of the residents of the wider area.
Indeed it is important to the success of the reformed planning system that local councils continue to prepare high-quality, well-designed development plans that set appropriate policies for the development and use of land.The new presumption in favour of sustainable development will be an important incentive for putting in place up-to-date local plans. These plans should be proactive in driving and supporting the growth this country need and responding positively to wider opportunities for growth. They should establish strategic policies that guide neighbourhood planning activity and show where and how different local councils intend to work together on strategic planning issues. Whilst the strategic policies will be different in each local council’s area, the overall scale and distribution of housing and employment are likely to be ‘strategic policies’ in many local council areas.
Neighbourhood planning puts communities in the driving seat of planning at the very local level. Local councils canalready produce more defined plans for individual parishes or community areas and permit development at a neighbourhood level, through plans currently known as Area Action Plans [and local development orders. They should continue to offer these tools to communities if appropriate.
Local councils should getup-to-date local plans in place before neighbourhood planning occurs in their area but this is not a pre-requisite for effective neighbourhood planning. Where neighbourhood planning is undertaken before this has happened collaboration between the community and the local council will be critical. The local council should take an active role in advising and supporting the community group, sharing evidence and information and ensuring the neighbourhood plan appropriately fits with the strategic policies of its existing adopteddevelopment plans and national policy.It will be for the local council and examiner to determine the weight to be attached to policies in an existing local plan when considering neighbourhood plans.
The new neighbourhood planning system is designed to ensure that there are sufficient opportunities for local communities to take a different view to the local council on several policy areas. For example, on detailed design or the precise location or mix of development.
Community Right to Build
The Localism Bill also allows for community organisations to bring forward a “community right to build order” which is a type of neighbourhood development order. This will allow certain community organisations to bring forward smaller scale development projects, subject to independent testing and a community referendum. Any benefit generated from this development will stay within the community and be used for the community’s benefit.
What are the Key Stages?
Stage 1: Defining Neighbourhood Areas
Before any neighbourhood development plan or order can be prepared the neighbourhood area must be agreed. Where an area is parished there will be a strong assumption that existing town or parish council boundaries will define the neighbourhood area. In many cases however, parish councils may want to work together and propose that the defined neighbourhood should extend beyond a single town or parish council’s own boundaries.
The first stage in the processis that the town or parish council or a community group applies to the local council for an area to become a neighbourhood area for neighbourhood planning purposes. The local council shouldagree and designate that area unless it has valid planning reasons to identify a revised neighbourhood area. The local council must ensure neighbourhood areas are coherent, consistent and appropriate. We are currently consideringwhether a local planning authority could define certain areas (e.g. business parks, city centres) as “business neighbourhoods” where there is a strong commercial presence.
In non-parished areas a community group would then need to apply to become the designated ‘neighbourhood forum’ for that neighbourhood area. This designation gives the group the legal power to prepare a neighbourhood development plan or order for its area. The local planning authority would have regard to a range of criteria in making this decision – for example the involvement of local elected members andlocal business, the transparency and inclusiveness of the organisation.
Stage 2: Preparation and the Local Council’s Role
After a neighbourhood area is defined, the parish council or neighbourhood forum will begin developingtheir draft proposals into a plan/order that can be used to determine planning applications and grant planning permission. They will need to carry out the necessary assessments and consultation proportionate to the scale and ambition of the proposals.
Local councils have an important role in helping communities to produce plans or orders. The Localism Bill will place local councils (alongside other duties) under a legal “duty to support” neighbourhood forums, town and parish councils in their neighbourhood planning work. The extent of support and advice that is given will be for each local council to determine, according to their own skills, resources and the community’s needs but it doesn’t expressly include the giving of financial assistance. Government is working with various industry bodies to discuss what this support may involve and any advice that can be provided to LPAs and communities. .
Stage 3: Independent Check
Once a neighbourhood development plan or order has been prepared by the neighbourhood forum or parish council, it is sent by them to the local council who will ensure it meets certain procedural requirements. For example, that it has been subject to appropriate consultation. If it does meet these requirements then the local council must submit the draft plan or order to be independently checked by a qualified person. This checking is known as an ‘independent examination’ and the appointed person as ’the independent examiner’. The examiner can be nominated by the neighbourhood forum or parish council, but can only be formally appointed by the local council with the forum or parish/town council’sagreement.
The examiner will be checking that the proposals fit the basic conditions described earlier. This will normally be a process of examining written representations and should, therefore, rarely require any public hearing of the kind normally associated with examinations of local plans. However, the examiner can conduct a public hearing if they feel it necessary to examine a particular issue or ensure fairness. The examiner will issue a report outlining how well the plan has met the basic conditions and if any further changes (‘modifications’) are needed. The local council can then make those changes or other changes as appropriate to ensure the neighbourhood development plan or order meets the basic conditions, unless the parish or town council or neighbourhood forum decide to withdraw their proposals.
In revising the plan or order, the parish or town council or the neighbourhood forum in discussion with the LPA must decide whether the proposals should be subject to furtherconsultation, evidence and independent checking.