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That the neighbourhood plan area (please see Appendix A), as
proposed by Vale of Allen Parish Council (Group) Parish Council, be designated.

 

Scheme of delegation

 

Under the Officer Scheme of Delegation (April 2019), the
Executive Director of Place
has the power (138) “To undertake all action in relation to any function of the
Council concerning neighbourhood planning” including
the power to make a final determination as to whether to designate a neighbourhood plan area and/or make such an area a business
area.

 

This power
only applies, however, when there is insufficient time to have the matter
considered by the relevant committee as part of the normal committee cycle; the
Council is legally obliged to approve the designation; and/or there has been no
objection to the proposal submitted to the Council within any relevant time for
the submission of representations which has not been withdrawn.

 

The Local Scheme of Nomination sets out which functions have
been nominated by the Executive Director of Place and any conditions or
limitations. This includes the power ‘to designate neighbourhood plan areas
(where the Council must exercise its powers to designate the specified area
applied for as a neighbourhood plan area) and neighbourhood forums’. The only
condition/limitation is that the relevant Portfolio Holder (Cllr Bartlett,
Portfolio Holder for Planning and Emergency Planning) is consulted.

 

The Neighbourhood Planning (General) (Amendment) Regulations
2015 includes Regulation 6A which requires the authority to determine an area
application within 13 weeks from the date immediately following that on which
the application was first published. As the Vale of Allen Parish Council Area
application was first published on 6 May 2025, over 11 weeks have now elapsed,
and the Council needs to exercise its powers to designate the specified
area applied for as a neighbourhood plan area. The conditions within the
Officer Scheme of Delegation / Local Scheme of Nomination have been met and a
decision should be made without delay.

Reasons for the decision

Proposed
Area

 

A proposed
Vale of Allen Neighbourhood Area has been submitted
by Vale of Allen Parish Council (Group). The neighbourhood
area does not entirely follow parish boundaries and extends into the adjacent
Parish of Knowlton. The application includes agreed consent from Knowlton
Parish Council.

 

As part of
the designation process a minimum 6-week consultation period is required where
the proposed area does not align with a parish boundary, in
order to give interested parties the
opportunity to make comments. The proposal was subject to consultation, held
from the 6th May 2025 to 17th June 2025, a
period of six weeks.

 

At the
close of consultation five responses had been received. The responses were from
Cranborne Chase National Landscape, Environment Agency, Holt Parish Council,
National Highways and Natural England. Cranborne Chase National Landscape and
Holt Parish Council suggested alternative boundaries. The suggestions are
considered below.

 

Recommendation

 

As a valid
application has been received from Vale of Allen Parish Council (Group), the
Council must designate a neighbourhood area.

 

Generally,
in parished areas, the parish boundary is considered to be the most appropriate boundary for a neighbourhood area. However, provision is made for groups
of parishes or other areas to be designated as a neighbourhood
area if consent is gained from the parish councils to be included. In this
instance, consent has been given by Knowlton Parish Council for the inclusion
of part of their area.

 

The
Cranborne National Landscape set out in its response that ‘Whilst the B3078
road provides a firm line for the north-eastern boundary it might be more
logical, in terms of existing boundaries, to extend the area in that sector to
the boundary of this National Landscape and International Dark Sky Reserve.
Doing that could avoid relatively small patches of this nationally important NL
being omitted from a Neighbourhood Plan and thereby
creating an unsatisfactory two tier policy
arrangement.’ 

 

Holt Parish
Council detailed in its response that ‘Members have now discussed and in
their opinion the Vale of Allen area of Gaunts Common
should be considered for exclusion from the proposed area on the basis of not spliƫng the community due to the line of the parish
boundary.’

 

Vale of
Allen Parish Council (Group) has considered the consultation responses received
including the suggested boundary changes put forward by Cranborne Chase
National Landscape and Holt Parish Council. However, it has decided it wishes
to proceed with the neighbourhood area as originally
proposed. On this basis it is recommended that the area proposed by Vale of
Allen Parish Council (Group), be approved.

 

Alternative options considered

Business Area

 

Section 61H of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as
amended by the Localism Act 2011, requires that when designating a
neighbourhood area, a local planning authority should consider whether the area
concerned should be designated as a ‘business area’. If a business area is
designated, local businesses would have the opportunity to be more involved in
the formation of the neighbourhood plan and would get an opportunity to vote
(alongside registered electors) in the later referendum on whether the neighbourhood
plan should come into force. However, this section of the Act also makes it
clear that a neighbourhood area should only be designated as a business area if
it is ‘wholly or predominantly business in nature’.

 

The
proposed neighbourhood area is predominantly rural in
character. Given this context it is not considered appropriate to designate the
neighbourhood area as a business area.