Purpose

Purpose 
 

The
purpose of this report is to agree the Council’s response to
the public consultation on the submission version of the Stapleford
and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan. The consultation closes at
5pm on 12 February 2025. 

 
Background  
 

The
Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Area was designated on
8 November 2016. The neighbourhood area is for whole of Stapleford
and Great Shelford parishes. 

 

Officers have met with the Parish Councils ahead of the
submission consultation process and recognise the hard work that
has been put into preparing the plan. The Parish Councils have
worked hard to engage with the local community and have ensured
that they have had an opportunity to input into the final
plan. 

 

A
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Habitats Regulations
Assessment (HRA) screening was undertaken on a draft version of the
Neighbourhood Plan, and a screening determination was published in
March 2024.  

 

Pre-submission public consultation on the draft Neighbourhood
Plan was undertaken by the Parish Councils from 11 March until 30
April 2024. Officers provided a formal response to the
consultation, providing constructive comments about the plan to
assist the Parish Councils with finalising the Neighbourhood Plan.
Officers have met with the Parish Councils to discuss these
comments and are aware that the submission version of the plan has
taken on board many of the suggested
changes.  

 

On 21
November 2024, Stapleford and Great Shelford Parish Councils
submitted their Neighbourhood Plan to South Cambridgeshire District
Council. Officers have confirmed, as set out in the Legal
Compliance Check for the Neighbourhood Plan, that the submitted
version of the Neighbourhood Plan and its accompanying supporting
documents comply with all the relevant statutory requirements at
this stage of plan making. The Neighbourhood Plan and its
accompanying supporting documents are published on our website.  

 

We
therefore were able to carry out a consultation on the Stapleford
and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan from 18 December 2024 until
12 February 2025. 

 

Officers, in conjunction with Stapleford and Great Shelford
Parish Councils, are in the process of appointing an independent
examiner to consider this Neighbourhood Plan. All comments
submitted during the public consultation on the submission version
of the Neighbourhood Plan will be provided to the examiner for
their consideration.  

 

Considerations 
 

The
Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared
by Stapleford and Great Shelford Parish Councils to provide
planning policies for development in the area, with the aim of
providing greater clarity when determining planning applications in
the area. The Neighbourhood Plan includes 21 planning policies that
cover a range of issues including: 

Residential development 

Village character 

Climate change and biodiversity 

Landscape character 

Active
travel and traffic 

Countryside access 

 

To
successfully proceed through its examination to a referendum, a
Neighbourhood Plan must meet a number of tests known as the
‘Basic Conditions’. These tests are different to the
tests of soundness that a Local Plan must meet. The Basic Conditions are set out in national
planning guidance and are summarised as follows: 

having
regard to national policies and advice contained in guidance issued
by the Secretary of State it is appropriate to make the
Neighbourhood Plan. 

the
making of the Neighbourhood Plan contributes to the achievement of
sustainable development. 

the
Neighbourhood Plan is in general conformity with the strategic
policies contained in the development plan for the
area. 

the
making of the Neighbourhood Plan does not breach, and is otherwise
compatible with, EU obligations. 

prescribed conditions are met in relation to the Neighbourhood
Plan, including that the making of the neighbourhood plan is not
likely to have a significant effect on a European wildlife site or
a European offshore marine site either alone or in combination with
other plans or projects. 

the
making of the neighbourhood development plan does not breach the
requirements of Chapter 8 of Part 6 of the Conservation of Habitats
and Species Regulations 2017. 

Our
Neighbourhood Planning Toolkit includes further
details on each of the Basic Conditions. When a Neighbourhood Plan
is submitted to the local planning authority it must be accompanied
by a Basic Conditions Statement that sets out how the Parish
Councils considers that their Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic
Conditions. 

 

When
considering a Neighbourhood Plan, the examiner will assess whether
or not the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. When an
examiner recommends that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to
referendum (if it meets the Basic Conditions, with or without
modifications), the examiner’s report must also set out
whether the referendum area should be extended beyond the
neighbourhood area. Comments made during the current consultation
on the submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan, which will be
provided to the examiner for their consideration, should therefore
address whether the submitted Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic
Conditions and can also address whether the referendum area should
be extended beyond the neighbourhood area.  

 

South
Cambridgeshire District Council is fully supportive of parish
councils bringing forward neighbourhood plans for their areas,
including Stapleford and Great Shelford Parish Councils’
decision to prepare a Neighbourhood Plan, and officers have been
supporting the Parish Councils in the plan’s preparation. The
Council’s proposed response to this public consultation on
the submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan is set out in
Appendix A. 

 

South
Cambridgeshire District Council is supportive of the aims of the
Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan and our comments
are intended to help the plan to be successful at examination as
well as delivering policies that are clear in their meaning and are
unambiguous in their interpretation. South Cambridgeshire District
Council recognise the achievement of Stapleford and Great Shelford
Parish Councils in reaching this stage of submitting their plan to
us for examination.  

 

If the
examiner is minded to recommend that the Neighbourhood Plan should
proceed to referendum, the Council does not feel that the
referendum area needs to be extended beyond the designated
Neighbourhood Area as the planning policies included in the plan
would not have a substantial, direct or demonstrable impact beyond
the Neighbourhood Area. 

 

Content

That
the Lead Cabinet Member for Planning agrees the response to the
submission consultation on the Stapleford and Great Shelford
Neighbourhood Plan as set out in Appendix A.