Purpose

Purpose
 

1.      
The purpose of this report is to agree the
Council’s response to the public consultation on the
submission version of the Harston Neighbourhood Plan. The
consultation closes on 20 February 2025.
 

Background
 

2.      
The Harston Neighbourhood Area was designated on 17
June 2022. The neighbourhood area is for the whole parish of
Harston.

 

3.      
Officers have met with the Parish Council ahead of
the submission consultation process and recognise the hard work
that has been put into preparing the plan. The Parish Council
has worked hard to engage with the local
community and has ensured that they have had an opportunity to
input into the final plan.

 

4.      
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 February 2024. Following on from
this screening which determined that a full SEA was required, a SEA
was produced in July 2024. Amendments have been made to the
Neighbourhood Plan to take into account the recommendations from
the SEA.
 

5.      
Pre-submission public consultation on the draft
Neighbourhood Plan was undertaken by the Parish Council from 22
April 2024 until 11 June 2024.
Officers provided a formal response to the
consultation, providing constructive comments about the plan to
assist the Parish Council with finalising the Neighbourhood Plan.
Officers have met with the Parish Council to discuss these comments
and are aware that the submission version of the plan has taken on
board many of the suggested changes.
 

6.      
On 11 December 2024, Harston Parish Council
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.
 

7.      
We therefore were able to carry out a consultation
on the Harston Neighbourhood Plan from 9 January 2025
until 20 February 2025.

 

8.      
Officers, in conjunction with Harston Parish
Council, 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

 

9.      
The Harston Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared by
Harston Parish Council 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 28 planning policies that cover a range of issues
including:

·      
Residential development

·      
Climate change and flood management

·      
Biodiversity

·      
Landscape character

·      
Traffic and parking

·      
Housing Supply

·      
Sustainable design and construction
 

10.   
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:

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

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

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

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

e)   
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.

f)     
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.

11.   
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.
 

12.   
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.

 

13.   
South Cambridgeshire District Council is fully
supportive of parish councils bringing forward neighbourhood plans
for their areas, including Harston Parish Council’s decision
to prepare a Neighbourhood Plan, and officers have been supporting
the Parish Council 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.
 

14.   
South Cambridgeshire District Council is supportive
of the aims of the Harston 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 Harston Parish Council in
reaching this stage of submitting their plan to us for
examination.
 

15.   
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 Harston Neighbourhood Plan as set
out in Appendix A.