Purpose

Purpose
 

1.    
The purpose of this report is to consider the
conclusions of the Examiner’s Report on the Pampisford
Neighbourhood Plan, and whether those conclusions should be acted
upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to
referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s
recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made,
and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets
the Basic Conditions.
 

2.    
Cabinet agreed at its meeting on 26 July 2018 that
where the examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan is
legally compliant, meets the Basic Conditions (with or without
modifications), and should proceed to referendum, the Joint
Director for Planning and Economic Development has delegated
authority to make the decision on the way forward, in consultation
with the Planning Lead Member.
 

Background
 

3.    
The Pampisford Neighbourhood
Area was designated on 29 March 2018. The neighbourhood area is for
the whole parish of Pampisford.
 

4.    
Officers recognise the hard work that those on the
steering group of the neighbourhood plan have put into preparing
the Plan. This group has strived to ensure that the whole village
had an opportunity to have an input into the final Plan.
 

5.    
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 May 2023.
 

6.    
Pre-submission public consultation on the draft
Neighbourhood Plan was undertaken by the Parish Council from 9
October to 19 November 2023. Officers provided a formal response to
the consultation, providing constructive comments about the
Neighbourhood Plan to assist the neighbourhood plan group with
finalising the Neighbourhood Plan. Officers met with the steering
group to discuss these comments and the submission version of the
plan took on board most of the suggested changes. The steering
group has taken their plan forward in a positive way.
 

7.    
On 21 June 2024, Pampisford
Parish Council submitted their Neighbourhood Plan to SCDC. Officers confirmed by
carrying out a Legal Compliance Check for the Neighbourhood Plan
that the submitted version of the Neighbourhood Plan and its
accompanying supporting documents complied with all the relevant
statutory requirements at this stage of plan making. We
therefore were able to carry out a consultation on the Pampisford
Neighbourhood Plan from 5 August until 30 September 2024. This
extended period of consultation was to take into account that the
consultation period extended over the summer holiday period. We
wished to ensure everyone had an opportunity to comment on the
Plan.  
 

8.    
Officers, in conjunction with Pampisford Parish Council, appointed an independent
examiner to consider this Neighbourhood Plan. The
examiner appointed to undertake the examination of a Neighbourhood
Plan: must be independent of both the District Council and Parish
Council; cannot be the same examiner that undertakes a health check
of the Neighbourhood Plan; and must not have any interest in any
land that may be affected by the Neighbourhood Plan. The
examiner appointed was Andrew Ashcroft. On 15 October 2024 the
Neighbourhood Plan, its accompanying supporting documents and all
comments submitted during the public consultation on the submission
version of the Neighbourhood Plan were provided to the examiner
with a request for him to carry out the examination on the
Neighbourhood Plan.
 

9.    
The examiner issued on 21 October 2024 a note which
set out the arrangements for the examination, and on 25 October
2025 a clarification note which included some questions for the
Parish Council. The Parish Council responded to the questions set
for them on 15 November 2024.
 

10. 
The Examiner’s Report was received on 6
January 2025 (see Appendix 1). The examiner in his report concludes
that subject to a series of recommended modifications the
Pampisford Neighbourhood Plan meets all the necessary legal
requirements and should proceed to referendum. He also recommends
that the referendum should be held within the neighbourhood area
only.
 

11. 
Now that the Examiner’s Report has been
received, the Council is required to consider the conclusions of
the Examiner’s Report, and whether those conclusions should
be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should
proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the
examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood
Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the
Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. The Council must
publish its decision in a decision statement.
 

Considerations
 

12. 
Where an examiner has concluded that the
Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions (with or without
modifications) and is legally compliant, and therefore that the
Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum, the Council has
limited options in how to respond. The options are as
follows:
 
Option
1: Act upon the conclusions in the Examiner’s Report,
including making any recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood
Plan, and proceed to referendum, provided that the Council confirms
that the Basic Conditions have been met.
 
Option
2: Take a decision substantially different from the
Examiner’s conclusions, wholly or partly as a result of new
evidence or fact, or a different view is taken by the Council as to
a particular fact, including that the Council is unable to confirm
that the Basic Conditions have been met.
 

13. 
National regulations require the Council to make a
decision on the Examiner’s Report and whether the
Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum within 5 weeks of
receipt of the report (unless an alternative longer timescale is
agreed with the Parish Council).
 

14. 
Officers have concluded that Option 1
should be followed for the reasons set out in the following
paragraphs of this decision statement. Officers agree with the
examiner’s conclusions, including his recommended
modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and agree that the
Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum.
 

a. Meeting the Basic Conditions and Legal
Requirements
 

15. 
To successfully proceed through its examination to a
referendum, a Neighbourhood Plan must meet a number of tests known
as the ‘Basic Conditions’. The Basic Conditions are set
out in national planning regulations 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;
and

·      
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.
 
Chapter
3 of the Council’s
Neighbourhood Plan Toolkit sets out further detail on meeting
the Basic Conditions.
 

16. 
For the basic condition of having regard to national policies and advice, it
should be noted that an updated version of the National Planning
Policy Framework (NPPF) was published on 12 December 2024.
Paragraph 239 of the NPPF 2024 sets out transitional arrangements
for plan-making. It comments that the policies in the Framework
will apply for the purpose of preparing neighbourhood plans from 12
March 2025 unless a neighbourhood plan proposal has been submitted
to the local planning authority under Regulation 15 of the
Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) on
or before the 12 March 2025. On this basis, as the Pampisford
Neighbourhood Plan was submitted in June 2024, the Plan has been
examined against the NPPF published in December 2023. Where NPPF
paragraph numbers are used they refer to those in the NPPF December
2023 version.   
 

17. 
To proceed to a referendum, a Neighbourhood Plan
must also meet a number of legal requirements, such as whether the
Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared by a qualifying body and meets
the definition and scope of a Neighbourhood Plan.
 

18. 
The examiner concludes in the Executive Summary and
Chapter 6 of his report that subject to a series of recommended
modifications the Pampisford Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic
Conditions and all the necessary legal requirements. The
examiner’s recommended modifications do not fundamentally
change the role or purpose of the Neighbourhood Plan; they have
been recommended by the examiner to provide clarity and
precision.
 

19. 
Officers, in conjunction Pampisford Parish Council,
have reviewed the examiner’s conclusions and recommended
modifications, and officers and the Parish Council have agreed each
of the recommended modifications considered necessary by the
examiner for the Neighbourhood Plan to meet the Basic Conditions. A
‘Referendum’ version of the Pampisford Neighbourhood
Plan has been prepared including these modifications (see Appendix
2).
 

20. 
Additional non-material modifications to the
Neighbourhood Plan have also been prepared by officers and agreed
with Pampisford Parish Council, and these additional modifications
are also included in the ‘Referendum’ version of the
Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 2). These modifications have been
made in accordance with guidance set out in national planning
guidance which states that minor (non-material) updates to a
Neighbourhood Plan that would not materially affect the policies in
the plan can be made by the District Council at any time, provided
they have the consent of the Parish Council, and that these
modifications can be made without the need for consultation or
examination (see National Planning Practice Guidance, Paragraph
085, Reference ID: 41-085-20180222).
 

21. 
In summary, these additional non-material
modifications include the following:

·      
Updates to cover page and Foreword to reflect
current stage of the Neighbourhood Plan

·      
Updates to the general formatting of the Plan, and
re numbering where a policy has been deleted from the
Plan.
   

22. 
Officers have undertaken a Basic Conditions and
Legal Compliance check of the ‘Referendum’ version of
the Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 3) and consider that the
Neighbourhood Plan meets all the requirements.
 

23. 
As the modifications made to the Pampisford
Neighbourhood Plan do not change the essence of its planning
policies, the SEA and HRA screening undertaken on a draft version
of the Neighbourhood Plan, and the screening determination
published in May 2023 remain valid.
 

b. Referendum
 

24. 
The examiner concludes in the Executive Summary and
Chapter 8 of his report (see Appendix 1) that, subject to the
incorporation of his recommended modifications, the Neighbourhood
Plan should proceed to referendum. He also concludes that it is
appropriate for the referendum area to be the neighbourhood area
designated by SCDC in March 2018 (see Appendix 1, Chapter
8).
 

25. 
The examiner’s conclusions on the referendum
area are consistent with that proposed by the Council in its
response on the submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan agreed
by the Lead Cabinet Member for Planning in September 2024.
Therefore, as it has been demonstrated by officers that the
‘Referendum’ version of the Pampisford Neighbourhood
Plan meets all the legislative requirements, officers concur with
the examiner that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to
referendum and that the referendum area should be the neighbourhood
area. 
 

Next Steps
 

26. 
The regulations state that a referendum should take
place within 56 working days of the day after the publication of
this decision statement. And therefore, SCDC will proceed to set a
date for the referendum once this statement is
published.
 

27. 
If a Neighbourhood Plan is successful at referendum,
the Neighbourhood Plan becomes part of the development plan for the
area(National Planning Practice Guidance, Paragraph: 064, Reference
ID: 41-064-20170728), although the formal ‘making’ of
the Neighbourhood Plan will not happen until SCDC’s full
Council are asked to do this at their next meeting following the
referendum.
 

Implications
 

28. 
In the writing of this report, taking into account
financial, legal, staffing, risk management, equality and
diversity, climate change, community safety and any other key
issues, the following implications have been considered:

 

29. 
Financial: the costs of the
examination and referendum have to be initially met by SCDC.
However, the Council can claim a £20,000 government grant per
Neighbourhood Plan once a plan has been successfully through the
examination and the Council has set a date for the
referendum.

 

30. 
Legal: where the examiner has concluded that the
Neighbourhood Plan is legally compliant, meets the Basic Conditions
(with or without modifications), and should proceed to referendum,
the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development has
delegated authority to make the decision on the way forward, in
consultation with the Planning Lead Member (as agreed by Cabinet at
its meeting on 26 July 2018). National regulations and planning
guidance for Neighbourhood Plans require that the Council considers
the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report, and whether those
conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the
Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s
recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made,
and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets
the Basic Conditions. The Council’s decision must be
published in a decision statement.
 

31. 
Staffing: the responsibilities associated with
delivering neighbourhood planning are being undertaken within the
existing resources of the Planning Policy Team, drawing upon the
expertise of other staff as required.
 

32. 
Equality and Diversity: these issues have been
considered in the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan, as to meet
the Basic Conditions a Neighbourhood Plan must not breach, and is
otherwise compatible with, EU obligations, including Human Rights.
Included as part of the
Basic Conditions Statement is an assessment undertaken by
Pampisford Parish Council to examine the
impact of the Neighbourhood Plan in relation to the
‘protected characteristics’ as identified in the
Equality Act 2010. The Equalities Impact Assessment concludes that:
the Neighbourhood Plan will have neutral impacts on persons who
have a ‘protected characteristics’ apart from some
specific policies that could have some minor positive effects on
children, younger adults, older adults and those with physical
disabilities. The examiner has agreed with this assessment (see
Appendix 1, paragraph 6.19).

Content

That
the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development, having
consulted with the Planning Lead Member, agrees:
a.   
that South Cambridgeshire District Council should
act upon the conclusions in the Examiner’s Report on the
Pampisford Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 1) and that the
Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to a referendum as set out by the
national regulations.
b.   
the ‘referendum’ version of the
Pampisford Neighbourhood Plan (as set out in Appendix
2).
c.    
the ‘referendum’ version of the
Pampisford Plan be given significant weight in decision making and
that the area for the referendum should be the Neighbourhood
Area.FIELD_DECISION_OPTIONAL
 

Reasons for the decision

The
Examiner’s Report on the Pampisford Neighbourhood Plan was
received on 6 January 2025. The examiner concludes that subject to
a series of recommended modifications the Neighbourhood Plan meets
all the necessary legal requirements and should proceed to
referendum. He also recommends that the referendum should be held
within the neighbourhood area only.
 
National regulations and planning guidance for Neighbourhood
Plans require that the Council considers the conclusions of the
Examiner’s Report, and whether those conclusions should be
acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed
to referendum. This includes considering whether the
examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood
Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the
Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. The Council’s
decision must be published in a decision statement. This report is
the Council’s decision statement for the purposes of those
regulations.
 
The
Council will set a date for the referendum after the decision
statement is published. Until the referendum takes place the
Referendum version of the Plan will be given significant weight in
decision making by the Council as stated by the government in their
revised regulations.

Alternative options considered

Where
an examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the
Basic Conditions (with or without modifications) and is legally
compliant, and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed
to referendum, the Council has limited options in how to respond.
The options are as follows:
 
Option
1: Act upon the conclusions in the Examiner’s Report,
including making any recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood
Plan, and proceed to referendum, provided that the Council confirms
that the Basic Conditions have been met.
 
Option
2: Take a decision substantially different from the
Examiner’s conclusions, wholly or partly as a result of new
evidence or fact, or a different view is taken by the Council as to
a particular fact, including that the Council is unable to confirm
that the Basic Conditions have been met.
 
Officers have concluded that Option 1 should be followed for the
reasons set out in this decision statement. Officers agree with the
examiner’s conclusions, including his recommended
modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and agree that the
Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. Officers have
concluded that Option 2 should be rejected as there is no new
evidence or fact, and officers are able to confirm that the Basic
Conditions have been met (as set out in paragraph 22 in the Purpose
/ Background section of this decision statement).