Purpose

Purpose
 

1.    
The purpose of this report is to consider the
conclusions of the Examiner’s Report on the Thriplow and
Heathfield 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 Thriplow and Heathfield Neighbourhood Area was
designated on 25 August 2017. The neighbourhood area is for the
whole parish of Thriplow and Heathfield. 
 

4.    
In 2017, this parish was formally named Thriplow
parish. On 1 April 2021, SCDC agreed a Reorganisation Order under
section 82 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health
Act 2007. Under this order the parish, previously known as Thriplow
was re-named the Parish of Thriplow and Heathfield.
 

5.    
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.
 

6.    
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 June 2022.
 

7.    
Pre-submission public consultation on the draft
Neighbourhood Plan was undertaken by the Parish Council from 30
January 2023 until 14 March 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 communicated with the
steering group to discuss these comments, and the submission
version of the plan took on board many of the suggested
changes.
 

8.    
On 3 June 2024, Thriplow and Heathfield 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 Thriplow and
Heathfield 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. 
 

9.    
Officers, in conjunction with Thriplow and
Heathfield 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
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.
 

10. 
The examiner issued on 21 October a note which set
out the arrangements for the examination and also a clarification
note which included some questions for the Parish Council (PC). The
PC responded to the questions set for them on 18 December
2024.
 

11. 
The Examiner’s Report was received on 17
February 2025 (see Appendix 1). The examiner in his report
concludes that subject to a series of recommended modifications the
Thriplow and Heathfield 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.
 

12. 
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
 

13. 
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.
 

14. 
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). Officers have worked with the
steering group and the Parish Council, and a longer timescale has
been agreed to ensure that there is agreement between the two
councils to all the proposed changes that are included in the
referendum version of the plan.
 

15. 
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
 

16. 
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.
 

17. 
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
Thriplow and Heathfield 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.
 

18. 
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.
 

19. 
The examiner concludes in the Executive Summary and
Chapter 8 (see Appendix 1) that subject to a series of recommended
modifications the Thriplow and Heathfield Neighbourhood Plan meets
the Basic Conditions and all the necessary legal requirements. The
issues he has considered in reaching his conclusions and his
modifications are set out in Chapter 7 of his report (see Appendix
1). 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.
 

20. 
Officers, in conjunction Thriplow and Heathfield
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 Thriplow and
Heathfield Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared including these
modifications (see Appendix 2).
 

21. 
In the process of preparing the
‘referendum’ version of the Neighbourhood Plan, it was
found that there was a need to seek clarification from the
examiner. Revisions were agreed to the wording of policy THP12
(previously THP13) to include 'to' rather than 'to for' and, for
THP6 (previously 7) to amend the intention of the policy in
paragraph 6.6.2 (previously 6.7.2) to read
‘necessary’ instead of
‘unnecessary’.Additionally, the polygon
area showing the recreation ground next to Duxford Business Park on
Map 6 was updated and enlarged (factual amendment) to accurately
show what exists.
 

22. 
Additional non-material modifications to the
Neighbourhood Plan have also been prepared by officers and agreed
with Thriplow and Heathfield 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 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).
 

23. 
In summary, these additional non-material
modifications include the following:

·      
Updates to Chapter 1 to reflect current stage of the
Neighbourhood Plan.

·      
Updates to both text and maps to remove mention of
policies deleted by the examiner.

·      
Consequential minor updates to the text and figures
throughout the Neighbourhood Plan to ensure consistency with the
modifications made by the Examiner to the policies and supporting
text.

·      
Amendments to Chapter 8 Other Community Initiatives
(which cover issues wider than the development and use of land, and
which do not form part of the statutory development plan) to enable
important issues for the community to remain within the
Neighbourhood Plan, even though these issues have been deleted from
the policies. 
   

24. 
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.
 

25. 
As the modifications made to the Thriplow and
Heathfield Neighbourhood Plan following its examination do not
change the essence of its planning policies, the SEA and HRA
screening undertaken on a draft version of the Neighbourhood Plan
in April 2023, the screening determination published in May 2023
and the Strategic Environmental Assessment in May 2024 remain
valid.
 
 

b. Referendum
 

26. 
The examiner concludes in the Executive Summary and
Chapter 8 of his report (see Appendix 1) that, subject to the
incorporation of his proposed 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 August 2017 (see Appendix 1, Chapter 8). He
formally states (see Appendix 1, paragraph 8.3) he states the
following:
 
“On the basis of the findings in this report I recommend
to South Cambridgeshire District Council that, subject to the
incorporation of the modifications set out in this report, the
Thriplow and Heathfield Neighbourhood Development Plan should
proceed to referendum.”
 

27. 
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 Thriplow and Heathfield
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
 

28. 
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. 
 

29. 
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
 

30. 
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:

 

31. 
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.

 

32. 
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.
 

33. 
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.
 

34. 
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
Thriplow and Heathfield  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:
a number of policies in the Neighbourhood Plan will have positive
benefits for specific protected characteristics; there are no
negative equality impacts that arise from the policies or proposals
contained within the Neighbourhood Plan; and the Neighbourhood Plan
does not raise any issues in relation to any of the convention
rights in the Human Rights Act 1998. The examiner has agreed with
this assessment (see Appendix 1, paragraph 6.21).

Content

That
the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development, having
consulted with the Lead Cabinet Member for Environmental Services
and Licensing (as a substitute for the Lead Cabinet Member for
Planning), agrees:
 
a.    
that South Cambridgeshire District Council should
act upon the conclusions in the Examiner’s Report on the
Thriplow and Heathfield 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 Thriplow
and Heathfield Neighbourhood Plan (as set out in Appendix
2);
c.    
the ‘referendum’ version of the Thriplow
and Heathfield Plan be given significant weight in decision making
and that the area for the referendum should be the Neighbourhood
Area.FIELD_DECISION_OPTIONAL