Purpose

To approve all the preliminary stages of making Neighbourhood Plans (with the final adoption being decided by Council).

Decision

Swainsthorpe Parish Council applied to South Norfolk Council in February 2024 to designate a Neighbourhood Area for the purpose of producing a Neighbourhood Plan. Since that time, the Council has supported the Neighbourhood Plan steering group in terms of funding, professional advice and guidance from officers, and other forms of practical support. The process of producing the Plan has seen the steering group undertaking consultation with residents and other stakeholder organisations, with a view to developing and drafting Neighbourhood Plan objectives and policies. This has been with the assistance of an independent consultant.

The proposed Neighbourhood Plan, along with necessary supporting information, has now been submitted to South Norfolk Council, in accordance with Regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012. It is now proposed to progress the Plan through to the next stages of consultation and independent examination.

Officers will arrange for the Neighbourhood Plan to be published and will invite comments from the public, stakeholder bodies and previous consultees over a minimum period of six weeks. This requirement is set out in Regulation 16 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012.

The Reg. 16 publication period will be followed by an independent examination which will be carried out by a (yet to be appointed) accredited Neighbourhood Plan examiner, in accordance with Regulation 17.

Following the examination (which is normally dealt with via written representations), the examiner will produce a report recommending whether or not the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to a referendum (with or without certain modifications). South Norfolk Council will then consider this report and decide whether or not to approve the examiner’s recommendations and whether the Plan should proceed to a referendum.

Reasons for the decision

On submission of a Neighbourhood Plan to the local planning authority, the authority must undertake an assessment of the proposed plan against certain criteria. This is required by Part 6 of Schedule 4B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

The following sets out details of the assessment against each of the prescribed criteria:

Is the parish/town council authorised to act?

Swainsthorpe Parish Council applied to South Norfolk Council to designate its Neighbourhood Area following the extent of the parish boundary. This application was approved in February 2024. It is therefore considered that the Parish Council is authorised to act in relation to this neighbourhood area.

Do the proposals and accompanying documents:
(a) Comply with the rules for submission to the Council?

Regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012 (as amended) states that the submitted documents should include:

·     A map or statement identifying the area to which the plan relates.

·     A Consultation Statement, which contains details of those consulted, how they were consulted, summarises the main issues and concerns raised and how these have been considered and, where relevant, addressed in the Neighbourhood Plan.

·     The proposed Neighbourhood Plan.

·     A Basic Conditions Statement, showing how the Plan meets the basic conditions set out in Schedule 4B of the 1990 Act.

·     An SEA screening assessment and, if required as a result of the latter, an SEA.

The Parish Council has supplied all of the above documentation.

(b) Meet the definition of a Neighbourhood Plan?

The Swainsthorpe Neighbourhood Plan meets the definition of a Neighbourhood Plan as set out in Section 38A of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, containing (as it does) a series of planning policies that seek to manage development within the parish.

(c) Meet the scope of Neighbourhood Plan provisions?

The Neighbourhood Plan clearly states that it is a development plan for Swainsthorpe, which runs until 2046. The Neighbourhood Plan does not make any provision regarding excluded development. Excluded development is that which is either a ‘county matter’ (relating to minerals), any operation relating to waste development, or development consisting wholly or partly of a national infrastructure project.

The Neighbourhood Plan only relates to the Swainsthorpe Neighbourhood Area and it does not repeat an existing planning permission. It is therefore considered that it satisfactorily meets the provisions defined in Section 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

Has the parish/town council undertaken the correct procedures in relation to consultation and publicity regarding the Neighbourhood Plan?

Regulation 14 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012 states that, before submitting the Neighbourhood Plan to the local planning authority, the Qualifying Body should publicise the Plan and consult the public and stakeholder bodies over a period of six weeks.

The pre-submission (Reg. 14) consultation undertaken by the Parish Council in relation to the draft Neighbourhood Plan is summarised in the Consultation Statement. This provides details of the publicity that was undertaken at this (and prior) consultation stages and the bodies that were consulted on the draft Plan. A copy of the draft Neighbourhood Plan was received by the District Council, for comments, at this stage (which were duly made).

Alternative options considered

The legislation states that the local planning authority may only refuse to progress a submitted Neighbourhood Plan to the next stages if it considers that any of the specific criteria discussed above have not been met or if the Neighbourhood Plan proposal is considered a repeat proposal, as defined in paragraph 5 of Schedule A2 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

As stated in the previous section, it is considered that all of the specific criteria have been met. The Neighbourhood Plan is not a repeat proposal as defined in legislation.