Why a Neighbourhood Plan now?

For 7-8 years now the Government has been trying to persuade local governing bodies to create a Neighbourhood Planning document that would define how the local community would like to see developments managed in their area. Shimpling PC did consider this but didn't connsider that the need for such a plan was justified against the cost (particularly due to the need for a local referendum and formal inspection).  

The main reasons for reviewing the situation again now are:

  • to give the community some measure of control on developments in the Parish.  At least providing some measure of arguement against the decisions made by the Planning Authority, Babergh DC.

  • those PCs who do not have a Neighbourhood Plan will be disadvantaged when it comes to grant allocation and other governmental charges, which could have a significant effect on service provision by the PC

The PC decided that the residents of Shimpling should be provided with information to determine whether a Neighbourhood Plan is wanted and that there are enough people willing and able to support its  development.  This is not a PC led project, it has to be run by the residents of Shimpling, although the PC will of course be a part of the project.

To provide the information to residents, the PC has arranged for an open-house session on Saturday 14th October where questions can be raised and more detail about the process given.  

The open-house session, and all subsequent work , will be supported by a consulant experienced in producing Neighbourhood Plans and that all costs for the project will be covered by grants available from the government.  In fact the vast majority of the work, producing reports etc, will be done by the consultant.

If it is decided to go on with the project, the following is an outline of the likely stages:

  1. Apply for ‘Area Designation’.  By this step Babergh District Council (BDC) formally record their agreement on the geographical area for which the plan will be written. 
  2. Create a Draft Plan Includes as much informal consultation with the community as possible.
  3. Formally consult with the local Community on the Draft Plan.  The consultation period has to be for a minimum of 6 weeks. The consultation has to be with all interested parties, including all those who live, work and operate a business within the designated area. The consultation has to include instructions on: Where to access the draft plan, How to make comments, and by When comments must be submitted.
  4. Amend the draft plan based on comments obtained in step 3. 
  5. Submit the revised draft to BDC  
  6. BDC organise a (2nd) formal consultation  
  7. BDC gather responses from step 6 and send these, together with the draft from step 5, to an independent examiner for review. 
  8. The Examiner reviews the package from 7 and will suggest some changes be made to the draft text. The Examiner checks that the plan provides for sustainable development, and is in line with the planning strategies as defined in the NPPF and the BDC Local Plan.
  9. BDC Planning sign-off the 'Referendum' version of the plan - which has been amended in accordance with the Examiner's report. 
  10. BDC organise a referendum of interested parties within the designated area. If there is a ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum, BDC have to adopt the Plan as part of their documentary Planning Suite.