1. Getting started
Step 1 - Parish/town council agreement
A parish/town council agrees that they should explore the possibility of preparing a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) for the area.
Step 2 - Contact us
Contact us and we will explore the issues/opportunities in your area.
You may want to think about the following when deciding on whether to provide an NDP:
- the key issues that affect the area?
- what opportunities are there to improve the area?
- what do you want the area to be like in the future?
- what aims could you achieve with a Plan?
- understand the basic principles of Sustainable Development.
- discuss whether an NDP, a Community/Parish Plan or other model is the most appropriate approach for you
- meet with representatives of town/parish councils who have completed an NDP, to learn from their experience.
What's the difference between a NDP and a Community/Parish Plan?
- Neighbourhood Development Plan - focuses on development, land use, community facilities, physical changes, planning polices, granting permission, delivering spatial elements of a community plan
- Community or Parish Plan - focuses on community aspirations, covering a wide range of general issues that are of interest to the community
Step 3 - Area designation
The parish/town council will need to apply to us in order to designate a Neighbourhood Plan area, submitting:
- a map identifying the area to which the application relates
- a statement explaining why this area is considered appropriate to be designated as a Neighbourhood Area
- a statement that the organisation or body making the area application is a relevant qualifying body for producing a NDP
Applications from Parish or Town Councils where the proposed neighbourhood area consists of the whole of the Parish are not subject to a publicity period prior to area designation.
Area applications which span across parish boundaries will be subject to a minimum six week publicity period.