Advice for Parish and Town Councils and Neighbourhood Forums
The Localism Act 2011, for the first time, gave communities the ‘right to plan’. This ‘community right’ gives people the power to form their own land-use planning policies through a Neighbourhood Plan, which is a legal planning document that guides future development.
It enables a community to influence the extent, type, location and design of development while setting out what needs to be protected. It is community-led, therefore the community researches it, writes itand votes to accept it. It can onlyfocus on land-use issues i.e. what will be permitted to be built and what will be protected. It cannot address non-land use planning issues such as: speeding, highways and bus timetables.
Once adopted, a neighbourhood plan becomes part of the local authority development plan and is used in determining planning applications alongside the national planning policy framework and the relevant local plan.
Cheshire Community Action currently offers the following support to its members:
Advice on the neighbourhood plan process and what to consider when reviewing your neighbourhood plan
Advice on registering a neighbourhood area
Advice on registering a neighbourhood forum
Advice on applying for funding
Advice on project planning
Advice on evidence gathering and community engagement
Discounted day rates on housing needs reports and conducting surveys with your community to support your planning policies
Neighbourhood planning funding and resources (links):
