1. The story so far
September 2016

2. Classification: Confidential
Contents
Why have a plan
Getting started (& useful bits)
Making plans
Where are we?
The whole process
The Villages of Sheepy Magna and Sibson, smaller settlements of Sheepy Parva, Wellsborough, Upton, Pinwall and Cross Hands
A rural area encompassing some 450 homes located to the South and West of Leicestershire on the borders with North Warwickshire.
No tourist attractions but very pleasant area to live and historical heritage.
Classification: Confidential

3. Classification: Confidential
the Parish of Sheepy
The Villages of Sheepy Magna and Sibson, smaller settlements of Sheepy Parva, Wellsborough, Upton, Pinwall and Cross Hands
A rural area encompassing some 450 homes located to the South and West of Leicestershire on the borders with North Warwickshire.
No tourist attractions but very pleasant area to live and historical heritage.
Classification: Confidential

4. Classification: Confidential
Why we wanted a plan
Initially there was little interest in a plan as there were no examples to draw on or any particularly pressing issues.
This changed with the Site Allocations and Development Management Policies Development Plan documents and consultation.
Then came the Site Allocations and Development Management Policies Development Plan documents and consultation. The Parish Council felt strongly that previous consultation responses, recommendations and agreements were not reflected in the 'draft final' plan and that, in our opinion, we had not been adequately consulted on this. We objected to this and the proposals in the plan. It also led to a community group forming to campaign against the proposals.
We invited RCC to give us a talk about the NP process generally and what could/cold not do. This was presented in the national context but drawing on experience that RCC had, particularly with Mkt Bosworth.
Realising that we needed to be more proactive the Parish Council started to look at the Neighbourhood Planning process.
Classification: Confidential

5. Classification: Confidential
Getting started (1) 1
Two community Information meetings were held which demonstrated an interest from the community in a Neighbourhood Plan covering the whole of Parish.
A steering group was established which included representation from all wards within the Sheepy Parish. (The shape has changed over time) TOR was agreed, officers appointed and a communications strategy agreed. 2 3
The Parish Council obtained designation as a neighbourhood area from HBBC.
We appointed the Rural Communities Council to work with us and 2 public & a stakeholder drop in event took place earlier in the year. 4
Classification: Confidential

6. Getting started(2) – useful bits1
Steering Group - as large as possible, and committed, but sub groups will help to get things done. Those who may find the steering group too much of a commitment may still be able to help out e.g. Delivering questionnaires 2
Getting the budget started may be a bit of challenge. We grossly underestimated the number of questionnaires & costs to produce.
Always get three quotes where possible, record everything, especially to do with expenses. Transparency in all you do. 3
We appointed the Rural Communities Council to work with us but still looked into other similar organisations as well 4
Classification: Confidential

7. Getting started(3) – useful bits1
Look into the grants available – PC, HBBC, ‘Locality’ (national network of ambitious and enterprising community-led organisations)
Comms – we put someone in charge and tried to use all mediums – Website, Facebook, Twitter, Gazette, posters (Used the PC website to start with) 2 3
Attend seminars – e.g. LCC, HBBC – good for networking
Set up an evidence database – copy everything – minutes, TOR, letters, RCC summaries etc. 4
Classification: Confidential

8. Classification: Confidential
Making Plans
Election of Officers
Communications Officer
Person Responsible for Evidence Data Base
‘Fumbling In The Dark’
Raid Log- Looks at the Risks to the Plan
Project Plan
Constantly Updated
Keeps the Momentum
Where are we
1. At the beginning it was a little daunting, particularly for those of us who are not involved in local government. But there are so many resources available on the internet. We invited Market Bosworth to talk to us about there experiences and HBBC and RCC have also been extremely helpful.
2. Having formed the Steering Group we were keen to push ahead and start designing a questionnaire to consult with the community but there’s actually lots of building blocks before that happens, such as getting a communication strategy up and running.
3. Whilst there’s lots of guidance and help available, ultimately you have to shape your plans to suit your Parish.
Classification: Confidential

9. Classification: Confidential
Where are we? 1
April- Appointed sub- groups to draft sections of questionnaire 2
May- Sub- groups fed sections to co-ordination sub- group and statutory bodies
July- Questionnaire (questionnaires in our case) finalised,
script prepared and tea and biscuits purchased 3
Where are we
August - Printing and scanning and identifying distribution groups
September – Distribution, collection, testing SNAP software
October- Finalising collection and data input 4
1. At the beginning it was a little daunting, particularly for those of us who are not involved in local government. But there are so many resources available on the internet. We invited Market Bosworth to talk to us about there experiences and HBBC and RCC have also been extremely helpful.
2. Having formed the Steering Group we were keen to push ahead and start designing a questionnaire to consult with the community but there’s actually lots of building blocks before that happens, such as getting a communication strategy up and running.
3. Whilst there’s lots of guidance and help available, ultimately you have to shape your plans to suit your Parish. 5 6
Classification: Confidential

10. Classification: Confidential
Observations 1
Slippage of timetable 2
Effective use of Sub- Groups 3
Design a base template
Where are we 4
NDP Plan (GANTT chart)
Data protection/ data input assistance
Genuinely surprised and pleased by community’s enthusiasm
1. At the beginning it was a little daunting, particularly for those of us who are not involved in local government. But there are so many resources available on the internet. We invited Market Bosworth to talk to us about there experiences and HBBC and RCC have also been extremely helpful.
2. Having formed the Steering Group we were keen to push ahead and start designing a questionnaire to consult with the community but there’s actually lots of building blocks before that happens, such as getting a communication strategy up and running.
3. Whilst there’s lots of guidance and help available, ultimately you have to shape your plans to suit your Parish. 5 6
Classification: Confidential

11. the planning process Gather evidence Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
Parish Council propose and agree neighbourhood plan
Obtain community support
Stage 2
Establish steering group and apply for funding
Initial consultation
Stage 3
Identify and prioritise issues scope and objectives
Draft policies
Gather evidence
Classification: Confidential

12. the planning process Gather evidence PLAN Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6
Draft neighbourhood plan
Consultation
Stage 5
Revise neighbourhood plan
Submit final neighbourhood plan
Stage 6
Independent examination
Referendum
Gather evidence
PLAN
Classification: Confidential