1. Key stages in neighbourhood plan preparation
Bob Keith

2. Background to Planning Aid
Part of Royal Town Planning Institute
Celebrating 40th birthday this year
Help communities engage in the planning process
Provides free, independent, professional advice
A staff team of 14 people supported by over 700 volunteers
Offer two main services
- planning advice to people, especially if cannot pay
- helping communities engage in plan preparation 2

3. Content Aim of the session: a review of the statutory process
identify the key stages in plan preparation
assess what progress has been made under each stage and identify where there might be any gaps

4. The statutory process for neighbourhood development plans

5. Neighbourhood Planning RegulationsNP
Community
Referendum
Independent Check
Preparing your Plan
Agreeing The Neighbourhood 5 1 2 3 4

6. Stage 1 : Agreeing the neighbourhood area
Neighbourhood boundary
Application to define the neighbourhood area submitted to the Local Planning Authority (LPA)
Publicised by the LPA for 6 weeks
If no parish council exists, a neighbourhood forum application must be made
Forums must have at least 21 members; have a written constitution; and be open to all who live, work or do business in the area

7. Stage 2 : Plan preparation
What needs to change?
What’s bad?
What’s good?

8. Stage 2 – Plan preparation
This involves:
- inclusive community engagement
- building an evidence base
- site assessment and allocations
- the writing of policies and proposals
- sustainable appraisal/strategic environmental assessment
Must include a formal 6 week consultation period to publicise draft plan and consider responses
Publicise to all who live, work or carry out business

9. Stage 3 – Independent check
Plan then formally submitted to the local planning authority
It must include:
the proposed neighbourhood development plan
a map or statement identifying the neighbourhood area
a consultation statement explain who and how people and organisations were consulted, any issues and concerns raised, and how these were addressed
a statement explaining how the plan has met the ‘basic conditions’ e.g. had regard to the Framework and generally conforms with strategic planning policies in Local Plan

10. Stage 3 – Independent check
Council publicise proposals for 6 weeks and invite comment
Independent examiner appointed (paid for by local authority)
Examiner will check met basic conditions:
- has regard to NPPF and strategic elements of Local Plan
- compatible with EU and human rights obligations
Consider representations and possibly hold a public hearing
Examiner could recommend go to referendum, suggest modifications, or refuse 10

11. Stage 4 – Referendum
If acceptable, the council will then publish examiners report and the decision to put plan to a referendum (6 weeks)
Local council will organise (and pay for) the referendum
Examiner may recommend who entitled to vote
May also have been previously agreed that it is a business area and there will then be a second referendum accordingly
A majority of people voting must support the plan
Underlines the importance of securing community support from the outset! 11

12. The community referendum question
“Do you want Stratford-on-Avon District Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Welford-upon-Avon to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

13. Stage 5 – Make a plan
The local planning authority publish decision to ‘make’ the plan and available for inspection
Must publicise their decision for 6 weeks
Plan then part of the statutory development plan for the area
A basis for determination of planning applications and appeals 13

14. Key stages in plan preparation

15. Plan preparation
The key stages leading to submission of a neighbourhood plan:
community engagement
research and fact finding
identifying issues and options
creating a vision and objectives
drafting policies and proposals
assessing sites and potential allocations
sustainability appraisal/strategic environmental assessment

16. Plan preparation For each stage discuss:
what work has been done to date?
what has gone well and why?
what has not gone well and why?
are there any gaps?
does any additional work needs to be done?
do you need any further training on the topic?

17. Community engagement

18. Key challenges to engagement
Steering group needs to be mindful that:
the process needs to be inclusive
the capacity of the community to engage will vary
how community gets its information will vary
need to reach silent majority
need to get to the hard to reach
need on-going communication to keep people in the loop
need to balance top down and bottom up!

19. Key principles of engagement
Consultation should:
be front loaded with an open mind
raise confidence and skills of the community
raise awareness of what the plan can and cannot do
manage expectations
be inclusive and accessible to all
adopt a systematic approach
consider a community engagement strategy
construct a profile of the community and key stakeholders
adopt creative techniques!

20. Community engagement techniques
Activities could include:
interactive workshops - displays, post it notes, aerial photos survey, guided walks, mind mapping, model making
focus groups - topic specific such as housing or traffic
surveys - online questionnaires, paper questionnaires
interviews - telephone, doorstep, street corner, outside shops
stalls at local events - exhibitions, opportunity to comment
social media and the local media
using local voluntary groups and community champions
public meetings

21. Create an audit trail The Consultation Statement needs to include:
details of people and organisations consulted
details of how they were consulted
summary of main issues and concerns they raised
how these concerns were addressed

22. Activity Method Used How addressed Who involved Issues/Concerns
How to feedback?
Key issues
Details
5 December
Christmas Fayre
Displays about project.
Post it note comments on Likes, Dislikes and Improvements
153 people
80Female
73 Male
65+ 6
Parking
Road Safety
Shopping area
Parking at Dukes Street and Butts Lane
Crossing at King Road by school, speeding at River Crescent
Appreciation of butcher, chemist, grocer
Discussed with Local Council and Highways department
Parking audit arranged to check issue over two week period.
Community Speed watch investigated
Community magazine
Community website
At public meeting
8 January
Public meeting
Parish Council meeting presented information gathered at Fayre and took further comments.
Minutes of meeting circulated in ‘Village voice’
43 people attended meeting
Every household received magazine
Affordable housing
Youth facilities
Crossings at King Road and New Street
Nowhere for young people to live as prices too high
Need for improved play area and youth centre
Housing Need Survey data looked at for further evidence
Letter to be written to youth club and school workshop arranged
School assembly
14th – 30th March
Survey
Household survey and internet survey
Copies sent to every household
Response of 63% (see appendix A for breakdown).
Internet received 75 hits
See Appendix A
Summer exhibition roadshow
15th June
School workshop
Year 7,8 and 9 students attended assembly on plan and then split into groups to produce a Planning for Real model
94 people
11-12 yrs 25
12-13 yrs 27
13-14 yrs 32
Staff 10
Skate park, youth shelter
Poor design and unused space
Local Council to explore grant funds.
Working group to progress
School newsletter
There are different ways you could present your findings.
You could present it in chronological order, showing the different ways you consulted, who you consulted and the issues noted.
Think about your consultation statement from an early point in the process. It needs to cover:
- who was consulted;
- how they were consulted;
- a summary of the main issues and concerns;
- how these issues have been addressed
When feeding back findings to the community (and for the group’s consideration) it’s useful to use as many visuals as possible - %’s are hard going to read although the above example is great!

23. Key Issues Details Evidence Options Comments Actions
Policy
Site proposal or allocation
Facilities needed in the town
List of issues from the consultation e.g. farm shop, dentists, chiropractor, better Dr’s surgery, bookmakers, bike repair shop etc.
Local needs/ aspirations.
Corroboration via the public sector agencies?
Yes to encourage delivery where need is clear
Not unless clear evidence that sites suitable to the exclusion of all others
Useful approach to stimulating interest but ultimately the market will decide
Consult with local businesses
Creation of new and enhancement of existing green spaces and wildlife areas
Enhancement of the natural environment. Need to map priorities
Planning for real map
Yes to ensure protection and provide opportunity to create new esp. in mitigation for new development
Yes to identify areas to protect from development
Issue of on going management and maintenance
Create working group to support maintenance.
A1234 Safety
Speed, traffic calming, policing
Road safety statistics
Yes
Possibly
Viability, land ownership, engineering acceptability. Need to ensure a deliverable scheme is possible then the NP facilitates delivery
Discuss with Highways Department
Car parking
Spaces, charging, new car parks
Survey results
Yes if protecting and or creating new
Range of issues. Realistically the NP can only deal with provision of car parking not the management of
Search for possible sites for additional parking
You could present data by key issue.
Ensure that the original data is available.

24. Building an evidence base

25. What can an evidence base contain?
The evidence base should contain two elements:
community engagement – the views of the local community and other stakeholders who have an interest in the future of the area
research/fact finding - evidence that the choices made by the plan are supported by the background facts (such as Census data)

26. Why develop an evidence base?
Evidence required to demonstrate:
that all the information used in the plan is up-to-date and provides a clear picture of the existing ‘state’ of an area
that the group has a ‘sound’ neighbourhood plan
Failure to produce or use a good up-to-date evidence base could result in the neighbourhood plan not meeting the basic conditions and thereby rejected by LPA and/or examiner

27. What should it comprise?
A portfolio of information and documents that support the development of a neighbourhood plan
The Framework outlines the evidence base local planning authorities need to consider when developing their local plans (paragraphs ) e.g.
- population projections
- the scale and mix of housing needed
- business needs
- infrastructure requirements
Some may be relevant to neighbourhood planning

28. Local plan evidence base
Strategic Flood Risk Assessment
Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA)
Housing Needs Assessment
Conservation Area Appraisal
Local Services and Facilities Assessment
Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA)
Existing Monitoring Data (e.g. Annual Monitoring Report)
Open Space and Play Pitch Assessment
Local Transport Study
Landscape Character Assessment

29. Identifying issues, options, vision and objectives

30. Develop a systematic approach
What are the issues that emerged from the evidence gathering and the community consultation?
Amongst the issues, what are the priorities for the neighbourhood plan?
Develop a shared vision for the future (a common purpose)
What are the objectives to deliver that vision?
Develop policies and proposals to achieve each of these objectives
Sitting under each policy and proposal is the reasoned justification from your evidence base

31. Research and fact finding
Evidence gathering
Community engagement
Research and fact finding
Identify issues and options
Create vision
Objective
Objective
Objective
Policies and proposals
Policies and proposals
Policies and proposals
Reasoned justification
Reasoned justification
Reasoned justification

32. Drafting policies and proposals

33. What is a policy?
Policies and proposals are used to determine planning applications and planning appeals
The policies will be implemented by planning officers, members of the Planning Committee and planning inspectors
Applicants should have regard to them
A policy should clearly express what may be permitted or encouraged, or what may not be permitted or discouraged
Taken together should express a clear overall strategy and not contradict one another
Should distinguish between the policy itself and the supporting reasoned justification

34. Key rules Policies should be:
appropriate for a neighbourhood planning document
consistent with the Framework and the local plan
positively written
viable
clear and unambiguous in plain English
capable of having the desired impact within the timescale covered by the neighbourhood plan
based on a robust evidence base

35. Key rules
Try to avoid:
covering every eventuality with lots of ifs, buts and maybes
duplicating policies in other planning documents e.g. the Framework and local plan
unsupported statements or unsubstantiated perceptions
double negatives
ambiguous wording e.g. ‘normally’

36. Is there a clear link between the policy and evidence?
Policy / Proposal
Details
Is there a clear link between the policy and evidence?
Site Allocations
Basic conditions (the examiner’s tests for neighbourhood plans)
 What evidence supports this policy/ proposal?
 What does public consultation show?
 Is there enough evidence
Y/N ?
 Is more work needed?
Is the site suitable ?
 Is the site available?
 Can it be delivered?
In line with national policy (NPPF)?
In line with strategic policies of the local plan?
Contribute towards sustainable development?
Compatible with EU obligations
e.g . does it need a SEA ?

37. Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment

38. Sustainability appraisal
A basic condition that neighbourhood plan should help to achieve sustainable development
Must demonstrate how plan will contribute to improvements in environmental, economic and social conditions
Consideration given to how any potential adverse effects arising from the proposals may be prevented, reduced or offset (known as mitigation measures)
Unlike a local plan, there is no legal requirement for a neighbourhood plan to have a sustainability appraisal
However it may be a useful approach to demonstrate how plan meets this basic condition

39. Strategic environmental assessment
A neighbourhood plan may require a strategic environmental assessment if it has a significant effect on the environment
This happens if the draft neighbourhood plan falls within the scope of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004
This may be the case, for example, where a neighbourhood plan allocates sites for development
The steering group must consider the environmental implications of its proposals at an early stage and seek the advice of the local planning authority (i.e. to have it screened)
If required, it could be a major piece of work

40. Contact Details
Neighbourhood Planning Support:
Advice Line:
Internet: