East Herts District Council - Neighbourhood Planning

What is Neighbourhood Planning?

Neighbourhood planning is the name of a new tier of statutory planning functions that sit below and compliment the statutory planning services provided by East Herts Council as the local planning authority (LPA). However, unlike district-wide planning, neighbourhood planning is not compulsory and where neighbourhood planning is not undertaken the East Herts District Plan will be the sole planning guidance. There are two main aspects to neighbourhood planning:

Neighbourhood Development Plans (Neighbourhood Plans)
Community Right to Build and Neighbourhood Development Orders

Who should get involved in neighbourhood planning?

Introduced as part of the Government's Localism Agenda, neighbourhood planning is an opportunity for the whole community to come together to shape development in their area. Although it is envisaged that neighbourhood planning will be led by town and parish councils, the Government has also stated that it businesses will have a leading role. The involvement of a range of local stakeholders will also help strengthen community support. In areas without town or parish councils, residents can come together to form neighbourhood forums to undertake neighbourhood planning (although this does not apply in East Herts district which is fully parished).

Preparing a Neighbourhood Plan

Because neighbourhood plans will form part of the statutory Development Plan, when preparing a neighbourhood plan certain procedures as set out in the pdf icon Statutory Regulations [138kb] must be followed:

Neighbourhood Plan Guidance Note

To assist town and parish councils in the preparation of a Neighbourhood Plan, East Herts Council has prepared a pdf icon Neighbourhood Planning Guidance Note [5Mb].

Community Right to Build and Neighbourhood Development Orders

The Community Right to Build gives groups of local people the power to deliver the development that their local community wants, with minimal red tape. Communities may wish to build new homes or new community amenities, and providing they can demonstrate overwhelming local support, the Community Right to Build will give Communities the powers to deliver this directly. The Government envisages Community Right to Build would be more appropriate for rural areas. A Neighbourhood Development Order enables the community to grant planning permission for new buildings they want to see go ahead and allow new homes and offices to be built without developers having to apply for separate planning permission. As with the preparation of a neighbourhood plan, there are requirements and procedures that must be followed including following the pdf icon Statutory Regulations [138kb].

Applications for designation of a Neighbourhood Area

To commence neighbourhood planning, a neighbourhood planning area must be agreed with East Herts Council. East Herts Council has received and determined an application for the designation of a Neighbourhood Area from Bishop's Stortford Town Council.

At the meeting of its Executive of 4 December 2012, the Council agreed the request for the designation of a Neighbourhood Area

- the name of the Neighbourhood Area is Bishop's Stortford Silverleys and Meads;

- View the pdf icon map [1Mb] which identifies the area;

- the body which applied for the designation was the Bishop's Stortford Town Council

Neighbourhood Planning Information and Guidance

General Planning Information and Guidance

How do you rate this information / service?

Neighbourhood Planning