The Localism Act 2011 gives Parish Councils the power to prepare a statutory Neighbourhood Development Plan. Such a plan will be used to help promote, guide and control development in the local area.
These new powers give local communities the opportunity to shape new development at a local level, as planning applications are determined in accordance with national planning policy and the local development plan, and neighbourhood plans form part of this framework.
To prepare our Neighbourhood Plan we must follow a set process. This is important if we want a plan that can be used to help determine planning applications. The process also gives people who live, work and do business in the area plenty of opportunities to help shape the plan.
Producing a Neighbourhood Development Plan provides an exciting opportunity for communities to become directly involved in planning policy. A plan allows the local community to create a vision and planning policies for the use and development of land in a neighbourhood. For example, where new homes and businesses can be built and what they should look like.
Much Birch Parish Council applied to designate a neighbourhood area on 12 July 2016 with a designation date of 16 August 2016.
The plan has gone through the Regulation 16 public consultation stage, it has been accepted by the Examiner and went to a public referendum on May 6th, 2021 where it was accepted by a majority of just over 92%.
