One of the outcomes of The Localism Act has been to give new
rights and powers to allow local communities to shape new development together
by preparing ‘neighbourhood plans’. Neighbourhood planning can only be taken
forward by two bodies. Town and parish council’s or ‘neighbourhood forums. The latter is to be used when a town or
parish councils does not exist in any particular area. There is little doubt therefore that parish
councils play a significant role in local planning. Neighbourhood forums and parish councils can
use new neighbourhood planning powers to establish general planning policies
for the development and use of land in a neighbourhood. These are described
legally as 'neighbourhood development plans. Neighbourhood development plans or
orders do not take effect unless there is a majority of support in a referendum
of the neighbourhood. They also have to meet a number of conditions before they
can be put to a community referendum and legally come into force. These
conditions are to ensure plans are legally compliant and take account of wider
policy considerations (e.g. national policy).
Conditions are:
·
They must have regard to
national planning policy
·
They must be in general
conformity with strategic policies in the development plan for the local area
(i.e. such as in a core strategy)
·
They must be compatible with
EU obligations and human rights requirements.
·
An independent qualified
person then checks that a neighbourhood development plan or order appropriately
meets the conditions before it can be voted on in a local referendum. This is
to make sure that referendums only take place when proposals are workable and
of a decent quality.
Proposed neighbourhood development plans or orders need to
gain the approval of a majority of voters of the neighbourhood to come into force.
If proposals pass the referendum, the local planning authority is be under a
legal duty to bring them into force.
Funding boost for neighbourhood planning
The Government has announced further funding to help
communities get involved in the new neighbourhood planning regime. From January
2013 local planning authorities will be able to claim grants of up to £50,000
to help up to 10 communities get going with their neighbourhood plans. From April
2013 this will be increased further with £100,000 available to kick start up to
20 plans in the area. Authorities will then receive a further £25,000 for every
neighbourhood plan that gets through a successful examination. More than 300
communities are already using the new powers introduced in the Localism Act to
work up plans for neighbourhood areas that decide, for example, the location of
new homes or what green spaces communities to protect.
From 2 January local planning authorities will be able to claim
up to a maximum of £50,000 (up from £20,000) for area designations this
financial year up to a maximum of 10. There is an overall limit of £1.5 million
on designation payments
From 1 April 2013 local planning authorities will be able to
claim for up to 20 designations (£100,000) in the financial year 2013 to 2014.
The overall limit for designation payments in 2013 to 2014 has been set at £5
million. In a related development
planning minister Nick Boles told the
commons on 17th of December clarified that the status of
so-called emerging neighbourhood plans is given significant weight and is not
contingent on the status of the local plan
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