Back in March 2011 the HM Treasury/BIS Plan for Growth promised that the Government would enable businesses to bring forward neighbourhood plans and neighbourhood development orders. The Localism Act (the Act) introduced a new type of plan: a Neighbourhood Plan (Plan), and a new type of order for development management: a Neighbourhood Development Order (Order) and a special type of Order which is a Community Right to Build Order (CRBO). This means that neighbourhood planning groups can on their own initiative draw up new plans and development management or control procedures for their neighbourhood. The Act's provisions on neighbourhood planning came into force partially on 15 January 2012. This means that the enabling provisions are now in force, though the detail still requires further regulations.
We have produced a series of briefings on neighbourhood planning covering in more detail, neighbourhood areas, neighbourhood plans and neighbourhood orders - see Resources.
The three steps that the neighbourhood planning process is likely to follow in summary are set out immediately below:
Step 1: Designate the neighbourhood area
Where there is a parish council the designation of the neighbourhood area will be led by them, and boundaries of the area are likely to follow the parish boundaries unless there are good reasons not to do so. If no parish council exists, neighbourhood groups will be able to apply for their local area to be designated. Boundaries for neighbourhood areas are likely to follow existing electoral wards, or groups of wards.
Step 2: Set up a neighbourhood forum and/or community group
In practice, a neighbourhood forum will be created after designation of a neighbourhood area. Any proposals from a group to set up a neighbourhood forum will then need to show how that group is representative of people living in the designated neighbourhood area. Once created, the neighbourhood forum will be able to take forward proposals for a Plan and Orders.
In parished areas it will not be possible to have a neighbourhood forum, as the parish council will act and lead the neighbourhood planning process on behalf of the parish.
A community group will be able to promote a CRBO once a neighbourhood area has been designated. If the parish council (or neighbourhood group where there is no parish council) has not applied for designation of a neighbourhood area, the community group can take this forward in anticipation of their application for a CRBO.
Step 3: Promote a neighbourhood Plan, neighbourhood development Order and/ or a CRBO
It will only be possible to have one Plan per neighbourhood area, and this can only be promoted by the parish council or the neighbourhood forum.
Only one neighbourhood development Order can be promoted at any given time; by the Parish Council in parished areas and by the neighbourhood forum in unparished areas. However, CRBOs may be promoted by community organisations (or a neighbourhood forum where it also meets the criteria for a community organisation) at any time.