neighbourhood plan

The Parish Council Website is managed by volunteers

It may be easier to find what you are looking for using a computer, rather than a smartphone.

Barford and Wramplingham Parish Plan July 2010

NB This was researched, written and published before the Localism Act and so does not possess the legal powers of a Neighbourhood Plan

A Steering Group has been formed for the exploration, and if considered appropriate after local consultation, the development and delivery of a Neighbourhood Plan for Barford and Wramplingham.

It is made up of three PCllrs and five members of the local community.

At the end of 2024 we held several SG meetings. One of them, in November, also involved inputs from SNDC Planning. Two planners attended and provided important advice concerning the NP process, and the means to obtain various grants.

They (SNDC) can provide a grant of up to 6K, but it must be spent within the same financial year that it is given.
LOCALITY, an NGO which helps PCs to carry out NPs can provide a grant of up to 10k.
LOCALITY is also able to provide additional grants for specific, specialist works, such as surveys on e.g. flood risk. I believe these grants are up to 8k.

Our approach to the development of an NP is as follows:

The NPSG will:

Continue to obtain background information on what is needed to develop an NP. This will include meeting with potential consultants to provide an overview of what they would do, and also to provide us with further advice on what is required. We have a lost of possible consultants from SNDC.
Clarify what work could be done by the consultants in relation to the budget, as determined by grants applied for, and our finances.
Decide, on the basis of all accrued information, whether or not to go ahead with recommending to the PC to go forward with an NP (it should be noted that following the guidelines, the PC will control the finances and the management of the NPSG. Thanks are due to Teresa for kindly offering to act, essentially, as a clerk in this respect). It is likely to take several more months, including the interviewing of potential consultants, before this decision will be reached.

Should the PC go ahead with the NP:

The first step will be to agree the NP designated area (which is likely to be the total boundary of the two Parishes of Barford and Wramplingham).
The second step will be to employ the consultant to carry out the main work, with significant voluntary input from members of the SG for e.g. consultation exercises. Please note, that it is unlikely to be a viable activity without such voluntary inputs.

We aim to arrange the next SG meeting for early February.

What is a Neighbourhood Plan?

When local communities are empowered to lead and influence decision-making, it makes a real difference to their area. People with passion and enthusiasm can use neighbourhood planning as a means to changing their neighbourhoods for the better.

A neighbourhood plan puts in place planning policy for a neighbourhood area to guide future development. A neighbourhood plan is about the use and development of land and may contain a vision, aims, planning policies, proposals for improving the area or providing new facilities, or allocation of key sites for specific kinds of development. It may deal with a wide range of social, economic and environmental issues (such as housing, employment, design, heritage and transport) or it may focus on one or two issues only.

If successful at referendum, a neighbourhood plan will become part of the statutory development plan for the area. This statutory status gives neighbourhood plans far more weight than some other local documents, such as parish plans, community plans and village design statements.

A neighbourhood plan offers several advantages over relying solely on the local plan (produced by the local planning authority) or on more informal plans, like community plans or parish plans.

Community-led
Neighbourhood plans are led by authorised local community organisations, known as qualifying bodies (referred to as neighbourhood planning bodies in this guide), including parish or town councils (often through steering groups) or neighbourhood forums, rather than the local council’s planning department. This means that community representatives lead the plan, often with support from their preferred consultants.

Neighbourhood forums or parish and town councils preparing neighbourhood plans have the opportunity to engage with the wider community right from the beginning of the plan-preparation process, to make sure it genuinely represents the range of wants and needs in the local area.

Site allocations and Local Plan Green Space Designations

Depending on the level of detail in the local plan, the neighbourhood plan allows the community to develop criteria and methodology to choose sites to be allocated for different kinds of development. At the same time, there is the option to identify and designate green spaces valued by the community as Local Green Space, which should be protected from inappropriate development. So a neighbourhood plan provides the opportunity to decide where growth does and does not occur (see later section on Site allocations and designations).

Leading the production of a neighbourhood plan will require a range of skills and members of the community are asked to consider how they can bring their local knowledge, skills or experience to bear for the benefit of the community.

More information can be found on Neighbourhood Plans generally at https://neighbourhoodplanning.org/toolkits-and-guidance/create-neighbourhood-plan-step-by-step-roadmap-guide/

If you are interested in volunteering to join as a member of the Steering Committee (draft terms of reference are available on request) please email the clerk to the Parish Council at: barfordpc@gmail.com.