MP on Neighbourhood Plans

The following is from Eddisbury MP Antoinette Sandbach's e-newsletter:

The ability of developers to ride roughshod over neighbourhood plans with speculative planning applications diminishes the integrity of localism. That's why I supported Nick Herbert MP's two amendments to the Housing & Planning Bill recently.

Both Winsford and Malpas have successfully adopted local plans under the neighbourhood planning process and Audlem is currently in the process.

Neighbourhood plans give local communities the ability to have a direct input and control over planning in their area and Nick Herbert's amendments give a neighbourhood right of appeal against planning decisions that cut across a neighbourhood plan and require local authorities to set out an assessment of the infrastructure costs and environmental impacts of proposed new developments.

Although the Government didn't adopt the amendments, it has taken on board the strength of feeling across the country on this matter and reiterated the powers of the Secretary of State to intervene in cases where communities do not feel that their neighbourhood plan has been respected.

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