What's in a Plan?

The subject of Neighbourhood and Parish Plans came up this past week at both Monday's Audlem Parish Council meeting and at the Cheshire Strategic Planning Board which heard (and refused) Gladman's second application to build at Little Heath on Wednesday.

It might help, to eliminate any possible confusion (!), to describe these different plans and explore whether they are complementary, a duplication of effort or, from a practical point of view, have any effect on major developments in the area now or in the future.

Local Plan

The Local Plan, much discussed on AudlemOnline recently, is drawn up by Cheshire East and sets the rules for how the area will develop over time. The Local Plan, along with any approved Neighbourhood Plans, forms the overall development plan for the local area. Planning decisions must normally be taken in accordance with these plans.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that every local planning authority in England should have a clear, up to date Local Plan, which conforms to the framework, meets local development needs, and reflects local people's views of how they wish their community to develop. Cheshire East has recently published their updated version of the Local Plan including its 5-year housing supply figures, vital for planning decisions.

Neighbourhood Plan

The Localism Act 2011 introduced statutory Neighbourhood Planning in England. It enables communities to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan for their area and is intended to give communities more of a say in the development of their local area (within certain limits and parameters). The Neighbourhood Plan can cover a wider area than a single parish and is publicly voted on in a referendum. It is normally produced once a Local Plan is in place.

These plans are meant to "decide the future of the places where you live and work giving opportunities to choose where you want new homes, shops and offices to be built and
have your say on what new buildings should look like."

Parish Plan

Audlem produced Parish Plans in 2005 and 2010 which reflected the local vision of how local residents would like to see their area change over the coming years. Parish Plans can be much broader than Neighbourhood Plans, covering much more than just planning issues.

Parish Plans are generally produced independently of Parish Councils although endorsement by the local Parish Council is very helpful. To complicate matters, a Parish Plan can include a Village Design Statement which can have some impact on planning decisions.

Experience in recent years shows that an up to date parish plan is important when seeking grants as organisations distributing funds often ask to see the Audlem Parish Plan and check that there is public support expressed in it for a project seeking funding.

Debate

A debate started at Monday's Parish Council meeting when Cllr Michael Hill said that the Parish Plan team were considering a new Parish Plan in 2015 to follow up the two previous plans in 2005 and 2010.

Two other councillors, Cllrs Heather Jones and Geoff Seddon, said they were attending a course shortly on Neighbourhood Plans and would be concerned about any duplication of effort. The Parish Clerk then suggested that a Parish Plan is an important part of a Neighbourhood Plan which should also draw on Cheshire East's Local Plan. It seemed that all three would mesh together.

The way forward is to be discussed at a future Parish Council meeting.

Impact

There was some clarification of the impact of the various plans at the Strategic Planning Board on Wednesday when the Gladman application to build up to 120 dwellings was discussed and refused.

Planning officers were asked by councillors what weight they give to Neighbourhood and Parish Plans when considering planning applications. They answered that while a Village Design Statement should carry weight, an 'embryonic' Neighbourhood Plan and/or a Parish Plan would carry little weight in planning decisions.

Cheshire East's Local Plan, however, will carry significant weight when the Gladman Little Heath appeal is heard in May.

It seems that all three plans have differing roles to play, and they should mesh together, although in planning terms the importance of the relatively new Neighbourhood Plans – as opposed to 'embryonic' ones – has yet to be tested. Parish Plans, while of little power in planning, are useful in assessing a community's view on a wider range of issues and in helping to obtain grants.

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