Agenda item

To consider a report by the Planning Policy Team Leader regarding the options upon receipt of an Examiner’s report into a Neighbourhood Plan, the proposed process to determine whether a Neighbourhood Plan progresses to referendum and the procedures for conducting a Referendum.

  i.  Agrees the process for determining whether a Neighbourhood Plan progresses to Referendum as detailed in the Officer’s report; and

  ii.  Notes the requirements of the Regulation in relation to Referendums as summarised in the Officer’s report and set out in the Briefing Note on the Role of the Local Planning Authority in arranging the Referendum (as prepared by the Planning Advisory Service and Local Government Association attached as Appendix 1 of the Officer’s report).

(Councillor T Sanderson, Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Environmental Well-Being), was in attendance for this item).

The Cabinet received a report from the Planning Policy Team Leader, which was presented by two Senior Planning Policy Officers (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) regarding the process for determining whether a Neighbourhood Plan progressed to Referendum and the requirements of the Regulations in relation to Referendums.

St Neots Neighbourhood Plan was at the Referendum stage and the Council was receiving more expressions of interest from other Town and Parish Councils regarding Neighbourhood Plans.  Therefore a process was required to be established.

Following examination of a Neighbourhood Plan, the Examiner issued a report to the Local Planning Authority and the respective Town/Parish Council who had prepared the Neighbourhood Plan. The Examiner was required to recommend one of three options:

i.  That the Neighbourhood Plan proceeded to Referendum as submitted;

ii.  That the Neighbourhood Plan was modified by the Local Planning Authority to meet the basic conditions and the modified version proceeded to Referendum; or

iii.  That the Neighbourhood Plan did not proceed to Referendum as it failed to meet the basic conditions or legislative requirements and could not be modified to do so.

Following the examination and receipt of the Examiner’s Report the Local Planning Authority had limited options.  It could:

a.  Where the Examiner recommended that the Plan met the basic conditions or could meet the basic conditions, subject to modifications, act upon the Examiner’s Report and progress the Neighbourhood Plan to Referendum;

b.  Propose to take a decision substantially different from the Examiner’s recommendation which was wholly or partly as a result of new evidence or a different view taken by the Local Planning Authority on a particular fact.  In this instance the Local Planning Authority must notify all those identified in the consultation statement and invite representations on the alternative decision.  Where necessary as a result of the representations the Local Planning Authority had to reopen the examination;

c.  Decide not to progress the Neighbourhood Plan to Referendum if the Examiner’s report stated that it failed to meet the basic conditions or legislative requirements and could not be modified to do so.

If a Neighbourhood Plan was successful at Referendum it would form part of the Statutory Development Plan for Huntingdonshire. 

Once the Examiner’s Report on a Neighbourhood Plan had been received the Cabinet would be presented with a report to determine which of the options was appropriate and, if necessary, a draft Decision Statement with modifications that the Examiner considered were required to the Plan to meet the required basic conditions.

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Environmental Well-Being), having been invited to address the Cabinet, explained that there had been a lengthy discussion on the matter at the meeting and that the Panel had agreed with the recommendations, but had suggested that it was important for Town and Parish Councils developing a Neighbourhood Plan to project plan.

Concern was expressed by the Cabinet that should a Neighbourhood Plan, once adopted, be challenged that the Council would be at financial risk.  It was therefore important to ensure that any Plan accorded with the Council’s policies and that the motivator of devising a Plan should be to support local needs and not for supposed financial gain from Community Infrastructure Levy funds.  The Cabinet was informed that unless there was general conformity with the Council’s Local Plan the Examiner would not recommend that the Plan proceeded to Referendum.

Following questions it was noted that promotion of a Neighbourhood Plan and Referendum was the responsibility of the respective Town/Parish Council and that there was considerable resource implications both in terms of staff time and costs for providing assistance to a Town/Parish Council undertaking a Neighbourhood Plan, examination and Referendum. The Department for Communities and Local Government had made grants of up to £30,000 available to local planning authorities for each Neighbourhood Plan which was expected by Government, to cover the costs of the Examination and Referendum.  In concluding it was,

RESOLVED

that the Cabinet

 i.  agrees the process for determining whether a Neighbourhood Plan progresses to Referendum as detailed in the Officer’s report; and

ii.  notes the requirements of the Regulation in relation to Referendums as summarised in the Officer’s report and set out in the Briefing Note on the Role of the Local Planning Authority in arranging the Referendum (as prepared by the Planning Advisory Service and Local Government Association attached as Appendix 1 of the Officer’s report).