The Charmouth Neighbourhood Plan Process

So … what is a Neighbourhood Plan?

It is a community-led plan to help guide future development, regeneration and conservation of an area.

It is about the use and development of land and can contain proposals for new facilities, improvement and may allocate land for different types of development.

It can deal with housing, employment, transport, heritage and the natural environment. Once approved, the Neighbourhood Plan will be used to help make decisions on future planning applications.

The Plan Process

A local Neighbourhood Planning Committee has been set up to develop the plan & ensure that it is ‘community-led’.

Organisations and interests on the Charmouth Group include:

The Parish Council
Local people
Environmental Interests
Those interested in local business & improvement

Plan area

This was a decision based on a geographical area of the Plan … in this case, Charmouth Parish.

The Local Planning Authority

West Dorset District Council has agreed to the plan being prepared for the designated area (Charmouth Parish) after a consultation period and so it is officially recognised.

Funding

Grants can be obtained from a nationally funded programme operated by the Department of Communities & Local Government and distributed by an organisation called ‘Locality’. The Planning Committee plan to bid for funding to help prepare the Plan over the coming years. The Parish Council has also been supportive.

Publicity

The proposal to prepare the Plan was publicised locally to ensure local people were aware that the Plan was to be prepared.

Consultation events are now being planned and the results will be analysed and used to help influence the Plan. Based on what the community says, the Vision & Objectives will be developed, with further consultation events being held, as the plan progresses through its various stages, over a period of time.

Surveys

A comprehensive village survey of residents and businesses was undertaken and the results were analysed and reports produced. An Open Forum was held in March 2018 to communicate the outcome of the survey to the local community.

Where the plan is now

Based upon the evidence gained from the village survey, professional reports and historical documents, draft objectives and policies for CNP have been produced. Consultation with West Dorset Planning Department and the local Parish Council on these draft policies has occurred.

An Open Forum was held in January 2019 to present the draft objectives and policies and to obtain feedback from residents.

A draft CNP has been put together ready for public consultation which is planned for Spring 2020.

Future steps:

Development of the Draft
Neighbourhood Plan

This will have a Written Statement and a Proposal Map and could include policies for:

Housing
Business & Employment
Community Facilities
The Natural & Built Environmental
Design of new development
Tourism
Transport
And other matters.

Pre-submission consultation

Before the Plan is formally submitted to West Dorset District Council, a 6 week statutory round of consultation with the local community and official organisations will take place, called ‘Regulation 14’ Consultation.

Submission to the District Council followed By Examination

Following this and any changes, the Plan will be submitted to the District Council who will arrange for further consultation and then for the Neighbourhood Plan to be ‘Examined’ by an independent planning inspector, who will assess whether or not it meets all the necessary requirements and regulations. The Examiner may well propose modifications to the Plan.

Modifications

If these are required, then they will also be subject to consultation.

Referendum

Once the Plan has been examined and found to be acceptable, with or without modifications, there will be a Referendum, when all registered electors in the Parish will be eligible to vote on the Plan.

Provided more than 50% of those who vote, support the Plan, the Local Planning Authority will bring it into force and the Plan will be ‘Made’.

Delivery

Once the Neighbourhood Plan is brought into legal force, it will form part of the Statutory Development Plan for the Parish, along with the Local Plan.

Decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Plan area will need to be in accordance with the Plan unless ‘material planning considerations’ indicate otherwise.

Proposals for improvements in the area can be included as an Action Plan, appended to the Neighbourhood Plan. These will subject to funding and could be implemented in the coming years, by a number of organisations.

Clearly the Preparation of the Charmouth Neighbourhood Plan is a significant piece of work which will take some time to complete!