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Keep it simple, say Locality

In May, Locality released a guide to help neighbourhood planning groups think through how to produce a simple plan. ‘No-one should be put off by fear of the procedures or by thinking you need to prepare a long and complex document. It is the community’s plan and needs only to deal with the planning issues that matter to you.’ – Tony Burton.

You can find the Keeping it Simple guide here

The Power of Neighbourhood Planning

Locality has issued a new document explaining how Neighbourhood planning is ‘designed to provide a powerful set of tools to ensure you get the right types of development in the right place for your community’.

It says that local residents and businesses are now in a position to make planning policies that reflect their priorities, deliver tangible local benefits and have real weight in the planning system. Hear Hear!

A copy is available here

National Planning Practice Guidance

As well as the NPPF  the Government has also published the National Planning Practice Guidance portal which provides guidance to Planners, Councillors, planning applicants, developers, and the public as to how the National Planning Policy Framework is to be used. The portal can be found here.

The NPPG includes a section specifically about neighbourhood planning. This provides advice on the neighbourhood planning system introduced by the Localism Act including key stages and decisions (e.g. deciding neighbourhood areas, the legal tests for neighbourhood plans, and the process of independent examination and referendum).