Neighbourhood planning has been introduced to enable more community involvement in the planning process, so that people can shape their local areas and have a greater say in planning decisions.
There are three types of neighbourhood planning documents:
Lenham Parish Council has prepared a Neighbourhood Development Plan that sets out a sustainable vision for the neighbourhood area and a series of policies that the community is proposing to be used in the determination of planning applications.
The Lenham Neighbourhood Plan was submitted to the Local Planning Authority on 19 December 2019 and the Neighbourhood Plan is now subject to public consultation. Further information on the consultation can be found here.
One of the first steps in preparing a Neighbourhood Plan is to apply to designate the Neighbourhood Area, which is the geographical area that the plan will cover. This process can only be done by a parish council, or by a Neighbourhood Forum in an unparished area.
Within the borough of Maidstone, the following Neighbourhood Areas have been designated;
Designated Neighbourhood Forums
The Localism Act gave local communities the power to come together as Neighbourhood Forums and work on Neighbourhood Plans to develop and implement local priority objectives such as infrastructure improvements and community facilities.
The following Neighbourhood Forum has been designated;
Neighbourhood Planning is governed by the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 and is made up of a number of key stages;
There are certain processes that need to be gone through while preparing a Neighbourhood Plan to make sure that it is in line with the regulations. The Plan must also conform with strategic policies in the devlopment plan. Have a look at our flowchart which outlines the process.
The Planning Advisory Service has Neighbourhood Planning guidance and support on their website. They also have a free to access project management tool to help local authorities and communities working together to produce Neighbourhood Plans, and there is guidance on every stage of production.
There are a number of useful websites offering guidance and advice;
The Heritage Lottery Fund has grants for community led heritage projects.
Should you prepare a neighbourhood plan?
Help and support with writing a neighbourhood plan
Sharing evidence and information
What's needed in a neighbourhood plan
Preparing a sustainability appraisal / strategic environmental assessment
| Area/Parish | Area Designation | Pre-Submission Consultation | Submission to MBC | 6 Week Public Consultation | Independent Examination | Final Plan | Referendum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bearsted | |||||||
Boughton Monchelsea | |||||||
Boxley | |||||||
Broomfield & Kingswood | Ended on 13.07.15 | 21.10.15 | 06.11.15 - 18.12.15 | Decision Statement | |||
Coxheath | Ended on 20.12.13 | Withdrawn on 02.10.14 | |||||
Harrietsham | Withdrawn on 05.05.15 | ||||||
Headcorn | Ended on 31.07.15 | 15.01.16 - 26.02.16 | Interim Examiners Report (May 2016) Our Response to the Report (May 2016) Comments from the Parish Council (June 2016) | Decision Notice | |||
Langley | Application on hold | ||||||
Lenham | Consultation: 14.02.20 – 27.03.20 | ||||||
Loose | 31.10.16 - 13.12.16 | 10.07.18 | 02.11.2018 - 14.12.2018 | Joint response to the Examiner Procedural Matters | Final Plan | ||
Marden | 09.06.2018 - 21.07.2018 | 28.05.2019 | 14.06.19 – 26.07.19 | ||||
North Loose | Ended on 21.06.15 | 09.08.15 | 11.09.15 - 23.10.15 | January 2016 | |||
| Otham | 01.08.2017 | 22.07.19 - 06.09.19 | |||||
Staplehurst | Ended on 17.07.14 | 08.09.15 | 23.10.15 - 04.12.15 | Interim Examiners Report (May 2016) Informative Regarding SEA and HRA (June 2016) Comments from the Parish Council (July 2016) | November 2016 | ||
Sutton Valence | |||||||
Tovil | |||||||
| Yalding | 19.04.18 |
Notice of Referendum
Examiner's Report
Decision Statement
Final Plan
Annex 1
Referendum Statement
Information for Voters
*can be inspected at the Maidstone Link.
| Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 844 | 90.4% |
| No | 90 | 9.6% |
| Reason | Number of Ballots |
|---|---|
| Want of official mark | 0 |
| Voting for or against the same question | 0 |
| Writing or mark by which voter could be identified | 1 |
| Being unmarked or wholly void for uncertainty | 0 |
| Rejected in part | 0 |
| Total | 1 |
Joint Representations Sent to the Examiner
Loose Parish Representations Sent to the Examiner
Examiners Report
Final Plan
Referendum Statement
Information for Voters
Do you want Maidstone Borough Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Loose to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?
| Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 435 | 93.95% |
| No | 27 | 5.8% |
| Reason | Number of Ballots |
|---|---|
| Want of official mark | 0 |
| Voting for or against the same question | 0 |
| Writing or mark by which voter could be identified | 1 |
| Being unmarked or wholly void for uncertainty | 0 |
| Rejected in part | 0 |
| Total | 1 |
22.42%
Adoption Notice
Adopted Plan
Representations Sent to the Examiner
Examiners Report
Final Plan
Referendum Statement
Information for Voters
Result
Adoption Notice
Adopted Plan
Representations Sent to the Examiner
Examiners Report
Final Plan
Referendum Statement
Referendum Notice
Information for Voters
Our Decision
Results
Adoption Notice
Adopted Plan
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