Over 200 Neighbouhood Plans in place

Neighbourhood Plans have broken through the 200 mark.

Housing and Planning Minister, Brandon Lewis, said: “I’m delighted that 200 communities have now voted in neighbourhood planning to help shape the future of their areas. By giving communities new powers we have removed the outdated system which often saw local areas pitted against developers. And it is clear that more and more people are getting involved with determining how the future of their area will evolve for future generations.”

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) also reports that more than 1,900 communities across England have also started to get their own plans in place.

Neighbourhood Plans give local people a say in the development of their area, including where homes, schools and businesses should be built, how they should look and what infrastructure is needed to support them.

Whole communities are encouraged to engage with the development of each plan as it passes through several stages before being voted on in a referendum.

DCLG statistics indicate that since 2013 all 200 plans that have progressed to the referendum stage have been approved by voters, with nearly 340,000 votes cast. On average 89% of people who have voted were in favour of the proposed plan for their neighbourhood.

It also notes that early figures indicate that plans for housebuilding are more than 10% higher in areas that have a neighbourhood plan than in the council’s local plan.

For more information on neighbourhood planning visit neighbourhoodplanning.org