Issue - meetings

To consider the designation of Brereton Parish Neighbourhood Area.

N.B: The Neighbourhood Planning Guide referred to as appendix 4 in this report is attached as a separate document in the supplementary agenda.

To approve the recommendation of the Strategic Planning Board on 19 June 2013 that Brereton Parish be designated a Neighbourhood Parish Area.

On 19 June 2013 the Strategic Planning Board recommended that the Portfolio Holder for Strategic Communities approve the Brereton Neighbourhood Area Application.

This application is submitted by Brereton Parish Council to designate the entirety of Brereton Parish as a neighbourhood area for the purposes of preparing a neighbourhood plan. A neighbourhood area is the geographic boundary within which a future neighbourhood plan will take effect.

A neighbourhood plan allows communities to allocate land and write policies relating to the development of land; it must conform to the Local Plan of the host local authority, will be subject to an independent examination and be put to a local referendum; once formally adopted a neighbourhood plan holds equal weight to a local plan for decision making purposes.

On considering an application to designate a neighbourhood area, a local authority must give regard to the desirability of designating the whole of the area applied for. The Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012 allow a local council to apply for the entirety of their parish to be designated as a neighbourhood area.   The application submitted by Brereton Parish satisfies the necessary criteria.

A question was raised concerning the implications for future revenue collection from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).  It was confirmed that the CIL Regulations of 2013 required local authorities to pass on 15% of CIL collected within the boundary of a local council, Town or Parish, to the local council; if however, the local council had an adopted Neighbourhood Plan then the 15% was increased to 25% where development took place within the designated Neighbourhood area.

RESOLVED

That approval be given to the recommendation of the Strategic Planning Board on 19 June 2013 that Brereton Parish be designated a Neighbourhood Parish Area.