Neighbourhood plans

Neighbourhood planning is a new approach to planning, which relates to the use of land in local areas such as a parish or a neighbourhood. It gives local people the opportunity to influence how a neighbourhood develops through the planning system.

Using their local knowledge, the community can shape and influence the place where they live, determining what needs to be protected and what needs to change. Within the context of national and local strategic planning policies, it allows people to come together and say where they think new houses and businesses should go and what they should look like.

A neighbourhood plan can be brought forward by either a parish council or, where there is no parish council, an organisation or body which is, or is capable of being, designated as a neighbourhood forum. A Forum must have 21 members and should include people who live, work, have businesses in the area or are locally elected member(s).

Ashfield Neighbourhood Plan areas

Ashfield has 2 neighbourhood planning areas:

• link: Jacksdale, Underwood and Selston (JUS-t Neighbourhood Plan Area)
• link: Teversal, Stanton Hill and Skegby.

All neighbourhood plan areas currently designated are shown on the Neighbourhood Plan Designation Map, which you can find in the related documents section of this page.

Papplewick Parish Neighbourhood Plan

A proposal submitted to extend a neighbourhood plan for areas of Papplewick Parish in Ashfield district was turned down.

The application was a joint application to us and Gedling Borough Council. This reflected that the proposed neighbourhood plan area was defined by the Parish Council as the whole of the civil parish of Papplewick (falling within the Borough of Gedling) and that part of Ashfield District which lies between Papplewick Lane (in the north), Moor Road (in the east), The Calverton Railway (in the south) and the River Leen (in the west) – mainly comprising those residential properties with access to Moor Road.

We have determined that the application submitted by Papplewick Parish Council for a neighbourhood plan: Papplewick, dated 1 April 2016, is not a valid application. This reflects:

• Papplewick Parish Council is authorised to act in relation to the whole or any part of the area of the Parish Council (Section 61F[1] )

• the Parish Council can include other parished areas with the consent of the parish council covering that area (Section 61F[2] )

• the area submitted as part of the neighbourhood plan area in Ashfield is not covered by a civic parish. Therefore, it fails to meet the requirement of Section 61F(2).

Therefore, Papplewick Parish Council is not a qualifying body to exercise the power to designate a neighbourhood area for that part of the proposed neighbourhood area which extending into the District of Ashfield. You can see a statement and plan about this proposal in the related documents section of this web page.

Types of neighbourhood planning

There are 3 types of neighbourhood planning we can consider.

Neighbourhood plan

This is a plan which establishes your vision and general planning policies and proposals for the future development and use of different plots of land in your local community area.

You don't need to be an expert on planning to take part in preparing a Neighbourhood Plan and it is the community representatives that write it, not us as the council.

The neighbourhood plan, once adopted, will form part of the Development Plan. This means that decisions on planning applications will be made using both the Local Plan and the neighbourhood plan, and any other material considerations.

• link: Planning applications

Neighbourhood development order

A neighbourhood development order allows you to grant planning permission for certain types of development that you want to see go ahead in your community area.

Community right to build order

A community right to build order allows you to grant planning permission for the local community to build small-scale housing developments, community facilities or shops.