We believe in the power of neighbourhood plans and local community voice in planning to shape the future of local areas.
Through our consultancy services, we support neighbourhood planning groups to develop neighbourhood development plans that tackle the issues that matter locally, from increasing the supply of affordable housing, safeguarding green spaces and improving the local environment.
We also help all groups to think through the best route to achieving their aspirations whether through creating a neighbourhood development plan, having a stronger voice in the creation of local development plans or masterplanning exercises and in planning and bringing forward developments (for example affordable housing, community centres, employment spaces or renewable energy projects). We work with a range of groups from those starting out, those renewing existing neighbourhood development plans and those implementing projects.
Our consultancy services also help local authorities to strengthen the voice of their communities as they draw up their local development plan, create masterplans or place-based strategies for different neighbourhoods. We also support local authorities to work with neighbourhood planning groups on shared goals such as meeting housing needs and allocating sites for employment growth. Many local authorities see the value of having neighbourhood development plans across their area.
What is neighbourhood planning?
In very simple terms, a neighbourhood development plan is a statutory document that:
- Sets out planning policies for the neighbourhood area – planning policies are used to decide whether to approve planning applications
- Is written by the local community, the people who know and want the best for their area
- Is a powerful tool to ensure the community gets the right types of development, in the right place.
Neighbourhood planning helps communities to:
- Allocate sites for housing and set policies for more affordable housing for people on low incomes or looking to buy their first home
- Ensure local green spaces are designated to maintain them as an asset for community use and protect them from future development
- Mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation
- Establish design codes or policies to create better places in which to live and work.
How Locality can help
Our consultancy service has chartered RTPI planners who are experienced in working with neighbourhood planning groups, community groups and local authorities on a range of plans and development proposals across rural and urban areas. They can help groups think through is neighbourhood planning is the best route to achieving their aspirations. If yes, they can help groups to get started and navigate every stage of the statutory process, from securing formal designation of their group and proposed neighbourhood plan area, to consulting with the community and statutory bodies, and getting plans ready for Examination and referendum.
We can draw on a wide range of technical partners to ensure we can offer a comprehensive service, including sustainability specialists, architects, designers, and master planners.
We also have advisors across the country with considerable experience working with neighbourhood planning groups and community organisations to realise their aspirations. Whether that is seeing more community led housing built, launching a community energy scheme, realising environmental improvements (including those through Biodiversity Net Gain) or creating green spaces and community buildings that will be cherished as community assets with a viable future as places for the community to enjoy.
We can:
- Support newly forming groups to achieve formal statutory designation for the purpose of developing a neighbourhood development plan, including setting up inclusive governance arrangements
- Support neighbourhood planning groups to engage the community effectively and reflect their concerns as they develop their neighbourhood development plan
- Support groups to write their neighbourhood development plan and get the technical and professional guidance they need
- Support groups to implement their neighbourhood development plan, including preparing planning applications, including the use of Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders
- Support communities to influence the drawing up of the local development plan
- Help local authorities to embrace the community voice in planning
- Help local authorities to support the emergence and progress of neighbourhood planning groups to strengthen the community voice and help ensure shared goals, such as addressing housing needs, are met.
We can help you:
- to undertake site appraisals
- to prepare development strategies
- to produce Planning Statements
- for pre-application planning negotiations
- to undertake consultation and engagement with communities
- to prepare planning applications, including the use of Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders
- for development plan representations
- to negotiate planning (S106) agreements and community infrastructure levy advice
- to undertake feasibility studies
Please get in touch to chat about your needs and how to employ us on a consultancy basis. We can discuss what we can do and the costs.