A parish council, town council or a designated neighbourhood forum can apply to have an area designated as a ‘neighbourhood area’ for the purpose of preparing a neighbourhood plan. We have designated the following areas, and it is now up to the local community to prepare a neighbourhood plan for that area.
Draft Neighbourhood Plans will undergo independent examination and, if successful, a referendum will follow with the local community. If more than 50% of residents who vote support the plan, it can be ‘made’ by the Council and will form part of the development plan. It will then be used to determine planning applications within the neighbourhood area.
Christchurch Neighbourhood Plan
The Christchurch Town Neighbourhood Area was formally designated on 7 January 2021.
The draft Christchurch Neighbourhood Plan Proposal, submitted to us for Regulation 16 consultation, ran from 20 July to 6 September. This was hosted on our consultation platform where we invited comments on the draft Neighbourhood Plan and supporting documents.