What a NHP can do

• Develop policies specific to our area, for example design of new development.

• Protect the facilities and areas of land that the community values most such as community buildings, playing fields etc.

• Help get additional funding into the area, for example, through identification of projects or having a plan adopted (‘made’)

• Protect areas of land for conservation, biodiversity and landscape value

• Help to secure additional funding for infrastructure and other projects.

• Propose regeneration projects, transport solutions and areas of land for the allocation of housing and/or employment sites if we wish to do so.

What a NHP can’t do?

• Introduce policies which conflict with national or Local Authority adopted ‘strategic’ planning policies.

• Force requirements on developers which make the delivery of development unviable.

• Change regulations /legislation such as Building Regulations of Permitted Development Rights

• Reduce the scale of new housing if proposed by the Local Authority

• Stop all development.

• Deal with matters not dealt with through the planning system e.g.

  • Change traffic speeds.

  • Increase broadband speeds.

  • Enforce parking restrictions.

What is the role of our community in an NHP?

The NHP will provide the opportunity for our community to set out a positive vision for how we want the community to develop over the coming years. The needs and desires of the wider community are therefore critical to building plan.
Community engagement and consultation will be necessary at all stages of the plan-making process. As the plan is developed, the need to meet the basic conditions must be considered. Once there is a draft plan, it must be subjected to pre-submission consultation (Regulation 14).