Community consultation on a neighbourhood plan
Regulation 14 is the stage where a neighbourhood plan can still change. By regulation 16 the text is largely fixed and heading for examination.
Neighbourhood plan consultation runs in two formal rounds, and understanding which one you are in changes what your comment can achieve. The first, under regulation 14 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, is run by the group writing the plan and lasts at least six weeks. That is when the policies can still be changed. The second, under regulation 16, is run by the council after the plan is submitted, and by then the text is largely fixed and heading for an independent examination.
Miss the first round and you are commenting on a document that is nearly finished. Most people find this out afterwards.
What a neighbourhood plan can decide
A made neighbourhood plan forms part of the statutory development plan for its area. Under section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, planning applications in that area must then be determined in accordance with it unless material considerations indicate otherwise. That is real legal weight, not an advisory document.
Within that, plans do best on matters of detail and place. Design codes, building heights, materials, frontage treatment, local green space designation, protection of valued views, parking standards, the mix of house sizes, and allocating small sites for housing are all within scope and all have been done.
The best plans are specific. A policy saying development should respect local character achieves almost nothing at appeal. A policy setting out eaves heights, plot widths and boundary treatments for a named part of the village gives a case officer something to apply, and it tells an applicant exactly what their Design and Access Statement has to answer.
Who prepares one and how an area is designated
The qualifying body is a parish or town council where one exists. In unparished areas, which includes most of urban England, a neighbourhood forum has to be designated first, with a minimum of 21 members drawn from residents, people working locally and elected members, and a written constitution. Designation lasts five years.
The area itself is designated by the local planning authority on application. The authority publicises the proposed area, considers representations, and decides. Where a parish council applies for its own parish, designation is usually straightforward. Where an area crosses boundaries or overlaps another neighbourhood area, it is not.
This stage is worth engaging with, because the area boundary determines which sites the plan can address. A boundary drawn short of a contested field means the plan cannot say anything useful about it.
The consultation stages before examination
Four stages carry a formal opportunity to comment.
- Area designation, where the authority publicises the proposed neighbourhood area and invites representations.
- Informal consultation during drafting. Not required by the Regulations, but most qualifying bodies run workshops, surveys and drop-in events, and this is where the evidence base and the early policy direction are shaped.
- Regulation 14 pre-submission consultation, run by the qualifying body for at least six weeks, publicised so that people who live, work or run a business in the area are aware of it, with the prescribed consultation bodies notified directly.
- Regulation 16 publicity, run by the authority after submission for at least six weeks, inviting representations that go to the examiner.
Regulation 14 is the one that matters most. The qualifying body has to produce a consultation statement with the submission setting out who was consulted, how, what they said and how the plan responded. Comments made at that stage therefore leave a documented trace that the examiner reads.
A local planning authority's own Statement of Community Involvement sets out how it will consult on planning matters generally, and it is a useful guide to the standard a neighbourhood group should meet.
Examination and the basic conditions
An independent examiner is appointed by the authority with the agreement of the qualifying body. Examinations are normally conducted by written representations, with a hearing only where the examiner considers one necessary to hear oral evidence on a specific issue.
The examiner does not test the plan for soundness in the way a local plan is tested. The test is whether the plan meets the basic conditions, which are that it has regard to national policy and advice, contributes to the achievement of sustainable development, is in general conformity with the strategic policies of the development plan for the area, and is compatible with human rights and any other prescribed condition.
General conformity with strategic policies is where most plans get modified. A neighbourhood plan cannot undercut the housing figure or the site allocations in the adopted local plan, and an examiner will recommend modifications where it tries to.
The outcome is a report recommending the plan proceeds to referendum, proceeds with modifications, or does not proceed. Modifications are common and are not a failure.
The referendum and the threshold
Where the examiner recommends it, the authority arranges a referendum of people on the electoral register in the neighbourhood area.
The question asked is whether the voter wants the authority to use the plan to help decide planning applications in the area. A simple majority of those voting carries it. There is no minimum turnout, which means a plan can be made on a low turnout, and equally that a well organised opposition can defeat one.
Where a business area has been designated, a second referendum of non-domestic ratepayers runs alongside, and both have to pass.
If the plan passes, the authority must make it unless doing so would breach human rights or other prescribed obligations. Making the plan brings it into force as part of the development plan.
Weight once the plan is made
From the day it is made, the plan sits alongside the local plan and is applied to every application in the area.
Before that point it carries weight on a sliding scale: more as it advances through submission, examination and a successful referendum, less where it conflicts with an emerging local plan or where objections remain unresolved. The Planning Practice Guidance on neighbourhood planning explains how that weight builds.
There is a financial consequence too. Where a neighbourhood plan has been made, a parish or town council receives a higher proportion of Community Infrastructure Levy receipts arising in its area, 25 per cent rather than the otherwise capped 15 per cent, which for a parish facing a large allocation is a material amount of money for local infrastructure.
Plans need review. Policies drafted against a local plan that is later replaced can fall out of general conformity, and a plan with a stale evidence base carries less weight in practice even while it remains in force.
What a plan cannot do
Being clear about the limits saves years of volunteer effort.
A neighbourhood plan cannot plan for less housing than the strategic policies of the local plan require, cannot delete or undermine a site allocated in the local plan, and cannot address excluded development, which covers minerals, waste and nationally significant infrastructure projects. It cannot set its own use classes or permitted development rules, cannot impose conditions on permissions, and cannot stop development that has already been permitted.
It also cannot enforce itself. Once made, it is applied by the council's case officers like any other development plan document, and a policy that is vague will be treated as vague.
Where a group's real aim is to stop one specific scheme, a neighbourhood plan is the wrong instrument and a slow one. Where the aim is to shape how the next 20 years of development looks and feels, it is the only instrument a community controls. If you want to understand what an applicant has to submit alongside an application in your area, the full index of report types sets out what each document covers.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval. To see which documents an application in your neighbourhood area is likely to need, enter the postcode on PlanScope.
Frequently asked questions
What is regulation 14 consultation?
The pre-submission consultation run by the qualifying body under the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012. It lasts at least six weeks, must be publicised to people who live, work or run a business in the area, and requires the prescribed consultation bodies to be notified. It is the stage at which policies can still be changed.
Who can prepare a neighbourhood plan?
A parish or town council where one exists. In unparished areas a neighbourhood forum must first be designated, with at least 21 members drawn from residents, people working locally and elected members, and a written constitution. Designation lasts five years, and the neighbourhood area itself is separately designated by the local planning authority.
What are the basic conditions at examination?
That the plan has regard to national policy and advice, contributes to the achievement of sustainable development, is in general conformity with the strategic policies of the development plan for the area, and is compatible with human rights and any other prescribed condition. Soundness, the test applied to local plans, is not the standard.
Is there a turnout threshold for the referendum?
No. A simple majority of those voting carries the referendum, however few vote. Where a business area has been designated, a second referendum of non-domestic ratepayers runs alongside and both must pass. If the plan passes, the authority must make it unless doing so would breach prescribed obligations.
Can a neighbourhood plan stop housing being built?
No. A plan cannot provide for less housing than the strategic policies of the local plan require, cannot delete a site allocated in the local plan, and cannot stop development that already has permission. It can shape where and how development happens through design, heights, layout and local allocations.
Does a made neighbourhood plan bring in extra funding?
Yes. Where a plan has been made, a parish or town council receives 25 per cent of the Community Infrastructure Levy arising in its area rather than the otherwise capped 15 per cent. For a parish taking a large allocation that difference can fund substantial local infrastructure over the plan period.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.