Upton Bishop Neighbourhood Development Plan
Our Neighbourhood Plan was endorsed by the village. 142 people voted in favour of the plan in the October 13th referendum and 12 voted against.
After a number of years of planning and preparation by the community, the Upton Bishop Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) is now complete, having been passed by an external examiner and accepted by Herefordshire Council. The final part of the process was for the NDP to be put to a Referendum on 13 Oct 22. The electorate was asked ‘Do you want Herefordshire Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Upton Bishop to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?’
The Referendum for the Upton Bishop NDP was held on Thursday 13 Oct 22.
This is the official Declaration_of_Result_of_Poll_Upton_Bishop
Background
The Localism Act of 2011 introduced the right for a community to produce its own Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) which in the future will form part of the planning policy for Herefordshire Council. In June 2018, Upton Bishop Parish Council set up a NDP Steering Group to oversee the development of a neighbourhood plan. This is a community task and everyone is welcome to participate.
The draft Upton Bishop Neighbourhood Development Plan was approved by the Parish Council at its meeting on September 7th 2021. The Plan will give the community new rights to play a stronger role in shaping the development of Upton Bishop up to 2031. The Plan has identified the parish need for development and where it might be, what type of property can be built, shows consideration to Upton Bishop’s unique historic heritage, protects designate areas for open space and leisure and encourages commerce and business.
The Plan has been written by a Steering Group, working with a consultant on behalf of Upton Bishop Parish Council.
A public consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Development Plan was held from September 20th to November 2nd 2021. Copies of the plan are on this website. Copies may also be obtained from the clerk clerk@uptonbishop.gov.uk
Copies of all consultation materials including a comments form are available on the NDP Public Consultation page on this website.
All comments were considered before the document was finalised. It was scrutinised by an independent national examiner to ensure conformity with local and national policy. Finally, the Plan will be subject to a referendum of all on the electoral roll for Upton Bishop Parish. With a simple YES majority, our Plan will become law.
How will it work?
The approved Plan will be used by Herefordshire Council to make decisions on all planning applications in Upton Bishop. Residents of Upton Bishop Parish should come together to share ideas and build consensus about what needs to be done within the community.
Find out more about the Steering Group and read the chair’s monthly update.
Read the Agendas and Minutes of the Steering Group meetings.
Find about the 2020 Call for Sites
Read the Public Documents relating to the Neighbourhood Plan.
Frequently asked Questions
What is a Neighbourhood Development Plan?
The Localism Act has reformed the planning system to enable local people more say in determining planning policy for their local area. Producing a Neighbourhood Development Plan will give local people the opportunity to decide the future of the places where they live and work. This will allow the community to set out the vision for an area and the planning policies for the use and development of land, this can include choosing where you want new homes, shops, leisure facilities or employment opportunities to be built and what these buildings should look like, within your parish or Neighbourhood Area. It is important to note that plans should focus on guiding development rather than stopping it.
A Neighbourhood Development Plan will give you an increased ability to influence planning within your area. Plans will, however, need to conform with planning policies and guidance at a local, national and European level and meet the Neighbourhood Planning regulations. This will be tested in an independent examination. The plan will also need to demonstrate involvement of the local community throughout the plan preparation and decision making and it will be subject to a community referendum upon completion.
Once such a plan is made and adopted, it will become a statutory plan carrying equal weight to the Local Plan (Core Strategy) and be part of the Local Development Framework. This will mean that it will be used in making decisions on planning applications by Herefordshire Council in your area.
Who can produce a Neighbourhood Development Plan?
Within Herefordshire, only parish/town councils are able to produce Neighbourhood Development Plans for their area. The parish/town council can enlist help from members of the local community but only the parish council can make a Neighbourhood Area application and submit the relevant draft documents to Herefordshire Council for consideration.
What are the benefits for producing a Neighbourhood Development Plan?
It is not compulsory for parishes to prepare a Neighbourhood Development Plan, however there are a number of benefits which may help your parish make a decision on whether to prepare one.
Preparing a Neighbourhood Development Plan will help you and the local community play a greater role in creating the future of your local area. Neighbourhood planning offers communities the opportunity to establish the requirements for planning within their area. It will bring together local residents, businesses, local groups, landowners and developers to share ideas and build a consensus about what needs to be done within the local community.