Hellesdon Neighbourhood Plan

Announcing the Neighbourhood Plan and First Consultation Event

Hellesdon Neighbourhood Plan underway

Hellesdon Parish Council is delighted to report that work is now underway to prepare a Neighbourhood Plan for the Parish.

A formal application has been submitted to Broadland District Council for Hellesdon Parish to become a ‘neighbourhood area’. If the application is successful it is hoped that the Neighbourhood Plan can be written over the course of 2016 with a referendum on whether or not to adopt the Plan early in 2017. At completion of the application process, the Parish Council will also be able to apply for grant funds to support the development of the Neighbourhood Plan.

A Working Group from the local community has recently been set up to develop the plan. The Working Group held its first meeting shortly before Christmas and has just undertaken a walking tour of the Parish. The Working Group includes local residents, business representatives, Parish Councillors and specialist advisors. If you would like to find out more about the Working Group and how to contribute, please use the contact details below.

It is important that the Neighbourhood Plan reflects the views and aspirations of the local community and so there will be a number of ways for people to get involved. This will include open consultation events which everyone will be invited to attend. In the first instance the Working Group wants to understand local views on the Parish, what is good about it, what is bad about it and what they would like to change. A short questionnaire will be posted to every household and business in the next few weeks.

Neighbourhood Planning is a new community-led planning initiative that has emerged from the Government’s Localism Bill. It gives local people new rights to help shape the development of the communities they live in. Neighbourhood Plans allow local communities to set out planning policies on the development and use of land in the ‘neighbourhood area’ which in Hellesdon’s case is likely to be the civil Parish.

Any policies included within a Neighbourhood Plan need to broadly conform to strategic planning policies and guidance at the local, national and European level.   This means that they cannot be used to undermine established planning allocations or planning permissions.   Policies can however be used to provide additional detail and guidance on issues that cannot be addressed in more strategic documents. So, the allocation that has been made for the development of the Golf Course cannot be over-turned but we can hopefully input to the development of detailed proposals and try to make the most of the scheme for the local community.

Further information and updates on the Neighbourhood Plan can be accessed as follows:

• Email: Hellesdon Parish Council parishclerk@hellesdon-pc.gov.uk or Ingham Pinnock Associates office@inghampinnock.com
• Website: We hope to be launching a Neighbourhood Plan Facebook and Twitter page soon. In the meantime please visit the new Hellesdon Parish Council website hellesdon-pc.gov.uk
• Notice boards: Keep an eye on the Parish notice boards for key information about events and feedback