DESFORD PARISH NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN – A PROGRESS REPORT – Autumn 2018
“Where we are now”
Locality, a government body, which provides support to neighbourhood planning groups on behalf of the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has awarded us £6000 to carry out a Housing Sites Assessment and Awards for All, who award lottery money, have granted us £10,000 to finish our plan work up to 31 March 2019. So, thankfully, our finances are in great shape and sorted for 2018/19!
The draft plan is progressing well. Our consultant partner, YourLocale, has taken the hard work of our research groups and prepared a first working draft of the plan. This combines the results of all your inputs received via our consultation and awareness processes, along with all the national, regional and Hinckley borough policies and requirements. It’s looking good!
“What happens next?
The Desford Neighbourhood Plan Working Group (DPNPWG) and Desford Parish Council (DPC) have more work to do to finalise a consultation draft. YourLocale needs to consult informally on our behalf with Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council (HBBC) and other interested parties to ensure we comply with any directives or policies imposed from “on high”. Once this is done we will arrange further consultation events to get your valued input. The Rural Communities Council (Leicestershire) &Rutland) will help us with this work.
Next, after some formal statutory consultations, DPC will approve and submit a final version to HBBC who will arrange an ‘Examination in Public’ by an independent inspector. After that, DPC will make any necessary changes and HBBC will submit the plan to a full referendum of Parish voters. If it passes, DPC can adopt it!
“How long will this take?”
YourLocale has prepared an outline timetable with, understandably and sensibly, many a ‘health warning’ because some elements of the process are outside our control. Ever-optimistic, though, we have targeted November this year to invite residents and stakeholders to participate in a full and frank exchange on our consultation draft of the plan. Then, after any further changes resulting from this final round of consultation have been implemented, DPC will pass it to HBBC in the spring of 2019 for examination in May/June, followed by a referendum in August/September. That assumes no statutory consultees throw a spanner in the works by requiring a re-think about their areas of responsibility, of course. Fingers crossed!
“With a little help from our friends!”
So, whilst it seems a long and winding road, and there is still a way to go, with help from our financial friends, Locality and Awards from All, our consultant and advisor YourLocale and RCC (Leicestershire & Rutland), along with all the people and organisations who have contributed to our researches, slowly but surely, we are getting there!
Contact: Bernard Grimshaw, desplan16@gmail.com