Planning Aid England has produced a suite of resources to assist those developing a neighbourhood plan. The resources provide practical tips and advice on various stages of the neighbourhood plan process from designating the neighbourhood area to submitting the plan for examination. They are designed for community groups to use.
The project plans prepared for the Steering Group in 2015 indicated a possible end date for completion of the project around December 2016. This timescale has proved to have been unrealistic and the project plan was abandoned.
This is a selection of the most relevant articles. The full list can be found in the Forum for Neighbourhood Planning Resources section [LINK]
How to project plan
This resource explains:
- why you need to prepare a project plan
- what goes in a project plan
- how to fill in your project plan and manage the process
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How to resource your neighbourhood plan
This resource explains:
- how to identify the resources and skills available within your community
- external sources of advice and guidance
- indicative costs of producing a neighbourhood plan
- ways to budget and finance your plan
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What skills might you need?
There are a number of stages involved in producing a neighbourhood plan and a diverse range of skills and expertise may be required. This template provides an idea of the type of skills that may be needed.
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How to make effective decisions
This resource focuses on how to make effective decisions when developing your neighbourhood plan. It will explain:
- why it is important to have procedures for effective decision making
- what approaches to decisions need to be made
- approaches to decision making structures
- the function and use of a steering group
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How to share the workload
This resource focuses on how to share the workload when developing your neighbourhood plan. It will explain:
- why it is important
- how you can share the workload
- how to establish effective working groups
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How to engage and work constructively with your local planning authority
Note: Waverley Planning Department has assigned Matthew Ellis, a Senior Planning Officer, to work with the Elstead NP Team on the Elstead & Weyburn Neighbourhood Plan.
This resource explains:
- the role of the local planning authority in neighbourhood planning
- how to work constructively with your local planning authority
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Who to speak to at your local authority
To get you thinking about the wider organisation we have identified some of the other departments besides the planning department that you may wish to engage with as you produce your neighbourhood plan.
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How to work with landowners and developers
This resource focuses on how to effectively engage and work with landowners and developers during the preparation of your neighbourhood plan. It will answer:
- who are landowners and developers?
- why is it important to work with them?
- how do you identify them?
- how do you work wth them?
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How to develop a vision and objectives
This resource explains:
- what a neighbourhood plan vision statement is
- what neighbourhood plan objectives are
- who you can start to develop them
- how planning policies should flow from them
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Developing a vision and objectives presentation slides
This resource accompanies the "how to develop a vision and objectives" resource.
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How to gather and use evidence
This resource explains:
- what evidence is
- why evidence is important in policy development
- what different types of evidence can be used
- how to use evidence
- how to keep evidence proportionate
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Sources of data and statistics
This note provides an idea of the different sources of quantitative data (facts and figures) available that may be relevant to your neighbourhood plan. The data sources are presented by common neighbourhood plan 'topics'.
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How to prepare a character assessment to support design policy within a neighbourhood plan
This resource explains:
- what a character assessment is
- the benefits of completing a character assessment
- how to complete a character assessment - how to use the character assessment within your neighbourhood plan
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