Neighbourhood Plan
What is a neighbourhood plan: it is a community led framework for guiding future development, regeneration and conservation of an area. This step of planning policy was introduced in the Localism Act in 2011.
The neighbourhood plan forms part of the statutory development plan for the area, alongside Medway Council's own planning policy documents, and should be incorporated into any Local plan that the council develop.
A neighbourhood plan:
- can specify policies and guidance on how new developments are designed, orientated and located
- must conform to the local plan
- must comply with European and national legislation
- must have appropriate regard to national policy
- should not promote less development than that identified in the development plan for the local area
- can allow more growth levels and allocate sites
- timeframe can be decided by the local community
To find out more about general information about Neighbourhood Plans, please follow the below link to watch a video on YouTube.
Stoke Parish and the Local Community are working to setup a Neighbourhood Plan to let the local people have a say in the development and future of our homes and surrounding countryside.
We have all seen what has happened in the past with the Local Plan and how developments are increasing in our area. As a result of this, we that felt that it was about time we try to sculpt future developments to help benefit our community and families.
Our Neighbourhood plan is being produced via a sub-committee (steering committee) of the Parish council, built of local residents. This plan should reflect the diversity of the local area.
The Parish Council is responsible for the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan and has delegated this to the responsibility to its steering committee, their duties include:
- Information Collation
- Initial Consultation
- Producing a Draft Plan
Medway Council then needs to:
- Administer the formal process to consult on the Draft Plan
- Arrange an Independent Examination,
- Hold a referendum in the parish or neighbourhood area to determine if there is support for the adoption of the plan.
Stoke Parish Council has proposed a neighbourhood area for its parish, for the purpose of preparing a Neighbourhood Plan.
Medway Council is consulting on this proposal and the consolation with open soon.
Stoke Parish Council has set up a steering group to consult with local people and businesses and to start work on the preparation of a draft Neighbourhood Plan.
Stoke Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group will be holding an engagement meeting with local businesses and representatives of future businesses within Stoke Parish, on Wednesday 8th May at 5.00pm in the Stoke Methodist Church.
A full list of the engagement meetings can be found below.
