Neighbourhood Plan funding boost

The government Neighbourhood Plan scheme has received a funding boost of £22.8M which will support local communities in the development of their area.

The support package will help communities develop their own plans, enabling communities to have a real say in what the area needs.

The boost will support the development of much needed new housing and comes off the back of a recent announcement of innovative new planning measures to allow councils to speed up the delivery of much needed affordable housing.

Housing Minister Alok Sharma confirmed the funding, around £5.5M per year until 2022, will provide communities with specialist support to help develop a Neighbourhood Plan.

Neighbourhood Plans gives local communities a real say in the development of their area including where homes, shops, green spaces and offices should be built and how they should look.

The scheme has been successful, with over 400 neighbourhood planning referendums undertaken across England, driving local growth from Cornwall to Northumberland.

Housing and Planning Minister Alok Sharma said: “Neighbourhood planning gives communities a powerful set of tools to shape their area and drive local growth.

“The government is committed to giving communities even more of a say in the development of their area, and that’s why we’re dedicating around £23M between 2018 and 2022 to help groups create Neighbourhood Plans.

“With over 400 now in place more people than ever are having their say on the location and design of new homes, shops and offices in their community. I congratulate the many thousands of community minded people across England carrying out this valuable work.”

Trudi Elliott, Royal Town Planning Institute Chief Executive, said: “Having worked directly with over 274 groups to help them develop neighbourhood plans since their inception, the RTPI knows how much people care about these plans and how important they are in shaping places and building public trust in the planning system.

“It’s also clear from our experience that people need support to make the plan-making experience easier and worthwhile, so this latest funding is very welcome.”

The development of the Neighbourhood Plan scheme is part of the government’s housing white paper published in February 2017, which set out measures to give local people control over development in their area.

Since 2012, over 2,200 groups have started the neighbourhood planning process, covering areas of nearly 12 million people across England. Over 400 successful neighbourhood planning referendums have now taken place, with an average ‘yes’ vote of 88%.

 

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