Issue details

Purpose

1.    The purpose of this report is to consider the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report on the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Plan, and whether those conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions.

2.    Cabinet agreed at its meeting on 26 July 2018 that where the examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan is legally compliant, meets the Basic Conditions (with or without modifications), and should proceed to referendum, the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development has delegated authority to make the decision on the way forward, in consultation with the Planning Lead Member.

Background

3.    The Fulbourn Neighbourhood Area was designated on 13 August 2018. The neighbourhood area is for the whole parish of Fulbourn. 

4.    Officers recognise the hard work that those on the steering group of the neighbourhood plan have put into preparing the Plan. This group has strived to ensure that the whole village had an opportunity to have an input into the final Plan.

5.    A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) screening was undertaken on a draft version of the Neighbourhood Plan, and a screening determination was published in November 2020.

6.    Pre-submission public consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Plan was undertaken by the Parish Council from 1 January 2021 until 28 February 2021. Officers provided a formal response to the consultation, providing constructive comments about the Neighbourhood Plan to assist the neighbourhood plan group with finalising the Neighbourhood Plan. Officers met with the steering group to discuss these comments and the submission version of the plan took on board many of the suggested changes.

7.    On 18 October 2021, Fulbourn Parish Council submitted their Neighbourhood Plan to SCDC. Officers confirmed by carrying out a Legal Compliance Check for the Neighbourhood Plan that the submitted version of the Neighbourhood Plan and its accompanying supporting documents complied with all the relevant statutory requirements at this stage of plan making. We therefore were able to carry out a consultation on the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Plan from 8 November 2021 until 18 January 2022. This extended period of consultation was to take into account that the consultation period extended over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. We wished to ensure everyone had an opportunity to comment on the Plan.

8.    Officers, in conjunction with Fulbourn Parish Council, appointed an independent examiner to consider this Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner appointed to undertake the examination of a Neighbourhood Plan: must be independent of both the District Council and Parish Council; cannot be the same examiner that undertakes a health check of the Neighbourhood Plan; and must not have any interest in any land that may be affected by the Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner appointed was Andrew Ashcroft. On 24 January 2022 the Neighbourhood Plan, its accompanying supporting documents and all comments submitted during the public consultation on the submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan were provided to the examiner with a request for him to carry out the examination on the Neighbourhood Plan.

9.    The examiner issued on 14 February 2022 a note which set out the arrangements for the examination and also a clarification note which included some questions for the Parish Council (PC). The PC responded to the questions set for them on 8 March 2022.

10. The examiner subsequently decided that in order to ensure an adequate examination of the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Plan it was necessary to hold a hearing on three policies. This hearing took place on 4 July 2022 at the Fulbourn Centre within the neighbourhood area. The examiner issued a hearing note on 25 April 2022 setting out the issues to be discussed, the participants invited and the format and arrangements for the hearing.

11.  The Examiner’s Report was received on 12 September 2022 (see Appendix 1). The examiner in his report concludes that subject to a series of recommended modifications the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Plan meets all the necessary legal requirements and should proceed to referendum. He also recommends that the referendum should be held within the neighbourhood area only.

12.  Now that the Examiner’s Report has been received, the Council is required to consider the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report, and whether those conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. The Council must publish its decision in a decision statement.

Considerations

13.  Where an examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions (with or without modifications) and is legally compliant, and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum, the Council has limited options in how to respond. The options are as follows:

Option 1: Act upon the conclusions in the Examiner’s Report, including making any recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and proceed to referendum, provided that the Council confirms that the Basic Conditions have been met.

Option 2: Take a decision substantially different from the Examiner’s conclusions, wholly or partly as a result of new evidence or fact, or a different view is taken by the Council as to a particular fact, including that the Council is unable to confirm that the Basic Conditions have been met.

14.  National regulations require the Council to make a decision on the Examiner’s Report and whether the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum within 5 weeks of receipt of the report (unless an alternative longer timescale is agreed with the Parish Council). Officers have been working with the Parish Council and a longer timescale has been agreed to ensure that there is agreement between the two councils to all the proposed changes that are included in the referendum version of the plan.

15.  Officers have concluded that Option 1 should be followed for the reasons set out in the following paragraphs of this decision statement. Officers agree with the examiner’s conclusions, including his recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and agree that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum.

a. Meeting the Basic Conditions and Legal Requirements

16.  To successfully proceed through its examination to a referendum, a Neighbourhood Plan must meet a number of tests known as the ‘Basic Conditions’. The Basic Conditions are set out in national planning regulations and are summarised as follows:

·         having regard to national policies and advice contained in guidance issued by the Secretary of State it is appropriate to make the Neighbourhood Plan.

·         the making of the Neighbourhood Plan contributes to the achievement of sustainable development.

·         the Neighbourhood Plan is in general conformity with the strategic policies contained in the development plan for the area.

·         the making of the Neighbourhood Plan does not breach, and is otherwise compatible with, EU obligations; and

·         prescribed conditions are met in relation to the Neighbourhood Plan, including that the making of the neighbourhood plan is not likely to have a significant effect on a European wildlife site or a European offshore marine site either alone or in combination with other plans or projects.

The Council’s Neighbourhood Planning Toolkit includes Guidance Note 11 (What are the Basic Conditions and How to Meet Them), which sets out further details on each of the Basic Conditions. 

17.  To proceed to a referendum, a Neighbourhood Plan must also meet a number of legal requirements, such as whether the Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared by a qualifying body and meets the definition and scope of a Neighbourhood Plan.

18.  The examiner concludes in the Executive Summary and Chapter 8 (see Appendix 1) that subject to a series of recommended modifications the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions and all the necessary legal requirements. The issues he has considered in reaching his conclusions and his modifications are set out in Chapter 7 of his report (see Appendix 1). The examiner’s recommended modifications do not fundamentally change the role or purpose of the Neighbourhood Plan; they have been recommended by the examiner to provide clarity and precision.

19.  Officers, in conjunction Fulbourn Parish Council, have reviewed the examiner’s conclusions and recommended modifications, and officers and the Parish Council have agreed each of the recommended modifications considered necessary by the examiner for the Neighbourhood Plan to meet the Basic Conditions. A ‘Referendum’ version of the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared including these modifications (see Appendix 2).

20.  Additional non-material modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan have also been prepared by officers and agreed with Fulbourn Parish Council, and these additional modifications are also included in the ‘Referendum’ version of the Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 2). These modifications have been made in accordance with national planning guidance which states that minor (non-material) updates to a Neighbourhood Plan that would not materially affect the policies in the plan can be made by the District Council at any time, provided they have the consent of the Parish Council, and that these modifications can be made without the need for consultation or examination (see National Planning Practice Guidance, Paragraph 085, Reference ID: 41-085-20180222).

21.  In summary, these additional non-material modifications include the following:

·         Consequential minor updates to the text and figures throughout the Neighbourhood Plan to ensure consistency with the modifications made by the Examiner to the policies and supporting text.

·         Amendments to the Community Aspirations (which cover issues wider than the development and use of land, and which do not form part of the statutory development plan) to enable important issues for the community to remain within the Neighbourhood Plan, even though these issues have been deleted from the policies. 

·         Minor amendments throughout the Neighbourhood Plan to ensure consistency of references to documents and policies and with terms in the glossary, and to refer to the now adopted Fulbourn Conservation Area Appraisal and Greater Cambridge Biodiversity SPD (instead of the previous versions).  

22.  Officers have undertaken a Basic Conditions and Legal Compliance check of the ‘Referendum’ version of the Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 3) and consider that the Neighbourhood Plan meets all the requirements.

23.  As the modifications made to the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Plan do not change the essence of its planning policies, the SEA and HRA screening undertaken on a draft version of the Neighbourhood Plan, and the screening determination published in November 2020 remain valid.

b. Referendum

24.  The examiner concludes in the Executive Summary and Chapter 8 of his report (see Appendix 1) that, subject to the incorporation of his proposed modifications, the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. He also concludes that it is appropriate for the referendum area to be the neighbourhood area designated by SCDC in August 2018 (see Appendix 1, Chapter 8). He formally states (see Appendix 1, paragraph 8.3) he states the following:

“On the basis of the findings in this report I recommend to South Cambridgeshire District Council that, subject to the incorporation of the modifications set out in this report, the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Development Plan should proceed to referendum.”

25.  The examiner’s conclusions on the referendum area are consistent with that proposed by the Council in its response on the submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan agreed by the Lead Cabinet Member for Planning in January 2022. Therefore, as it has been demonstrated by officers that the ‘Referendum’ version of the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Plan meets all the legislative requirements, officers concur with the examiner that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum and that the referendum area should be the neighbourhood area. 

Next Steps

26.  There were changes made to the national regulations about neighbourhood plans and referendums by the government due to the Covid19 pandemic which stated that referendums could not take place on a neighbourhood plan until 6 May 2021. As this date has now passed SCDC will be able to proceed to referendum with the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Plan. The regulations state that a referendum should take place within 56 working days of the day after the publication of this decision statement. And therefore, SCDC will proceed to set a date for the referendum once this statement is published. Once the neighbourhood plan is allowed to proceed to referendum the national regulations revised due to Covid19 pandemic state that a plan can be given significant weight in determining planning applications in the area.

27.  If a Neighbourhood Plan is successful at referendum, the Neighbourhood Plan becomes part of the development plan for the area (National Planning Practice Guidance, Paragraph: 064, Reference ID: 41-064-20170728), although the formal ‘making’ of the Neighbourhood Plan will not happen until SCDC’s full Council are asked to do this at their next meeting following the referendum.

Implications

28.  In the writing of this report, taking into account financial, legal, staffing, risk management, equality and diversity, climate change, community safety and any other key issues, the following implications have been considered:

29.  Financial: the costs of the examination and referendum have to be initially met by SCDC. However, the Council can claim a £20,000 government grant per Neighbourhood Plan once a plan has been successfully through the examination and the Council has set a date for the referendum.

30.  Legal: where the examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan is legally compliant, meets the Basic Conditions (with or without modifications), and should proceed to referendum, the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development has delegated authority to make the decision on the way forward, in consultation with the Planning Lead Member (as agreed by Cabinet at its meeting on 26 July 2018). National regulations and planning guidance for Neighbourhood Plans require that the Council considers the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report, and whether those conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. The Council’s decision must be published in a decision statement.

31.  Staffing: the responsibilities associated with delivering neighbourhood planning are being undertaken within the existing resources of the Planning Policy Team, drawing upon the expertise of other staff as required.

32.  Equality and Diversity: these issues have been considered in the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan, as to meet the Basic Conditions a Neighbourhood Plan must not breach, and is otherwise compatible with, EU obligations, including Human Rights. Included as part of the Basic Conditions Statement is an assessment undertaken by Fulbourn Parish Council to examine the impact of the Neighbourhood Plan in relation to the ‘protected characteristics’ as identified in the Equality Act 2010. The Equalities Impact Assessment concludes that: a number of policies in the Neighbourhood Plan will have positive benefits for specific protected characteristics; there are no negative equality impacts that arise from the policies or proposals contained within the Neighbourhood Plan; and the Neighbourhood Plan does not raise any issues in relation to any of the convention rights in the Human Rights Act 1998. The examiner has agreed with this assessment (see Appendix 1, paragraph 6.19).