Image credit to previous neighbourhood plan team
What is a Neighbourhood Plan?
‘Neighbourhood planning gives communities direct power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and shape the development and growth of their local area. They are able to choose where they want new homes, shops and offices to be built, have their say on what those new buildings should look like and what infrastructure should be provided, and grant planning permission for the new buildings they want to see go ahead. Neighbourhood planning provides a powerful set of tools for local people to plan for the types of development to meet their community’s needs and where the ambition of the neighbourhood is aligned with the strategic needs and priorities of the wider local area.’
Histon and Impington’s current neighbourhood plan was voted for by community referendum in May 2021, with over 90% support. This is the current neighbourhood plan.
The current government is less keen on Neighbourhood plans but there is still a value for laying out a refreshed strategic vision for our community. Significant local landowners are interested in opening dialogue with the community about offering land for leisure facilities in exchange for support for development of the green belt. The community could signal support or lack of support for these proposals a refresh of the Neighbourhood plan. This could unlock sites for a pump track or country park but would require support for development.
As a County Councillor to an extent I am agnostic about development, I do however feel strongly that there are currently opportunities associated with development and as a community we should be attempting to make a positive decision either way and to identify what really matters for the future of the place we call home.
Bearing all that in mind I have spoken to Yvonne Murray, Chair of Histon and Impington Parish Council and we propose an open discussion session 19.00, Thursday 11 June, upstairs at the Tawa lounge. Everyone welcome it will be an open session to outline what might be involved and how we determine if there is sufficient appetite to progress a neighbourhood plan refresh.
Below is an email from a District Council planning officer which will form part of what will be discussed.
Do come along if you’re at all interested and do feel free to contact me in advance of the meeting
07548 745197
roshathorn@hotmail.com
Email from District Council.
Ahead of setting up any meetings, I would suggest the following actions:
- Re-establish the Neighbourhood Planning Group
This is not an easy process and takes dedication to getting the NP over the line. It is important to discuss with members of the Parish about the resource that you’d be able to commit to reviewing the NP. Histon and Impington was designated as an area in 2014, the draft Plan was consulted on in 2018, and the final Plan was adopted in 2021. It is good to have a small, committed group to work through local issues, draft policies, and run consultations.
- Understanding what needs to change in the Plan
I would encourage a cross-referencing exercise, between the existing Neighbourhood Planning policies – looking at their strengths (successes in determining planning applications, how they have worked locally in practice) and weaknesses (potential gaps in policy, omission of information, or where the local context has changed and needs updating). You may also wish to identify new areas that the Plan could provide policy on. This will help to understand what level of changes are required to the Plan.
We have not yet carried out any Neighbourhood Plan reviews, but I would assume it would still take significant time to produce a revised Plan. As said above, the review would likely require material modifications e.g., editing policies to reflect changes locally, or adding new policies to address new local planning matters that can be addressed through a Neighbourhood Plan. Chapter 12 of our Neighbourhood Planning Toolkit provides a bit more detail on the types of review: Neighbourhood Planning Toolkit. I’d also read some of the other Chapters to help familiarise yourself with the scope of what a Neighbourhood Plan can do.
Based on recent work with Heydon PC who converted their Community-Led Plan into a Neighbourhood Plan, if adopted this summer, will have taken just over two years to prepare, consult on, and go through sign-off processes. I would anticipate a similar length of time to review and amend an existing NP if you are to change/update thoroughly.
- Considering policies within the emerging context and new Local Plan
We have been advising other groups who are exploring options to review their Plans to consider the policies set out in the emerging Local Plan that we consulted on from Dec 2025-Jan 2026. I would advise looking at development management policies that will be implemented at a local level in planning decision-making e.g., the Great Places chapter that looks at design features, heritage assets. We want to ensure that the policies are thorough and robust and reflect local needs. Also important to note that a NP should not duplicate Local Plan policies so it is important to see where a policy may not benefit from an update.
In my recent experience, the most important policies that add that local level detail and from memory largely exist within your adopted NP, are related to designation of:
- Important Countryside Frontages
- Locally Important Views
- Non-designated Heritage Assets
- Local Green Spaces
- Homes that meet the village need
- Infrastructure for community use.
We are in a bit of a tricky time period as we are progressing to submission of the emerging Local Plan in December 2026, which increases the “planning weight” of the emerging Plan. But all decision-making until adoption of the new Plan must be in conformity with the existing adopted South Cambs Local Plan. This means that if you were to proceed in amending your NP now, you would need to conform to existing adopted policy, rather than emerging policy. It would feel a tad redundant if you were to adopt a NP against the old South Cambs Local Plan in the next two years, and then the emerging Local Plan gets adopted in say 2028 and your NP becomes out of date. I will explore in our legislation at what stage you could start looking at emerging policy and whether you could prepare a revised NP for the new Local Plan (noting its increasing “planning weight”). Let me get back to you on that one.
- Considering delays and financial constraints
The main difficulty with preparing Neighbourhood Plans more generally is ensuring the scope is focussed and does not try to fix other non-planning related issues. This is often why NPs take longer as they need more refinement, or the Examiner proposes larger amounts of modifications before it can progress to Referendum. Additionally, if NPs are looking to provide a site allocation or put forward housing policies, this also contributes to the Plan taking longer, particularly in terms of gathering the right evidence and spending money on a consultant to prepare a Housing Needs Assessment. Some more detailed evidence must be produced externally and come at a cost.
Recently, government announced that they would unfortunately cut funding to groups preparing NPs. Some groups have been able to proceed using parish funds, or have refined the scope of the Plan to reduce cost e.g., not carrying out housing need assessments.
I would express that we are also seeking further clarity of the position of NPs when the NPPF is amended on the back of the recent consultation. I will let you know if we know anything more. I will reiterate however, that our Team are committed to supporting groups preparing NPs, and in recent experiences we have been able to provide guidance/advice to groups who may not have been able to afford any further consultant support due to funding cuts.
hiopcouncillors 