North East Derbyshire Statement of Community Involvement 2023

(1) Appendix D – Key stages of Neighbourhood Plan preparation

Neighbourhood Area Application (Regulation 6)

An area application is made by the qualifying body i.e. town or parish council to us. It is to apply for designation of the boundary of the proposed neighbourhood area to which the Neighbourhood Plan relates.

This stage includes public consultation for at least four weeks (unless the application relates to more than one parish / town area, then the period for representations must be at least six weeks). Any comments you wish to make on the area application must be made to us within the prescribed consultation period.

Pre-submission Consultation (Regulation 14)

This stage consists of a public consultation for a minimum of six weeks on the draft neighbourhood plan. This consultation is run by the qualifying body i.e. the Parish or Town Council. Any comments on the draft neighbourhood plan should be sent to the Parish or Town Council. They may amend the plan in the light of comments received during the consultation before submission to us.

Publication of Neighbourhood Plan (Regulation 16)

This stage consists of a public consultation for a minimum of six weeks on the neighbourhood plan. Any comments on the neighbourhood plan should be sent to us within the prescribed consultation period. The neighbourhood plan and any associated documents including the representations made during this consultation will then be sent to an independent examiner.

Examination of the Neighbourhood Plan

The plan is examined by an independent examiner. During the examination process the examiner will review the comments submitted during the Regulation 16 consultation.The examination process will be determined by the Inspector and may include hearing sessions if necessary. You can only participate in these if you made comments at the Regulation 16 consultation stage and you are invited to do so by the Inspector.

Referendum on the Neighbourhood Plan

Subject to consideration of the findings of the Examiner's Report on the neighbourhood plan a local referendum will be held where eligible voters can decide whether they wish to support the neighbourhood plan. More than half of the voters must vote 'yes' for the plan to be 'made' i.e. adopted by the Council.