Bentley Neighbourhood Plan
The Bentley Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) has been prepared by the Parish Council and local community and will be used to help guide and shape future development in the parish.
Latest news…
Reg 20 Formal adoption (12 December 2022)
In an ‘out of meeting’ decision taken on Monday 12 December 2022 Babergh District Council have agreed to adopt ('make') the Bentley NDP.
This NDP now forms part of the development plan and will be used to help determine planning applications in the parish unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
- Read the adopted version of the Bentley NDP 2018 - 2037
- Read the adoption Decision Statement
- See the Action out of Meeting request
Previous stages...
Local Referendum (8 December 2022) - majority 'yes' vote
A local referendum was held on 8 December 2022 to decide if the Bentley NDP should become part of the Council's development plan. The count took place the following day.
The question asked was: "Do you want Babergh District Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Bentley to help it decide planning applications in the Neighbourhood Plan Area?"
Reg 18 Exam Report Decision Statement (22 August 2022)
New procedures (agreed in September 2021) mean that a NDP can now advance to a referendum without Cabinet approval where there is no objection to implementing the examiner's recommendations. That applied in this case and the decision was confirmed through publication of the following statement:
Reg 17 Independent Examination (final report 12 August 2022)
Babergh District Council appointed Ann Skippers BSc (Hons) MRTPI FHEA FRSA AoU to carry out an independent examination of the Bentley NDP. The examination was conducted through written correspondence. It included a focused consultation on proposed significant modifications.
On 12 August 2022, the examiner issued her final report. It recommended that, subject to modification, the NDP meets the Basic Conditions and should proceed to a local referendum. Planning Practice Guidance also provides advice on the weight to be attached to this post-examination Plan.
Reg 17 Independent Examination and significant modifications consultation
The examination of this NDP began in late 2021 but was delayed for various reasons. On 15 June 2022, the examiner issued an Interim Findings Note. This responded to a suggestion put forward by the parish council that the housing requirement figure and site allocation in policy BEN 4 be deleted from the Plan. The Interim Note explored the implications of this and set the remit of the focused two-week consultation on proposed significant modifications to the plan. That consultation took place between 12 July and 27 July 2022.
The following documents were relevant to the examination process to date:
- the examination correspondence document, which contains a copy of the Interim Findings Note and a link to the parish councils own briefing note, to which it refers
- the Proposed significant modifications consultation letter (12 July 2022), which set out the remit for the consultation exercise
- the Written Representations on the proposed significant modifications.
The written representations were sent to the examiner and parish council for consideration.
Reg 16 Submission Consultation (24 June - 27 August 2021)
The district council carried out a formal consultation on the submitted NDP to see if it fulfils the Basic Conditions set out in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
The consultation was carried out in accordance with Regulation 16 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012 (as amended). The original consultation period ran from 24 June to 11 August 2021. This was extended by two weeks following publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework on 20 July 2021.
The parish council (the qualifying body) had formally submitted the following documents:
- A map identifying the area to which the proposed NDP relates
- The submission draft Bentley NDP 2018-2037
- A Consultation Statement
- A Basic Conditions Statement
- A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) report
- A list of supporting documents
A full assessment as to whether this NDP fulfils the Basic Conditions will be carried out by the independent examiner. An initial check was carried out to confirm that the relevant requirements had been met at the submission stage. View the Regulation 15 Checklist
Respondents were reminded that their comments would be forwarded to the examiner and, with the exception of personal details, be published on this webpage.
- Read the consultation responses (No's 1 to 13)
- Read the final consultation response (No 14) [Note: This is a large, 26Mb file]
- Read the parish councils' response [This includes a proposal to modify the NDP]
SEA/HRA Screening and Determination (December 2020)
The pre-submission draft NDP was screened to determine whether an SEA and/or a habitats regulations assessment (HRA) were needed. The need for both were 'screened-in'.
A copy of the relevant SEA screening report and determination notice are published below:
An HRA screening report, which includes an appropriate assessment, was prepared in November 2020 and Natural England were consulted on this. In response, they suggested that further work be undertaken. That was completed to their satisfaction and the final HRA screening report and determination notice are published below:
- HRA screening report and appropriate assessment (Place Services, Dec 2020)
- HRA determination notice (Jan 2021)