Despite the government's commitment to devolution, the recent government spending review has cut funding entirely for communities and local town and parish councils who are either preparing a neighbourhood plan or who might wish to do so. 

 

Neighbourhood planning, introduced in the Localism Act 2011, is the most effective way for communities to influence what happens in terms of planning an land-use in their areas. They carry equal weight to Local Plans, and with approximately 2/3rds of local authorities not having an up-to-date local plan in place, they are often the primary guiding document for local areas beyond the national planning policy framework.

 

The spending cut means that communities can no longer seek grant support or technical support (e.g. to pay for studies and tailored evidence). The process is largely reliant on volunteers and can take approx. 18 months to 2 years to complete a plan.

 

Many groups have now been left with no support and the announcement was made with no warning and with insufficient time for local councils to plan their 2025-2026 budgets accordingly. It has left communities feeling demoralised and disenfranchised.

 

This is in the context of:

 

• the creation of unitary councils, which will see larger authorities at a greater distance from community

• the proposed nationalising of development management policies (e.g. relating to heritage, biodiversity, community facilities, design)

• the removal of planning committees (with locally elected representation) for all but the largest applications (although we’re seeing more of these larger applications being called in centrally).

 

The neighbourhood plan announcement has happened with little fanfare. Many groups are still not aware of it. Equally, some local authorities (LAs) are not sure about what the cuts mean for them. LAs have a statutory duty to support neighbourhood planning - including paying for the examination and referendum. As this is an 'additionally burden' on them, the funding for this comes from central government. It is unclear at the moment whether that funding has also been axed.

 

This is the tip of a much bigger iceberg. Cutting supporting support for neighburhood planning seems completely counter to the devolution agenda and it would appear that the decision  has been made without consideration of the consequences:

​

• Communities and their Town & Parish Councils, with limited budgets, will likely be unable to adequately fund, and provide the technical knowledge, to undertake a Neighbourhood Plan.

• Communities in deprived or rural areas - most in need of shaping local growth - will be disproportionately disadvantaged.

• Developers will gain disproportionate influence, with local policy-making weakened, at precisely the moment that central and regional planning is being streamlined.

​