Stage | Status |
|---|---|
1. Designation of Neighbourhood Area | Complete |
2. Pre-submission consultation | Complete |
3. Submission consultation | Complete |
4. Examination | Complete |
5. Post Examination Decision Statement | Complete |
6. Referendum | Not started |
7. Making of the Neighbourhood Plan | Not started |
Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Area was designated by Bracknell Forest Council on 11 February 2014.
Bracknell Town Council applied for designation of the neighbourhood plan area in October 2013. A 6-week consultation on the proposal was carried out during November/December 2013.
The relevant documents are:
Whilst sustainability appraisals are not required for neighbourhood planning, it is possible that environmental assessments, in line with European obligations, may be triggered. These environmental assessments are a ‘Strategic Environment Assessment’ (SEA) and a ‘Habitats Regulation Assessment’ (HRA).
Bracknell Town Council provided information in 2018 on their draft Neighbourhood Plan to Bracknell Forest Council to determine whether these environmental assessments were required.
The screening opinion produced by the council was subject to a 5-week consultation with Historic England, Natural England and the Environment Agency.
The screening decision concluded that the Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Plan did not need to be subject to a SEA and did not require an Appropriate Assessment to be undertaken.
The screening decision can be downloaded below:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Plan Screening Decision | 858.3 KB |
Bracknell Town Council undertook a pre-submission (Regulation 14) consultation on the draft Plan between 9 June and 20 August 2018.
Bracknell Town Council, as the ‘qualifying body’, has prepared a Neighbourhood Development Plan (the Plan) for its area with the help of the local community.
The Plan sets out objectives for the future. It contains planning policies to guide the development and use of land in Bracknell Town.
The council held a 6-week public consultation on the proposed Plan in line with Regulation 16 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) between Monday 7 January and Monday 18 February 2019. The consultation has closed.
An independent examiner has been appointed to undertake the examination. All written comments received during the consultation period will be sent to the examiner.
Copies of the proposed Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Plan and supporting documents are still available to view on the consultation portal.
Representation number | Representation name and link |
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Following the close of the submission consultation (Regulation 16), an Examiner was appointed, and the Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Plan and other supporting documents and information were submitted for independent Examination (Regulation 17). The council received the Examiner’s report on 23 April 2020, which is available to view below:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Plan - Examiners report | 622.32 KB |
| Maps referred to in Final Examiner's report | 49.95 MB |
Following an initial assessment of the plan and accompanying documents, the examiner decided to hold a public hearing on Tuesday 14 May 2019 at Bracknell Town Council’s offices, Brooke House, 54 High Street, Bracknell, RG12 1LL.
Following that hearing, the examiner issued ‘Interim Conclusions’ and gave the Town Council 3 options. The Town Council decided to follow option 1. This was to reconfigure the submitted documents.
In response to the Examiner’s ‘Interim Conclusions’ (June 2019), Bracknell Town Council submitted an amended Plan, and Schedule of Changes. The Examiner then issued ‘Further Comments’ (November 2019):
Letter from Bracknell Town Council enclosing amended Plan (October 2019)
Amended Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Plan (Document 1 of 2)
Amended Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Plan (Document 2 of 2)
Amended Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Plan (Schedule of Changes)
Examiner’s Further Comments (November 2019)
BFC letter to Examiner re. consultation arrangements (November 2019)
A focused consultation (for those who commented at the Regulation 16 stage, please see list of respondents below) was held between Monday 18 November and Monday 16 December 2019.
In response to the focused consultation, the following comments were received, which were sent to the Examiner:
Focused Consultation Responses
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| 001 Transport for London | 221.23 KB |
| 002 National grid | 364.66 KB |
| 003 Environment Agency | 227.03 KB |
| 004 National Grid | 251.08 KB |
| 005 Bracknell Forest Council | 172.11 KB |
Following the focused consultation, the Examiner issued ‘Mapping and Document Issues’ (February 2020), which required the Town Council to address some specific requirements before the Examiner could issue their final report:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Examiner’s Mapping and Document Issues (February 2020) | 15.12 MB |
The Examiner recommended that the submitted neighbourhood plan should proceed to a referendum if the modifications put forward within the Examiner’s Report are implemented. The Examiner has not recommended that the referendum area should be extended.
Having considered the recommendations made in the Examiner’s report and the reasons for them, the council, with the consent of Bracknell Town Council, decided to accept the recommended modifications and send the Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Plan to referendum based on the designated Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Area.
The Decision Statement and referendum version of the plan and appendices are available to view below:
Updated government guidance (Planning Practice Guidance) made it clear that where a local planning authority had issued a ‘Decision Statement’ detailing its intention to send a neighbourhood plan to referendum, the policies could be given significant weight in decision-making, so far as they were material to an application.
The local community will be invited to vote on bringing into force the neighbourhood plan. The referendum is currently scheduled for Thursday 9 September 2021.
If the majority of the local community vote in favour of the neighbourhood plan, it is likely to be brought into legal force. It would form part of the Development Plan for Bracknell Forest and used in determining planning applications in Bracknell Town parish.
Further information on the Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Plan can be found on the Bracknell Town Council website.
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