Warfield Neighbourhood Plan

The Warfield Neighbourhood Plan forms part of the Development Plan and is used in determining planning applications for Warfield Parish.

The Plan was ‘made’ by Bracknell Forest Council on 21 December 2022:

Read the Warfield Neighbourhood Plan

Process of the Warfield Neighbourhood Plan

1. Designation of Warfield Neighbourhood Area

Warfield Neighbourhood Area was designated by Bracknell Forest Council on 23 July 2014.

Warfield Parish Council applied for the designation of a neighbourhood area in April 2014. A 6-week consultation on the proposal was carried out during April to June 2014.

The relevant documents are:

SEA and HRA screening decision

In some circumstances neighbourhood plans may require environmental assessments in line with European obligations. These environmental assessments are a Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) and a Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA).

Warfield Parish Council provided information on the scope of their neighbourhood plan to Bracknell Forest Council to determine whether a SEA or HRA is required. This is known as ‘screening’.

The council's SEA screening decision concludes that the Warfield Neighbourhood Plan requires an SEA.

Following consultation with Natural England, the council concluded that the Warfield Neighbourhood Plan does not require an Appropriate Assessment.

The screening decisions can be downloaded below:

2. Pre-submission consultation

Warfield Parish Council undertook a pre-submission (Regulation 14) consultation on the draft Warfield Neighbourhood Plan between 18 July 2017 and 8 September 2017.

3. Submission consultation

Warfield Parish Council as the ‘qualifying body’ has prepared a neighbourhood development plan (the Plan) for its parish with the help of the local community.

The Plan sets out objectives for the future of the parish and contains planning policies to guide the development and use of land in the Warfield Neighbourhood Area. The Parish Council submitted its Plan to Bracknell Forest Council on 24 January 2019.

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 10am on Tuesday 5 March and 5pm on Tuesday 16 April 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.

The proposed Warfield Neighbourhood Plan and supporting documents can be accessed through the links below:

• Warfield Neighbourhood Plan
• Warfield Neighbourhood Plan Consultation Statement
• Warfield Neighbourhood Plan Appendix A
• Warfield Neighbourhood Plan Appendix B
• Warfield Neighbourhood Plan Sustainability appraisal
• Warfield Neighbourhood Plan Basic Conditions Statement
• Guide to Basic Conditions

Submission consultation responses

Unsolicited submissions

These do not form part of Examination.

4. Examination

The Warfield Neighbourhood Plan, along with other supporting documents and information, was examined by an independent examiner who submitted their report to the council on Monday 17 January 2022.

The report concluded that, subject to making certain modifications, the Neighbourhood Plan met the Basic Conditions set out in the legislation and that it should proceed to referendum.

The Examiner also recommended that the referendum area be based on the designated Neighbourhood Area.

The Examiner’s report and examination correspondence can be found below.

Focussed consultation responses

A focussed consultation on proposed modifications to the WNP took place between Monday 28 June and Monday 9 August 2021.

All comments received, alongside all previous consultation representations, will be considered by the Examiner.

5. Post Examination Decision Statement

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 Warfield Parish Council, decided to accept the recommended modifications and send the Warfield Neighbourhood Plan to referendum based on the designated Warfield Neighbourhood Area. 

The Decision Statement and Referendum version of the Plan 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.

6. Referendum

At the Warfield Neighbourhood Plan Referendum, held on Thursday 17 November 2022, more than half of the local community of Warfield Parish that voted were in favour of the council using the Warfield Neighbourhood Plan to help decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area.

The referendum on the Warfield Neighbourhood Plan was based on the designated Warfield Parish Neighbourhood Area. The full results can be viewed in the declaration of result of poll.

In line with the Section 38(3A) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended), the Warfield Neighbourhood Plan came into legal force as part of the Development Plan for Warfield Parish, with immediate effect after approval at referendum.

7. Making of the Neighbourhood Plan

A formal decision on the making of the plan (keeping it in legal force) and agreeing the form, content and publication of a decision statement was made by the Executive in December 2022.