Community Involvement

Neighbourhood planning empowers communities to shape the development and growth of a local area through the production of a Neighbourhood Plan.

Neighbourhood Plans will become part of the local statutory development plan and will form the basis for determining planning applications in that area. It should be noted that the plan must be in conformity with higher level plans such as a Local Plan or the National Planning Policy Framework.

Neighbourhood planning is not compulsory for local areas; communities volunteer to get involved. In Stevenage, neighbourhood planning will give communities the opportunity to organise themselves into groups that can prepare neighbourhood plans. However, a Neighbourhood Plan isn’t the only option.