Agenda item

To agree the report recommending thatthe Ongar NeighbourhoodPlan be‘made’ (adopted)as partof theEpping ForestDistrict’s statutorydevelopment Plan.

Mover: Councillor N Bedford, Place Portfolio Holder

Councillor N Bedford advised that all the details of the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan were contained in the report on page 59 of the agenda

He had asked officers to prepare some questions and answers that he may have been asked or assist in understanding the plan and what implications it might have going forward:

(a)        What weight will the policies in the Ongar Neighbour Plan have once it was made (adopted) by the Council?

Once the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan was ‘made’ by the Council it would form part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, its policies will carry full weight in assessing planning applications where the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan was considered to be a material consideration. This is stated in paragraph 1.2 of the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan itself.

(b)        What happens if a policy or policies contained within the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan conflicted with a policy or policies in the adopted Local Plan (adopted 1998 with alterations 2006)?

The Ongar Neighbourhood Plan had been developed with full regard to the policies contained in the adopted Local Plan. However should a policy conflict arise between the two Plans Section 38(5) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires that the conflict must be resolved in favour of the policy which is contained in the last document to become part of the development plan. This would therefore be the policy or policies in the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan.

(c)        What is the relationship between the policies in the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan’s and the policies in the emerging Local Plan?

There was no legal requirement to examine the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan policies against policies in the emerging Plan. However, as the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan states at section 5.4 ‘Local Strategic Policies’:

‘It is advisable to take account of the emerging Epping Forest Local Plan 2011 to 2033. The evidence behind the emerging local plan was part of the evidence base for the neighbourhood plan (where relevant).’

It goes on to state in the same section that:

‘The Ongar Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group (Ongar Neighbourhood Plan Community Group ONPCG) has worked in liaison with Epping Forest District Council throughout the preparation of the plan to reduce the risk of disparities between the emerging Local Plan and the Neighbourhood Plan.’

(d)            What weight will the policies in the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan (ONP) have if the emerging Local Plan was adopted by the Council in the future?

The Ongar Neighbourhood Plan will sit alongside a newly adopted Local Plan as part of the Development Plan and as such its policies will continue to attract full weight in relation to planning applications where the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan was considered to be a material consideration.

(e)            What happens if a policy or policies contained within the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan conflicted with a newly adopted Local Plan policy or policies?

Section 5.4 ‘Local Strategic Policies’ of the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan states that:

‘The Ongar Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group (Ongar Neighbourhood Plan Community Group ONPCG) has worked in liaison with Epping Forest District Council throughout the preparation of the plan to reduce the risk of disparities between the emerging Local Plan and the Neighbourhood Plan.’

However should a policy conflict arise between the two Plans Section 38(5) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires that the conflict must be resolved in favour of the policy which was contained in the last document to become part of the development plan. This would therefore be the policy or policies contained in any newly adopted Local Plan.

(f)             Will the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan need to change as the emerging Local Plan progresses towards potential adoption, if a new local Plan was adopted?

The Examining Inspector for the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan stated on page 11 of her examination report in relation to the emerging Local Plan that:

‘There are also a number of references throughout the Plan to the emerging local plan. These references will need to be carefully reviewed to ensure theyare up to date and clearly indicate the emerging status of the local plan and may well have to be changed as the Plan progresses to its next stages.’

Report as first moved ADOPTED

RESOLVED:

That the Ongar Neighbourhood Plan was ‘made’ (adopted) as part of the Epping Forest District’s statutory development plan.