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Neighbourhood Plans

Neighbourhood Plans

More than 50 parish councils are involved in neighbourhood planning in Northumberland. Here you will find information about every neighbourhood plan in the County.

Made Neighbourhood Plans

There are currently 30 made neighbourhood plans in the county. These plans have been brought into legal force by the county council. Planning decisions in these parishes must be made in accordance with their policies unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Acklington

Formal 'making' of the Acklington Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Acklington Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' on 12 March 2025 and is part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Parish will need to be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published.

The made version of the Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum A referendum on the Acklington Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 27 February 2025. The declaration of result is set out below:

Following the successful referendum result, the policies within the plan will now be afforded full weight in decision-making. Notice of Referendum The Acklington Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 27 February 2025 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll can be found below:

Referendum The County Council considers that the Plan, as modified, meets the basic conditions as set out in paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and that the Plan complies with provisions made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the Plan may proceed to referendum. The County Council is satisfied that the referendum area shall be the Acklington Neighbourhood Area which comprises the civil parish of Acklington. The Acklington Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on Thursday 27 February 2025. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

These are also available to view at: Northumberland County Council, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. Independent Examination The independent examination of the Acklington Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 22 November 2024.

Publicity of submission draft Plan Acklington Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Acklington Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Acklington Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Monday 8 July 2024 and ending at 5pm on Tuesday 20 August 2024. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

A number of background documents were also submitted alongside the Neighbourhood Plan. These can be accessed below:

Regulation 14 Consultation

Acklington Parish Council are consulting on their draft Neighbourhood Plan from 11 December 2023 to 29 January 2024. The draft Plan and supporting documents may be viewed on the Acklington Neighbourhood Plan website: Documents | Acklington Parish Council (northumberlandparishes.uk)

The draft Plan is a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, although it may be afforded little weight at this stage.

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Acklington Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Acklington as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 7 February 2018. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Acomb

Formal 'making' of the Acomb Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Acomb Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 12 February 2019. Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Acomb neighbourhood area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The final Acomb Neighbourhood Plan and policies map can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum A referendum on the Acomb Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 10 January 2019. The declaration of result is set out below:

Referendum The Acomb Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 10 January 2019 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll (including situation of Polling Stations) can be found below:

Approval for Referendum The Acomb Neighbourhood Plan has successfully been passed by an independent examiner; the Plan will now proceed to a local referendum. It is expected that the Referendum will be held on 10 January 2019. The Specified Documents are available below:

Independent examination The independent examination of the Acomb Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 10 October 2018.

Publicity of submission draft Plan Acomb Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Acomb neighbourhood area, have submitted the Acomb Neighbourhood Plan to the County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Monday 2nd July 2018 until 4pm on Monday 13th August 2018. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Acomb Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Acomb Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Acomb as a 'neighbourhood area' was approved by Northumberland County Council on 17 November 2015 following a period of publicity between 9 October 2015 and 9 November 2015. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Allendale

Neighbourhood Plan Review Allendale Parish Council has taken the decision to review its neighbourhood plan. For further information about this please contact the Parish Council. Details are on their website: Northumberland Association of Local Councils | Allendale Parish Council (northumberlandparishes.uk)

Formal 'making' of Allendale neighbourhood development plan Following the successful referendum, the Allendale neighbourhood development plan was formally 'made' at a full council meeting on 1 July 2015. The period for legal challenge against the referendum results has now lapsed and no challenge was made. Now the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan for Northumberland. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Allendale neighbourhood area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The final Allendale neighbourhood plan and supporting documents are set out below:

The parish council submitted a neighbourhood planning application to make the parish a neighbourhood area in 2012 and this was approved in January 2013.

Consultation on submission plan Allendale Parish Council submitted their proposed plan to Northumberland County Council and this was publicised from 17 October to 28 November 2014. The comments submitted during this publicity period were passed to the person appointed to carry out the independent examination of the proposed plan.

Independent examination This has now been completed and concludes that the plan may proceed to referendum subject to minor modification.

Northumberland County Council has accepted the examination report and the minor notifications to the plan recommended by the examiner. We consider the version of the neighbourhood development plan for referendum meets the basic conditions.

Referendum On Thursday 26 March 2015, a referendum was held to establish the level of community support for the plan. All residents within the parish who are entitled and registered to vote were able to participate. The referendum asked the following question: "Do you want Northumberland County Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Allendale to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?" The majority voted 'yes' and so Northumberland County Council will now make the plan and bring it into force.

You can find out more about the referendum here:

You can review other documents relating to the plan here:

Strategic environmental assessment screening opinion This screening opinion on the Allendale neighbourhood plan is available by clicking here and hard copies are available to view at County Hall, Morpeth, during office hours. Further information of the Allendale neighbourhood development plan can be viewed here.

Alnmouth

Formal 'making' of the Alnmouth Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Alnmouth Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 13 July 2021.

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Alnmouth Neighbourhood Area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The final Alnmouth Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

Result of Referendum

A referendum on the Alnmouth Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 10 June 2021. The declaration of result is set out below:

Declaration of Result

Notice of Referendum The Alnmouth Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 10 June 2021 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll (including situation of Polling Stations) can be found below:

Referendum

The County Council has considered the recommendation made by the independent examiner and has agreed to accept this. This action has been agreed with Alnmouth Parish Council. Considering COVID-19 and updated government regulations the Alnmouth Neighbourhood Plan will now proceed to a local referendum on 10 June 2021. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making.

The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent Examination

The independent examination of the Alnmouth Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 30 December 2020.

Chris Collison was appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft plan. This began on Monday 21 December 2020.

Submission draft Plan

Alnmouth Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Alnmouth Neighbourhood Area, have submitted the Alnmouth Neighbourhood Plan to the County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements.

In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for eight weeks commencing Thursday 22 October 2020 and ending at 5pm on Friday 18 December 2020.

Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Alnmouth Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF.

The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Screening Report Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation. The County Council provided a screening opinion regarding the need for strategic environmental assessment. This concludes that SEA is not required for the Alnmouth Neighbourhood Plan. The final screening report relating to the Alnmouth Neighbourhood Plan is available via the link below:

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Alnmouth Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Alnmouth as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 15 October 2019. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Alnwick & Denwick

Neighbourhood Plan Review

A decision has been taken to review the neighbourhood plan. For further information please contact the qualifying body, Alnwick Town Council. Details are on their website: Neighbourhood Plan - Alnwick Town Council (alnwick-tc.gov.uk) Formal 'making' of the Alnwick and Denwick neighbourhood plan Following the successful referendum, the Alnwick and Denwick neighbourhood plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 27 July 2017. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Alnwick and Denwick neighbourhood area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The final Alnwick and Denwick neighbourhood plan and proposals maps can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum A Referendum on the Alnwick and Denwick Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 15th June 2017. The declaration of results is set out below:

Referendum The Alnwick and Denwick neighbourhood plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 15th June 2017 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Poll can be found below:

Approval for Referendum Alnwick Town Council, together with Denwick Parish Council, has prepared the third neighbourhood plan in the County which has successfully been passed by an independent examiner; the Plan will now proceed to a local referendum. An independent examiner has looked at the Plan and confirmed that it satisfies all legal requirements. The county council considered the recommendations made by the independent examiner and proposed to accept some of the recommendations and to make further modifications to the Plan. The county council notified persons previously consulted about the Plan and those who made representations on the submission version of the Plan. The Referendum version of the Plan and a number of supporting documents are available below:

Post-examination modifications

The county council has considered the recommendations made by the independent examiner and proposes to accept some of the recommendations and to make further modifications to the Plan. The county council is required to notify persons previously consulted about the Plan and those who made representations on the submission version of the Plan. The changes proposed to policies are set out in the notification document below. A revised Proposals Map and Inset Map are also included below.

Independent examination

An independent examination of the Alnwick and Denwick neighbourhood plan has now been completed. The county council will consider the recommendations made by the independent examiner in discussion with the town and parish councils before deciding whether the plan should progress to referendum.

Consultation on submission plan

Alnwick Town Council, in partnership with Denwick Parish Council, submitted their proposed neighbourhood development plan to Northumberland County Council. This was publicised from 9 October 2015 to 23 November 2015. The written comments submitted during that publicity period were passed to the person appointed to carry out the independent examination of the proposed plan. The Submission Draft Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Neighbourhood area application Alnwick Town Council submitted an application for the parishes of Alnwick and Denwick, which was approved in April 2013. Details can be found below:

Belford

Formal 'making' of the Belford Parish Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Belford Parish Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' on 3 April 2024 and is part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Parish will need to be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published.

The made version of the Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

In line with the requirements of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, the Council has prepared a Regulation 16 Adoption Statement for the Neighbourhood Plan.

Result of Referendum

The referendum returned a majority vote in favour of using the Plan to make decisions on planning applications. The declaration of result is set out below:

Referendum The Belford Neighbourhood Plan Referendum is to be held on Thursday 14 March 2024.

Approval for Referendum The County Council considers that the Plan, as modified, meets the basic conditions as set out in paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and that the Plan complies with provisions made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the Plan may proceed to referendum. The county council is satisfied that the referendum area shall be the Belford Neighbourhood Area which comprises the civil parish of Belford. The Belford Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 14 March 2024. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and relevant documents are available below:

Post-examination modifications

The county council has considered the recommendations made by the independent examiner and proposes to accept 13 of these recommended modifications in full for the reasons set out in the examiner's report. However, the County Council considers that a number of recommended modifications are not required in order to meet the basic conditions. The recommendations and our response are set out in the proposed modifications notification document, below. The county council is required to notify persons previously consulted about the Plan and those who made representations on the submission version of the Plan.

Independent Examination

The independent examination of the Belford Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the independent examiner was received on 25 July 2023.

We are considering the recommendations made by the independent examiner in discussion with the Parish Council before deciding whether the plan should progress to referendum.

Click here to view the examiner's report

The publicity period for the Submission Draft Belford Neighbourhood Plan ended on 19 May 2023. Robert Bryan was appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft Plan.

The County Council and Belford Parish Council received a set of questions from the Examiner on 1 June 2023. The questions can be viewed below:

Click here to view the questions from the Examiner (1 June 2023) Click here to view the response from the County Council, 15 June 2023 Click here to view the response from the Qualifying Body, 5 July 2023

Click here to view the representations made on the submission draft plan

Publicity of submission draft Plan

Belford Parish Council has submitted their draft neighbourhood plan to Northumberland County Council's planning department for independent examination.

The county council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements.

In accordance with the regulations, the county council is publicising to publicise the plan and supporting documents and inviting comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Monday 3 April 2023 and ending at 5pm on Friday 19 May 2023.

Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk . The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Belford Neighbourhood Plan - Submission Draft

Belford Neighbourhood Plan Policies Map - Submission Draft

Belford Neighbourhood Plan Policies Map Inset - Submission Draft Belford Neighbourhood Plan Environmental Designations Map Basic Conditions Statement

Consultation Statement

Strategic Environmental Assessment Strategic Environmental Assessment Addendum

Habitats Regulations Assessment

The following evidence base documents are also being made available:

Local Green Space background paper

Valued Landscapes paper Settlement Boundary background paper

Neighbourhood area designation application Following a formal boundary review which was approved by Northumberland County Council and which came into force on 1 April 2021, the parish boundary of Belford has been modified to incorporate the former civil parish of Easington. This new neighbourhood area will replace the area previously approved on 22 September 2015. Belford Parish Council applied to the county council seeking designation of the parish as a new neighbourhood area. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 20 May 2021. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Broomhaugh and Riding

Formal 'making' of the Broomhaugh & Riding Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Broomhaugh & Riding Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' on 16 November 2023 and is part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Parish will need to be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The made version of the Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

Result of Referendum

The Broomhaugh & Riding Neighbourhood Plan was successful at referendum on Thursday 5 October 2023. The declaration of result is set out below:

Notice of Referendum

The Broomhaugh & Riding Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 5 October 2023 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum can be found below:

Referendum

The County Council considers that the Plan, as modified, meets the basic conditions as set out in paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and that the Plan complies with provisions made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the Broomhaugh & Riding Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will proceed to a local referendum on Thursday 5 October 2023. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making.

The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

The Information Statement provides full information for voters.

Independent Examination

The independent examination of the Broomhaugh & Riding Parish Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was received on 23 June 2023.

The publicity period for the Submission Draft Broomhaugh & Riding Neighbourhood Plan ended on 31 May 2023. Christopher Collison was appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft Plan. The examination began on 5 June 2023. The county council and Broomhaugh & Riding Parish Council received a set of questions for clarification from the Independent Examiner on 5 June 2023. The questions and responses can be viewed below:

 

Publicity of submission draft Plan

Broomhaugh & Riding Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Broomhaugh & Riding Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Broomhaugh & Riding Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Thursday 13 April 2023 and ending at 5pm on Wednesday 31 May 2023. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk . The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

The following evidence base documents are also being made available:

Regulation 14 Publicity and Consultation

Broomhaugh & Riding Parish Council has prepared a Neighbourhood Plan, which is currently subject to consultation in accordance with statutory requirements, for the period Tuesday 1 November - Tuesday 13 December 2002. The draft Plan and supporting documents can be viewed on the Broomhaugh and Riding Parish Council website. The draft Neighbourhood Plan is therefore a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, although it may be afforded little weight at this stage.

Designation of Neighbourhood Area

An application by Broomhaugh and Riding Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Broomhaugh and Riding as a Neighbourhood Area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 21 October 2020. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Cramlington

Formal 'making' of the Cramlington Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Cramlington Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 10 March 2020. Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Cramlington Neighbourhood Area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The final Cramlington Neighbourhood Plan and policies map can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

In line with the requirements of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, the Council has prepared a Regulation 16 Adoption Statement for the Cramlington Neighbourhood Plan.

Result of Referendum A referendum on the Cramlington Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 30 January 2020. The declaration of result is set out below:

Notice of Referendum The Cramlington Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 30 January 2020 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll (including situation of Polling Stations) can be found below:

Referendum The County Council has considered each of the recommendations made by the independent examiner and has agreed to accept the recommendations. This action has been agreed with Cramlington Town Council. The Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 30 January 2020. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent Examination The independent examination of the Cramlington Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 16 September 2019. Click here to view the report following Independent Examination:

During the Examination, the County Council and Cramlington Town Council received a letter relating to questions for clarification from the Independent Examiner on 05 August 2019. This letter and the responses can be viewed below:

Representations about Land at West Hartford Representations associated with and in response to the Examiner's questions about Land at West Hartford.

Publicity of submission draft Plan

Cramlington Town Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Cramlington neighbourhood area, have submitted the Cramlington Neighbourhood Plan to the County Council for Independent Examination.

The County Council is satisfied that, following the receipt of an erratum note to the Consultation Statement, the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination.

In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Friday 7 June 2019 and ending at 5pm on Friday 19 July 2019. Hard copies of the documents are available to view at County Hall from 9am - 5pm Monday to Thursday and 9am - 4:30pm on Friday. Hard copies of the documents are also available to view at Cramlington Library (inside Cramlington Leisure Centre), Forum Way, Cramlington, NE23 6YB from 9am - 6pm Monday to Friday and 9:30am - 1pm on Saturday.

Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Cramlington Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF.

The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) screening report Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation. The county council provided a screening opinion regarding the need for strategic environmental assessment. The final screening report relating to the Cramlington neighbourhood plan is available to download via the link below:

Paper copies can be obtained at the county council offices at County Hall, Morpeth, during office hours. Neighbourhood plan The Cramlington neighbourhood plan area was designated in Feburary 2014 after a period of publicity. Details of the neighbourhood area designation application and decision are available below:

Progress with neighbourhood plan preparation

Craster

Formal 'making' of the Craster Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Craster Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 13 July 2021.

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Craster Neighbourhood Area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The final Craster Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

Result of Referendum

A referendum on the Craster Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 10 June 2021. The declaration of result is set out below:

Declaration of Result

Notice of Referendum The Craster Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 10 June 2021 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll (including situation of Polling Stations) can be found below:

Referendum Considering COVID-19 and updated government regulations the Craster Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 10 June 2021. The County Council has considered each of the recommendations made by the independent examiner and has agreed to accept these with the exception of one minor wording change. This concerns a recommendation by the Examiner to include the words 'Throughout the parish of Craster' within the text of the policy. The County Council consider that the policy as worded, and the supporting text as amended, is sufficiently clear in this respect and for this reason, it is not considered necessary to make this minor change to the policy wording to meet the basic conditions. This action has been agreed with Craster Parish Council. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent Examination

The independent examination of the Craster Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 30 October 2020.

The publicity period for the Submission Draft Craster Neighbourhood Plan ended on Friday 2 October 2020. Rosemary Kidd was appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft Plan. The examination commenced in week beginning Monday 12 October 2020.

Submission draft Plan Craster Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Craster Neighbourhood Area, have submitted the Craster Neighbourhood Plan to the County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for eight weeks commencing Thursday 6 August 2020 and ending at 5pm on Friday 2 October 2020. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Craster Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Screening Report Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation. The County Council provided a screening opinion regarding the need for strategic environmental assessment. This concludes that SEA is not required for the Craster Neighbourhood Plan. The final screening report relating to the Craster Neighbourhood Plan is available via the link below:

Designation of neighbourhood area

Following a formal boundary review which was approved by Northumberland County Council and which came into force on 1 April 2021, the parish boundary of Craster has been modified: the boundary change consists of the transfer of a small area of land from Craster Parish to Longhoughton Parish. This new neighbourhood area replaces the area previously approved on 29 January 2019.

Craster Parish Council applied to the County Council seeking designation of the parish as a new neighbourhood area. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 30 June 2021. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Cresswell

Formal 'making' of the Cresswell Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Cresswell Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' on 12 March 2025 and is part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Parish will need to be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published.

The made version of the Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum A referendum on the Cresswell Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 06 March 2025. The declaration of result is set out below:

Following the successful referendum result, the policies within the plan will now be afforded full weight in decision-making.

Notice of Referendum The Cresswell Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 06 March 2025 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll can be found below:

Referendum The County Council considers that the Plan, as modified, meets the basic conditions as set out in paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and that the Plan complies with provisions made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the Plan may proceed to referendum. The County Council is satisfied that the referendum area shall be the Cresswell Neighbourhood Area which comprises the civil parish of Cresswell. The Acklington Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on Thursday 06 March 2025. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent Examination The independent examination of the Cresswell Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 23 October 2024.

The independent examination of the Cresswell Neighbourhood Plan commenced on 19 August 2024.

Publicity of submission draft Plan Cresswell Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Cresswell Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Cresswell Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Tuesday 14 May 2024 and ending at 4pm on Wednesday 26 June 2024. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Regulation 14 Publicity and Consultation Creswell Parish Council has prepared a Neighbourhood Plan, which was consulted upon between 3 August and 14 September 2023. The draft plan and supporting documents can be viewed on the Cresswell Parish Council website: Northumberland Association of Local Councils | Cresswell Parish Council (northumberlandparishes.uk) The draft Neighbourhood Plan is therefore a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, although it may be afforded little weight at this stage. Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Cresswell Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Cresswell as a 'neighbourhood area' was approved by Northumberland County Council on 9 June 2022. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Eglingham

Formal 'making' of the Eglingham Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Eglingham Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' on 6 August 2024 and is part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Parish will need to be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published.

The made version of the Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

In line with the requirements of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, the Council has prepared a Regulation 16 Adoption Statement for the Neighbourhood Plan.

Result of Referendum A referendum on the Eglingham Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 18 July 2024. The declaration of result is set out below:

Notice of Referendum The Eglingham Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 18 July 2024 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll can be found below:

Referendum The County Council considers that the Plan, as modified, meets the basic conditions as set out in paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and that the Plan complies with provisions made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the Plan may proceed to referendum. The County Council is satisfied that the referendum area shall be the Eglingham Neighbourhood Area which comprises the civil parish of Eglingham. The Eglingham Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 18 July 2024. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent Examination The independent examination of the Eglingham Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 23 April 2024.

Publicity of submission draft Plan Eglingham Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Eglingham Neighbourhood Area, has submitted a Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. The county council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection from Monday 5 February 2024 until 5pm on Monday 18 March 2024. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Regulation 14 Publicity and Consultation

Eglingham Parish Council has prepared a Neighbourhood Plan, which wasy subject to consultation in accordance with statutory requirements, for the period Tuesday 25 April - Wednesday 7 June 2023. The draft plan and supporting documents were hosted on the Eglingham Parish Council website: ENP - Reg. 14 Consultation - Eglingham Parish

A pre-submission neighbourhood Plan is a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, although it may be afforded little weight at this stage.

Designation of neighbourhood area

An application by Eglingham Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Eglingham as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 31 May 2019.

Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

 

Embleton

Formal 'making' of the Embleton Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Embleton Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 13 July 2021.

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Embleton Neighbourhood Area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

 

A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The Embleton Neighbourhood Plan and policies maps can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

In line with the requirements of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, the Council has prepared a Regulation 16 Adoption Statement for the Embleton Neighbourhood Plan.

Click here to access the SEA Adoption Statement

Result of Referendum

A referendum on the Embleton Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 10 June 2021. The declaration of result is set out below:

Declaration of Result

Notice of Referendum The Embleton Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 10 June 2021 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll (including situation of Polling Stations) can be found below:

Referendum Considering COVID-19 and updated government regulations the Embleton Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 10 June 2021. The County Council has considered each of the recommendations made by the independent examiner and has agreed to accept these with the exception of a minor change to Policy 1 which is required to ensure that, having regard to paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework, it is appropriate to make the Plan. This action has been agreed with Embleton Parish Council. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making.The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent Examination The independent examination of the Embleton Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 18 March 2020. Click here to view the report following Independent Examination

The publicity period for the Submission Draft Embleton Neighbourhood Plan ended on Friday 31 January 2020. Chris Collison has been appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft Plan. This began on Monday 17 February 2020.

The County Council and Embleton Parish Council received a letter relating to questions for clarification from the Independent Examiner on 4 March 2020. This letter and the responses can be viewed below:

Publicity of submission draft Plan Embleton Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Embleton Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Embleton Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Since the commencement of the original consultation, modification has been made to the Habitats Regulations Assessment. A revised version of the Habitats Regulations Assessment is now available to view below. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. Having regard to the requirements of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, the Council is extending the publicity period until 5pm on Friday 31 January 2020. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection during this period. Any person or organisation wishing to comment on the Plan or supporting documents must submit their written representations by 5pm on Friday 31 January 2020. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Embleton Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) screening Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring that the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation. The county council is required to provide a screening opinion to establish whether strategic environmental assessment is required for neighbourhood plans. The final screening report relating to the Embleton Neighbourhood Plan is available to download via the link below:

Neighbourhood area designation application Embleton Parish Council applied to Northumberland County Council to designate the civil parish of Embleton as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood development plan. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 24 July 2017. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Hauxley

Formal 'making' of the Hauxley Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Hauxley Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' on 18 September 2024 and is part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Parish will need to be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published.

The made version of the Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum A referendum on the Hauxley Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 29 August 2024. The declaration of result is set out below:

Notice of Referendum The Hauxley Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 29 August 2024 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum can be found below:

Referendum The County Council considers that the Plan, as modified, meets the basic conditions as set out in paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and that the Plan complies with provisions made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the Plan may proceed to referendum. The County Council is satisfied that the referendum area shall be the Hauxley Neighbourhood Area which comprises the civil parish of Hauxley. The Hauxley Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on Thursday 29 August 2024. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent Examination The independent examination of the Hauxley Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was received on 14 May 2024.

The independent examination of the Hauxley Neighbourhood Plan formally began on 08 April 2024. This was confirmed in an initial letter from the Examiner to Northumberland County Council and Hauxley Parish Council. The letter is available below:

The publicity period for the Submission Draft Hauxley Neighbourhood Plan ended on 18 March 2024. Christopher Collison has been appointed to carry out the Independent Examination of the draft Plan.

Publicity of submission draft Plan Hauxley Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Hauxley Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Hauxley Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. The county council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Monday 5 February and ending at 4pm on Monday 18 March 2024. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Regulation 14 Publicity and Consultation

Hauxley Parish Council has prepared a Neighbourhood Plan. The Parish Council consulted on this draft plan in April - May 2023. The draft Plan and supporting documents can be viewed on the Hauxley Parish Council website.

The draft Neighbourhood Plan is therefore a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, although it may be afforded little weight at this stage.

Designation of neighbourhood area Following a formal boundary review which was approved by Northumberland County Council and which came into force on 1 April 2021, the parish boundary of Hauxley has been modified: the boundary change consists of the transfer of a small area of land from Hauxley Parish to Amble Parish. This new neighbourhood area replaces the area previously approved on 25 March 2019. Hauxley Parish Council applied to the County Council seeking designation of the parish as a new neighbourhood area. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 12 October 2021. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Haydon

Formal 'making' of the Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 21 September 2022.

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Haydon Neighbourhood Area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

Decision Statement

The final Haydon Neighbourhood Plan and policies maps can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan - Made Version Haydon Parish Design Code

Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan - Made Version Policies Map

Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan - Made Version Policies Map Inset

Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan - Made Version Green Infrastructure Map

Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan - Made Version Conservation Area Assets Map

Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan - Made Version Community Facilities Map

Result of Referendum

The Haydon Neighbourhood Plan was successful at referendum on Thursday 30 June 2022. The declaration of result is set out below:

Notice of Referendum The Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 30 June 2022 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum can be found below:

Referendum

The County Council has considered each of the recommendations made by the independent examiner and has agreed to accept these. This action has been agreed with Haydon Parish Council and the Northumberland National Park Authority. The Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 30 June 2022. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making.

The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

The Information Statement provides full information for voters.

Independent Examination

The independent examination of the Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was received on 11 March 2022.

Click here to view the report following Independent Examination.

The publicity period for the Submission Draft Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan ended on 12 January 2022. Tony Burton was appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft Plan. The examination began on 4 February 2022.

The County Council, Northumberland National Park Authority, and Haydon Parish Council received a set of questions for clarification from the Independent Examiner on 4 February 2022. The questions and responses can be viewed below:

The County Council, Northumberland National Park Authority, and Haydon Parish Council received further questions from the Independent Examiner on 11 February 2022. The questions and responses can be viewed below:

A schedule of all representations received during the Regulation 16 publicity period can be viewed below:

Publicity of submission draft Plan Haydon Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Haydon Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for eight weeks commencing Wednesday 17 November 2021 and ending at 5pm on Wednesday 12 January 2022. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk . The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

The following evidence base documents are also being made available:

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Haydon Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Haydon as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 8 June 2018. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

The proposed neighbourhood area crosses the administrative boundaries of Northumberland County Council and the Northumberland National Park Authority. For this reason, an application has also been made by the parish council to the Park Authority for the neighbourhood area to be designated. The Park Authority has agreed that the County Council will be the lead authority to handle neighbourhood planning in Haydon Parish.

Hexham

Formal 'making' of the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 13 July 2021.

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Hexham Neighbourhood Area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The final Hexham Neighbourhood Plan and policies map can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

In line with the requirements of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, the Council has prepared a Regulation 16 Adoption Statement for the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan.

Click here to access the SEA Adoption Statement

Result of Referendum A referendum on the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 6 May 2021. The declaration of result is set out below:

Notice of Referendum

The Hexham Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 6 May 2021 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll (including situation of Polling Stations) can be found below:

Referendum Considering COVID-19 and updated government regulations the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 6 May 2021. The County Council has considered each of the recommendations made by the independent examiner and has agreed to accept the recommendations. This action has been agreed with Hexham Town Council. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent Examination The independent examination of the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 14th January 2020. Click here to view the examiner's report

Consultation on second addendum to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Environmental Report

In May 2019, Northumberland County Council publicised the Regulation 16 Submission version of the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan. The Plan was supported by an SEA Environmental Report (September 2018) and Addendum (February 2019). A further addendum to that report has now been produced (October 2019), taking account of concerns raised with the original Environmental Report. The examination of the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan was paused at the request of Hexham Town Council to allow time to clarify questions raised by the Independent Examiner, including concerns raised on the SEA process. The purpose of this consultation is to seek the views of statutory and public consultees on the Environmental Report, Second Addendum, October 2019, only, as set out in Regulation 13(2) of the SEA Regulations 2004. Any person or organisation may comment on the Second Addendum, Oct 2019. The relevant documents are available to view below:

Comments can be made either by e-mail to neighbourhoodplanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to Hexham Neighbourhood Plan SEA, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, NE61 2EF by 5pm on Friday 15 November 2019, which is 21 days from the start of this consultation.

Publicity of submission draft Plan

Hexham Town Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Hexham neighbourhood area, have submitted the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. Northumberland County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to Independent Examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Monday 13 May 2019 until 4pm on Monday 24 June 2019. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Hexham Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) screening The purpose of a HRA is to assess possible effects of the plan or policy on the nature conservation interests of sites designated under the Habitats and Wild Birds Directives. The integration of the HRA process as part of the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan is fundamental to the plan making process as policies in the plan can potentially affect designated sites. As the 'competent authority' under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, the county council is required to assess its policies and plans through the Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) process. The final screening opinion is available below:

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) screening Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation. The county council is required to provide a screening opinion to establish whether strategic environmental assessment is required for neighbourhood plans. The final screening report relating to the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan is available below:

Neighbourhood Area designation application Hexham Town Council applied to designate the civil parish of Hexham as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood plan. The application was approved on 22 April 2015 following a period of publicity between 9 January and 20 February 2015. Details of this application can be found below:

Further information on the Hexham neighbourhood plan can be found via the Hexham neighbourhood plan website.

Humshaugh

Formal 'making' of the Humshaugh Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Humshaugh Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' on 12 March 2025 and is part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Parish will need to be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published.

The made version of the Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Referendum Result

The Humshaugh Neighbourhood Plan was successful at referendum on Thursday 23 January 2025. The declaration of result is set out below:

The Plan now carries full weight in decision making. Referendum The County Council considers that the Plan, as modified, meets the basic conditions as set out in paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and that the Plan complies with provisions made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the Plan may proceed to referendum. The County Council is satisfied that the referendum area shall be the Humshaugh Neighbourhood Area which comprises the civil parish of Humshaugh. The Humshaugh Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will proceed to a local referendum on Thursday 23 January 2025. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Information for voters can be found in the Referendum Information Statement Notice of Referendum Notice of Poll Independent Examination The independent examination of the Humshaugh Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 30 August 2024.

The independent examination of the Humshaugh Neighbourhood Plan formally began on 4 July 2024. This was confirmed in an initial email from the Examiner to Northumberland County Council and Humshaugh Parish Council. The email is available below:

The publicity period for the Submission Draft Humshaugh Neighbourhood Plan ended on 25 June. Tony Burton has been appointed to carry out the Independent Examination of the Plan.

Publicity of submission draft Plan

Humshaugh Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Humshaugh Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Humshaugh Neighbourhood Plan to the County Council for Independent Examination.

The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination.

In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents are available for public inspection for six weeks commencing on Monday 13 May 2024 and ending at 5pm on Tuesday 25 June 2024.

Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Please email NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or write to: Humshaugh Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Regulation 14 Publicity and Consultation

Humshaugh Parish Council are consulting on their draft Neighbourhood Plan from 7 December 2023 to 25 January 2024.

The draft Plan and supporting documents may be viewed on the Humshaugh Neighbourhood Plan website: Documents - Humshaugh Neighbourhood Plan

The draft Neighbourhood Plan is a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, although it may be afforded little weight at this stage.

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Humshaugh Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Humshaugh as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 17 March 2022. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

The proposed neighbourhood area crosses the administrative boundaries of Northumberland County Council and the Northumberland National Park Authority. For this reason, an application has also been made by the parish council to the Park Authority for the neighbourhood area to be designated. The Park Authority has agreed that the County Council will be the lead authority to handle neighbourhood planning in Humshaugh Parish.

Lesbury

Formal 'making' of the Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 13 July 2021.

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Lesbury Neighbourhood Area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan and policies maps can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

In line with the requirements of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, the Council has prepared a Regulation 16 Adoption Statement for the Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan.

Click here to access the SEA Adoption Statement

Result of Referendum

A referendum on the Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 10 June 2021. The declaration of result is set out below:

Declaration of Result

Notice of Referendum The Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 10 June 2021 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll (including situation of Polling Stations) can be found below:

Referendum Considering COVID-19 and updated government regulations the Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 10 June 2021. The County Council has considered each of the recommendations made by the independent examiner and has agreed to accept these. This action has been agreed with Lesbury Parish Council. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent Examination The independent examination of the Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was received on 23 June 2020. The Council will consider each of the recommendations and confirm the action it intends to take in due course. Click here to view the report following Independent Examination

The publicity period for the Submission Draft Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan ended on Monday 10 February 2020. Terry Heselton has been appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft Plan. This started on Monday 23 March 2020.

During the Examination, the County Council and Lesbury Parish Council received an update to the examination and questions for clarification from the Independent Examiner on 8th April 2020. This update, the clarification questions and the combined response from the County Council and the Parish Council can be viewed below:

Publicity of submission draft Plan Lesbury Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Lesbury Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Since the commencement of the original consultation, modification has been made to the Habitats Regulations Assessment. A revised version of the Habitats Regulations Assessment is now available to view below. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. Having regard to the requirements of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, the Council is extending the publicity period until 5pm on Monday 10 February 2020. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection during this period. Any person or organisation wishing to comment on the Plan or supporting documents must submit their written representations by 5pm on Monday 10 February 2020. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Neighbourhood area designation application Lesbury Parish Council applied to Northumberland County Council to designate the civil parish of Lesbury as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood development plan. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 24 July 2017. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Longframlington

Formal 'making' of the Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 8 March 2022. Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Longframlington Neighbourhood Area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The 'made' Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

Result of Referendum A referendum on the Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 20 January 2022. The declaration of result is set out below:

Notice of Referendum The Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 20 January 2022 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll (including situation of polling stations) can be found below:

Referendum The County Council has considered each of the recommendations made by the independent examiner and has agreed to accept these. This action has been agreed with Longframlington Parish Council. The Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on Thursday 20 January 2022. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent examination The independent examination of the Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 19 October 2021.

A formal response to the independent examiner's questions on behalf of Northumberland County Council and Longframlington Parish Council has been published. This can be viewed below:

The independent examiner has requested that the following procedural note and a set of questions for the County Council and Qualifying Body from the examiner be published. These can be viewed below:

At the request of the independent examiner, a schedule of all representations received during the Regulation 16 publicity period can be viewed below:

Publicity of submission draft Plan Longframlington Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Longframlington Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for eight weeks commencing Tuesday 6 July 2021 and ending at 5pm on Tuesday 31 August 2021. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk . The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

The following evidence base documents are also being made available:

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Screening Report Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation. The County Council provided a screening opinion regarding the need for strategic environmental assessment. This concludes that SEA is not required for the Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan. The final screening report relating to the Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan is available via the link below:

Designation of neighbourhood area

An application by Longframlington Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Longframlington as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 11 March 2019.

Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Longhorsley

Formal 'making' of the Longhorsley Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Longhorsley Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 09 October 2018. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Longhorsley neighbourhood area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The final Longhorsley neighbourhood plan and policies map can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum A Referendum on the Longhorsley Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 23 August 2018. The declaration of results is set out below:

Referendum The Longhorsley Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 23 August 2018 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll can be found below:

Approval for Referendum The Longhorsley Neighbourhood Plan has successfully been passed by an independent examiner; the Plan will now proceed to a local referendum. Northumberland County Council considers that this Plan meets the necessary legal requirements. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent examination

The independent examination of the Longhorsley Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 02 May 2018.

During the Examination, the County Council received letters relating to procedural matters from the Independent Examiner on 09 March 2018 and 14 March 2018 respectively. These letters can be viewed below:

Publicity of submission draft Plan Longhorsley Parish Council, as a qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Longhorsley neighbourhood area, have submitted the Longhorsley neighbourhood plan to the county council for independent examination. The county council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the county council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for eight weeks commencing Friday 22 December 2017 until 4pm on Friday 16 February 2018. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Longhorsley Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) screening report Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring that the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation. The county council is required to provide a screening opinion to establish whether strategic environmental assessment is required for neighbourhood plans. The final screening report relating to the Longhorsley Neighbourhood Plan is available to download via the link below:

Area designation Longhorsley Parish Council's application was approved on 30 September 2014 and details can be found below:

Lowick

Formal 'making' of the Lowick Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Lowick Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' on 16 November 2023 and is part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Parish will need to be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The made version of the Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

Result of Referendum The Lowick Neighbourhood Plan was successful at referendum on Thursday 28 September 2023. The declaration of result is set out below:

Notice of Referendum The Lowick Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 28 September 2023 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum can be found below:

Referendum The County Council considers that the Plan, as modified, meets the basic conditions as set out in paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and that the Plan complies with provisions made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the Plan may proceed to referendum. The County Council is satisfied that the referendum area shall be the Lowick Neighbourhood Area which comprises the civil parish of Lowick. The Lowick Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 28 September 2023. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

 

Post-examination modifications

The county council has considered the recommendations made by the independent examiner and proposes to accept all but three of the recommendations.

The county council is required to notify persons previously consulted about the Plan and those who made representations on the submission version of the Plan. The changes proposed to policies are set out in the notification document below.

Independent Examination The independent examination of the Lowick Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was received on 26 January 2023. Click here to view the report following Independent Examination. The publicity period for the Submission Draft Haydon Parish Neighbourhood Plan ended on 22 December 2022. Christopher Collison was appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft Plan. A schedule of all representations received during the Regulation 16 publicity period can be viewed below:

Publicity of submission draft Plan Lowick Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Lowick Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Lowick Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. The county council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Wednesday 9 November 2022 and ending at 4pm on Thursday 22 December 2022. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Neighbourhood area designation application Lowick Parish Council applied to Northumberland County Council to designate the civil parish of Lowick as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood development plan. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 19 June 2015 following a period of publicity between 15 May 2015 and 12 June 2015. Details of this application can be found below:

Morpeth

Neighbourhood Plan Review A decision has been taken to review the neighbourhood plan. For further information please contact the qualifying body, Morpeth Town Council. Details are on their website: Morpeth Town Council (morpeth-tc.gov.uk) Formal 'making' of the Morpeth neighbourhood plan Following the successful referendum, the Morpeth neighbourhood plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 10 May 2016. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and has been brought into legal force has now been published, which can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

Now the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Morpeth neighbourhood area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The final Morpeth neighbourhood plan and proposals maps can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of referendum A referendum on the Morpeth neighbourhood plan was held on Thursday 25 February 2016. The declaration of results is set out below:

Neighbourhood plan Morpeth Town Council, in partnership with the neighbouring parish councils of Hebron, Hepscott, Mitford and Pegswood, has prepared a neighbourhood development plan. Their proposed plan was submitted to us in 2015 and an independent examination was subsequently carried out. The plan will now proceed to a local referendum. Further information is provided below. Approval for referendum

An independent examiner has looked at the plan and confirmed that it satisfies all legal requirements. Amendments have been made to the plan in line with the recommendations of the examiner. The plan will now proceed to local referendum, which will take place on Thursday 25 February 2016. The referendum version of the plan and a number of supporting documents are available to view below:

Independent examination The independent examination of the Morpeth neighbourhood development plan has now been completed. The examination report was published on 29 September 2015 and is available via the link below:

Consultation on submission plan Morpeth Town Council, in partnership with Hebron, Hepscott, Mitford and Pegswood parish councils, submitted their proposed plan to Northumberland County Council and this was publicised from 19 June 2015 to 3 August 2015. The written comments submitted during this publicity period were passed to the person appointed to carry out the independent examination of the proposed plan. To view the submission version of the plan, click on the link below:

Neighbourhood area application Following a formal boundary review which was approved by Northumberland County Council and which came into force on 1 April 2024, the parish boundaries of Hebron, Hepscott and Morpeth have been modified. Firstly, the order alters the area of the parish of Hebron and transfers the area to the parish to Morpeth. Secondly, the order alters the area of the parish of Morpeth and transfers the area to the parish of Hebron.Thirdly, the order alters the area of the parish of Hepscott and transfers the area to the parish of Morpeth and Morpeth Stobhill ward of that parish. This change does not affect the overall neighbourhood area but a new map has been produced to show the extent of the individual parishes:

The Morpeth neighbourhood area was designated on 28 June 2013. All the details relating to this designation can be found below.

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation. Northumberland County Council is required to provide a screening opinion to establish whether strategic environmental assessment is required for neighbourhood plans. This screening opinion on the Morpeth neighbourhood plan is available by clicking on the link below:

Hard copies are also available to view at County Hall, Morpeth, during office hours.

Morpeth neighbourhood plan website Further information on the Morpeth neighbourhood development plan can be found on the Morpeth neighbourhood plan website.

Newbiggin-by-the-Sea

Formal 'making' of the Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' on 15 December 2023 and is part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Parish will need to be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The made version of the Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

In line with the requirements of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, the Council has prepared a Regulation 16 Adoption Statement for the Neighbourhood Plan.

Result of Referendum

The Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Neighbourhood Plan was successful at referendum. The declaration of result is set out below:

Notice of Referendum

The Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 23 November 2023 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum can be found below:

Referendum

The county council considers that the Plan, as modified, meets the basic conditions as set out in paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and that the Plan complies with provisions made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the Plan may proceed to referendum. The county council is satisfied that the referendum area shall be the Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Neighbourhood Area which comprises the civil parish of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. The Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 23 November 2023. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Post-examination modifications

The independent examination of the Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the independent examiner was received on 26 June 2023.

The county council has considered the recommendations made by the independent examiner and proposes to accept all but one of the recommendations.

The county council is required to notify persons previously consulted about the Plan and those who made representations on the submission version of the Plan. The changes proposed to policies are set out in the notification document below.

Independent Examination The publicity period for the Submission Draft Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Neighbourhood Plan ended on 31 March 2023. Nigel McGurk was appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft Plan. The examination began on 4 May 2023. The county council and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Town Council received a set of questions for clarification from the Independent Examiner on 4 May 2023. The questions and responses can be viewed below:

Publicity of submission draft Plan

Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Town Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination.

The county council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination.

In accordance with the regulations, the county council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Thursday 16 February 2023 and ending at 5pm on Friday 31 March 2023. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk . The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

The following evidence base documents are also being made available:

 

Regulation 14 Publicity and Consultation

Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Town Council has prepared a Neighbourhood Plan. The Town Council consulted on this draft plan in June-August 2022. The draft Plan and supporting documents can be viewed on the Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Town Council website.

The draft Neighbourhood Plan is therefore a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, although it may be afforded little weight at this stage.

 

Designation of neighbourhood area

An application by Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Town Council to designate the civil parish of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 7 February 2018.

Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

North Northumberland Coast

Formal 'making' of the North Northumberland Coast neighbourhood plan Following the successful referendum, the North Northumberland Coast neighbourhood plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 10 July 2018. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the North Northumberland Coastal Area neighbourhood area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The final North Northumberland Coast neighbourhood plan and policies maps can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum A Referendum on the North Northumberland Coast Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 24 May 2018. The declaration of results is set out below:

Referendum The North Northumberland Coast neighbourhood plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 24 May 2018 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll can be found below:

Approval for Referendum The North Northumberland Coast Neighbourhood Plan has successfully been passed by an independent examiner; the Plan will now proceed to a local referendum. Northumberland County Council considers that this Plan meets the necessary legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to local referendum, which will take place on Thursday 24 May 2018. The Referendum version of the Plan and all specified documents are available below:

Hard copies of all of the above specified documents are also available for inspection at:

  • Northumberland County Council, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF, between the hours of 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Thursday; and 8.30am to 4.30pm on Friday;
  • The Hub, Seahouses Sports and Community Centre, Stone Close, Seahouses, Northumberland, NE68 7YL.

Independent Examination The independent examination of the North Northumberland Coast Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 22 February 2018.

During the Independent Examination, the County Council and Qualifying Body had correspondence with the Independent Examiner in response to requests for clarification of some matters and confirmation of administrative procedures. This information is included below:

Publicity of submission draft Plan North Sunderland Parish Council, as a qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the North Northumberland Coastal Area neighbourhood area, submitted the North Northumberland Coast neighbourhood plan to the county council for independent examination in November 2017. In accordance with the regulations, the county council was required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents were available for public inspection for eight weeks between Wednesday 20 December and 4pm on Friday 09 February 2018. The Submission Draft Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Background documents supporting the Plan can be accessed via the following external link: http://www.seahouses.org/neighbourhood-plan/

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) screening report Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring that the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation. The county council is required to provide a screening opinion to establish whether strategic environmental assessment is required for neighbourhood plans. The final screening report is available below:

Neighbourhood Area designation application North Sunderland Parish Council, in partnership with the parishes of Beadnell and Bamburgh applied for the North Northumberland coastal area to be designated as a neighbourhood area. All details on this application can be found below:

Ponteland

Formal 'making' of the Ponteland neighbourhood plan Following the successful referendum, the Ponteland neighbourhood plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 23 November 2017. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Ponteland neighbourhood area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The final Ponteland neighbourhood plan and proposals maps can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum A Referendum on the Ponteland Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 28th September 2017. The declaration of results is set out below:

Referendum The Ponteland neighbourhood plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 28th September 2017 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll can be found below:

Approval for Referendum The Ponteland Neighbourhood Plan has successfully been passed by an independent examiner; the Plan will now proceed to a local referendum. An independent examiner has looked at the Plan and confirmed that it satisfies all legal requirements. The county council considered the recommendations made by the independent examiner and accepted all of the proposed modifications recommended by the examiner. Northumberland County Council considers that this Plan meets the necessary legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to local referendum, which will take place on the 28th September 2017. Further details regarding the forthcoming referendum will be published in due course. The Referendum version of the Plan and a number of supporting documents are available below:

Independent examination An independent examination of the Ponteland neighbourhood plan has now been completed. The county council will consider the recommendations made by the independent examiner in discussion with the town council before deciding whether the plan should progress to referendum.

Publicity of submission draft Plan Ponteland Town Council, as a qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Ponteland neighbourhood area, have submitted the Ponteland neighbourhood plan to the county council for independent examination. The county council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the county council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Friday 21 April until 4pm on Monday 5 June 2017. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Ponteland Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Neighbourhood area designation An application for the designation of a neighbourhood area was submitted by Ponteland Town Council. This was subsequently approved by the county council in June 2013. All details can be found below:

Seaton Valley

Formal 'making' of the Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 7 September 2021.

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

Decision Statement

The made versions of the Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Plan and policies maps can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum

The referendum held in the Parish of Seaton Valley on 29 July 2021 returned a majority vote in favour of using the Plan to make decisions on planning applications. The declaration of result is set out below:

Declaration of Result

Notice of Referendum

The Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 29 July 2021 between 7am and 10pm.

Notice of Referendum Notice of Poll (including situation of Polling Stations)

Referendum The County Council has considered each of the recommendations made by the independent examiner and has agreed to accept these. This action has been agreed with Seaton Valley Parish Council. The Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on Thursday 29 July 2021. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making.

The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Plan - Referendum Version

Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Plan Policies Map - Referendum Version Seaton Sluice Inset Map - Referendum Version

New Hartley Inset Map - Referendum Version

Seghill Inset Map - Referendum Version

Seaton Delaval and Holywell Inset Map - Referendum Version

Regulation 18 Decision Statement

Summary of Regulation 16 Representations Referendum Information Statement

Independent Examination

The independent examination of the Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 5 May 2021.

Click here to view the Examiner's Report

The publicity period for the Submission Draft Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Plan ended on Wednesday 31 March 2021. Tim Jones was appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft Plan.

Submission draft Plan

Seaton Valley Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Plan to the County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements.

In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for eight weeks commencing Tuesday 2 February 2021 and ending at 5pm on Wednesday 31 March 2021.

Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF.

The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Neighbourhood Area designation application Following a formal boundary review which was approved by Northumberland County Council and which came into force on 28 January 2020, the parish boundary of Seaton Valley has been modified: the boundary change incorporates a small area of land from Blyth Parish to Seaton Valley Parish; and transfers a small area of land from Seaton Valley Parish into Blyth Parish. This new neighbourhood area replaces the area previously approved on 15 October 2015. Seaton Valley Parish Council applied to the County Council seeking designation of the parish as a new neighbourhood area. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 08 June 2021. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Seaton Valley Neighbourhood Area designation application Seaton Valley Belford Neighbourhood Area designation decision report

Stannington

Formal 'making' of the Stannington Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Stannington Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 11 September 2018. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Stannington neighbourhood area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The final Stannington neighbourhood plan and policies map can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum A Referendum on the Stannington Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 19 July 2018. The declaration of results is set out below:

Referendum The Stannington Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 19 July 2018 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum can be found below:

Approval for Referendum The Stannington Neighbourhood Plan has successfully been passed by an independent examiner; the Plan will now proceed to a local referendum. Northumberland County Council considers that this Plan meets the necessary legal requirements. The Referendum version of the Plan and all specified documents are available below:

Independent examination

The independent examination of the Stannington Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 24 April 2018.

During the Examination, the County Council received a letter relating to procedural matters from the Independent Examiner on 12 March 2018. This letter can be viewed below:

Publicity of submission draft Plan Stannington Parish Council, as a qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Stannington neighbourhood area, have submitted the Stannington neighbourhood plan to the county council for independent examination. The county council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the county council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for eight weeks commencing Wednesday 20 December until 4pm on Friday 09 February 2018. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Stannington Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Screening Report Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation.

The county council is required to provide a screening opinion to establish whether strategic environmental assessment is required for neighbourhood plans. The final screening report relating to the Stannington neighbourhood plan is available to download via the link below:

Neighbourhood Plan Stannington Parish Council submitted an application to designate the civil parish of Stannington as a neighbourhood area in September 2013 and was approved by Northumberland County Council in November 2013. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Further information on the Stannington parish neighbourhood plan can be found here.

Thirston

Formal 'making' of the Thirston Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Thirston Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 12 October 2021. Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Thirston Neighbourhood Area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

The final Thirston Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

In line with the requirements of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, the Council has prepared a Regulation 16 Adoption Statement for the Thirston Neighbourhood Plan. This is available via the link below:

Result of Referendum

The referendum held in the Parish of Thirston on 16 September 2021 returned a majority vote in favour of using the Plan to make decisions on planning applications. The declaration of result is set out below:

Declaration of Result

Notice of Referendum The Thirston Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 16 September 2021 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll, including the situation of polling stations, can be found below:

Referendum The County Council has considered each of the recommendations made by the independent examiner and has agreed to accept these. This action has been agreed with Thirston Parish Council. The Thirston Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on Thursday 16 September 2021. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Approval for Referendum Following the outcome of the independent examination of the Thirston Neighbourhood Plan, Northumberland County Council confirms that the Plan may proceed to Referendum. Further details regarding the Referendum will be published in due course. The Council's Regulation 18 Decision Statement and Approval for Referendum Report can be found below.

Independent Examination The independent examination of the Thirston Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 18 June 2021.

The publicity period for the Submission Draft Thirston Neighbourhood Plan ended on Monday 24 May 2021. Christopher Collison was appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft Plan. The examination began on Tuesday 25 May 2021.

A letter from the Independent Examiner seeking clarification on a number of questions was received by the County Council and Thirston Parish Council on 08 June 2021. The Independent Examiner's letter, together with the County Council and Parish Council's joint response to that letter, can be viewed below:

Submission Draft Plan Thirston Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Thirston Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Thirston Neighbourhood Plan to the County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for eight weeks commencing Monday 29 March 2021 and ending at 5pm on Monday 24 May 2021. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Thirston Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Neighbourhood area designation application Thirston Parish Council applied to Northumberland County Council to designate the civil parish of Thirston as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood development plan. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 02 January 2018. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Warkworth

Formal 'making' of the Warkworth Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Warkworth Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' on 6 August 2024 and is part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Parish will need to be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published.

The made version of the Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum A referendum on the Warkworth Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 11 July 2024. The declaration of result is set out below:

Notice of Referendum The Warkworth Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 11 July 2024 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll can be found below:

Referendum The County Council considers that the Plan, as modified, meets the basic conditions as set out in paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and that the Plan complies with provisions made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the Plan may proceed to referendum. The County Council is satisfied that the referendum area shall be the Warkworth Neighbourhood Area which comprises the civil parish of Warkworth. The Warkworth Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 11 July 2024. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent Examination The independent examination of the Warkworth Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 03 April 2024.

Independent Examination The County Council and Warkworth Parish Council received a set of questions for clarification from the Independent Examiner on 27 February 2024. The questions and responses can be viewed below:

A schedule of all representations received during the Regulation 16 publicity period can be viewed below:

 

Publicity of submission draft Plan Warkworth Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Warkworth Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Warkworth Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. The county council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection from Friday 22 December 2023 until 4pm on Wednesday 14 February 2024. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Regulation 14 Publicity and Consultation Warkworth Parish Council has prepared a Neighbourhood Plan, which is currently subject to consultation in accordance with statutory requirements, for the period Monday 21 November 2022 to Monday 9 January 2023. The draft Plan and supporting documents can be viewed on Warkworth Parish Council's Neighbourhood Plan website. The draft Neighbourhood Plan is therefore a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, although it may be afforded little weight at this stage. Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Warkworth Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Warkworth as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 21 February 2020. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Whittington

Formal 'making' of the Whittington Neighbourhood Plan Following the successful referendum, the Whittington Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 13 November 2018. A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Whittington neighbourhood area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The final Whittington neighbourhood plan and policies map can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Result of Referendum A Referendum on the Whittington Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 04 October 2018. The declaration of result is set out below:

Referendum The Whittington Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 04 October 2018 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll can be found below:

Approval for Referendum The Whittington Neighbourhood Plan has successfully been passed by an independent examiner; the Plan will now proceed to a local referendum which will be held on Thursday 04 October 2018. Northumberland County Council considers that this Plan meets the necessary legal requirements. The Referendum version of the Plan and all specified documents are available below:

Independent examination

The independent examination of the Whittington Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 05 July 2018.

Publicity of submission draft Plan Whittington Parish Council, as a qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Whittington neighbourhood area, have submitted the Whittington neighbourhood plan to the county council for independent examination. The county council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the county council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Friday 09 March 2018 until 4pm on Monday 23 April 2018. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Whittington Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Screening Report Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation.

The county council is required to provide a screening opinion to establish whether strategic environmental assessment is required for neighbourhood plans. The final screening report relating to the Whittington neighbourhood plan is available to download via the link below:

Neighbourhood area designation application Whittington Parish Council applied to Northumberland County Council to designate the civil parish of Whittington as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood development plan. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 02 March 2016 following a period of publicity between 29 January and 29 February 2016. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Wooler

Neighbourhood Plan Review Wooler Parish Council has taken the decision to review its neighbourhood plan. For further information please contact the Parish Council. Details are on their website:Northumberland Association of Local Councils | Wooler Parish Council (northumberlandparishes.uk) Formal 'making' of the Wooler Neighbourhood Plan

Following the successful referendum, the Wooler Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 7 December 2021.

Now that the neighbourhood plan is formally 'made', it becomes part of the statutory development plan. Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Wooler Neighbourhood Area will need to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

A decision statement confirming that the Plan has been made and brought into legal force has now been published. This is available via the link below:

Decision Statement

The Wooler Neighbourhood Plan and policies maps can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Wooler Neighbourhood Plan - Made Version

Wooler Neighbourhood Plan - Made Version Policies Map

Wooler Neighbourhood Plan - Made Version Policies Map Inset

In line with the requirements of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, the Council has prepared a Regulation 16 Adoption Statement for the Wooler Neighbourhood Plan.

Click here to access the SEA Adoption Statement

Result of Referendum

A referendum on the Wooler Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 10 June 2021. The declaration of result is set out below:

Declaration of Result

Notice of Referendum

The Wooler Neighbourhood Plan referendum is to be held on Thursday 10 June 2021 between 7am and 10pm. The Notice of Referendum and Notice of Poll (including situation of Polling Stations) can be found below:

Referendum The County Council has considered each of the recommendations made by the independent examiner and has agreed to accept these. This action has been agreed with Wooler Parish Council and the Northumberland National Park Authority. The Wooler Neighbourhood Plan, as modified, will now proceed to a local referendum on 10 June 2021. The Plan will now be given significant weight in decision making. The Referendum version of the Plan and related documents are available below:

Independent Examination The independent examination of the Wooler Neighbourhood Plan has been completed. The report of the Independent Examiner was published on 26 May 2020. Click here to view the report following Independent Examination

The publicity period for the Submission Draft Wooler Neighbourhood Plan ended on Monday 30 March 2020. Rosemary Kidd was appointed to carry out the independent examination of the draft Plan. The examination began on Friday 20 March 2020.

Northumberland County Council, Wooler Parish Council and the Northumberland National Park Authority prepared responses to the Independent Examiner's Questions and Clarification note. These responses can be viewed below:

Publicity of submission draft Plan Wooler Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Wooler Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Wooler Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for six weeks commencing Monday 17 February 2020 and ending at 5pm on Monday 30 March 2020. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk or by post to: Wooler Neighbourhood Plan, Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Team, Planning Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Screening Report Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a way of ensuring the environmental implications of policies are taken into account before plans are brought into force. The need for environmental assessment of plans and programmes is set out in legislation. The County Council provided a screening opinion regarding the need for strategic environmental assessment. This concludes that SEA is required for the Wooler Neighbourhood Plan. The final screening report relating to the Wooler Neighbourhood Plan is available to download via the link below:

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Wooler Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Wooler as a 'neighbourhood area' was approved by Northumberland County Council on 23 November 2015 following a period of publicity between 9 October 2015 and 20 November 2015. The proposed neighbourhood area crosses the administrative boundaries of Northumberland County Council and the Northumberland National Park Authority. For this reason, an application has also been made by the Parish Council to the Park Authority for the Neighbourhood Area to be designated. The Park Authority has agreed that the County Council will be the lead authority to handle neighbourhood planning in Wooler Parish. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Emerging Neighbourhood Plans in Northumberland

Information on neighbourhood plans in preparation can be viewed below. If you would like to know where neighbourhood areas have been designated and where neighbourhood development plans are in preparation, please view the neighbourhood plans map by clicking on the link below.

Adderstone with Lucker

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Adderstone with Lucker Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Adderstone with Lucker as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 8 May 2018. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Amble

Designation of Neighbourhood Area An application by Amble Town Council to designate the civil parish of Amble as a 'neighbourhood area' was approved by Northumberland County Council on 4 December 2023. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Berwick-upon-Tweed

Neighbourhood Plan Progress

For information about neighbourhood planning in Berwick upon Tweed, please visit the Town Council website: Neighbourhood plan | Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Council (berwick-tc.gov.uk)

Neighbourhood Area Designation

An application for the designation of a neighbourhood area was submitted by Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Council. This was subsequently approved by the County Council on 29 July 2015. All details can be found below:

Blyth

Regulation 14 Publicity and Consultation Blyth Town Council consulted on their draft Neighbourhood Plan between 13 November 2024 and 6 January 2025. The draft Plan and supporting documents may be viewed on the Blyth Neighbourhood Plan website: About the Council | Blyth Town Council The draft Neighbourhood Plan is a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, although it may be afforded little weight at this stage. Neighbourhood Plan Progress For information about the Plan, please visit the Blyth Town Council website: About the Council | Blyth Town Council Neighbourhood area designation application Blyth Town Council applied to the county council seeking designation of the parish as a new neighbourhood area. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 7 April 2022. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Choppington

Neighbourhood area designation application Choppington Parish Council applied to Northumberland County Council to designate the civil parish of Choppington as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood development plan. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 16 October 2017. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Corbridge

Corbridge Parish Council applied to Northumberland County Council to designate the civil parish of Corbridge as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood development plan. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 25 April 2018. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Ellingham

Neighbourhood Plan Progress For information about the Plan, please visit the Ellingham Parish Council website: News | Ellingham Parish Council (northumberlandparishes.uk) Regulation 14 Publicity and Consultation Ellingham Parish Council consulted on its Pre-Submission Draft Plan between June and July 2019. The Plan and associated documents can be found below:

Neighbourhood Area designation application Ellingham Parish Council applied to designate the civil parish of Ellingham as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood plan. The application was approved on 25 April 2016 following a period of publicity between 18 March 2016 and 18 April 2016.

Details of this application can be found below:

Ellington & Linton

Neighbourhood Area designation application Ellington and Linton Parish Council applied to Northumberland County Council to designate the civil parish of Ellington and Linton as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood plan. The application was approved on 22 March 2016 following a period of publicity between 19 February 2016 and 21 March 2016. Details of this application can be found below:

Felton

Designation of neighbourhood area

An application by Felton Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Felton as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 20 March 2019.

Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Haltwhistle

Haltwhistle Town Council applied to Northumberland County Council to designate the civil parish of Haltwhistle as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood development plan. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 15 March 2023. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Hexhamshire

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Hexhamshire Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Hexhamshire as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 18 February 2020. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Holy Island

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Holy Island Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Holy Island as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 01 December 2022. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Kirkwhelpington

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Kirkwhelpington Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Kirkwhelpington as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 01 May 2024. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Longhoughton

Publicity of submission draft Plan Longhoughton Parish Council, as the qualifying body for the purposes of neighbourhood planning for the Longhoughton Neighbourhood Area, has submitted the Longhoughton Neighbourhood Plan to Northumberland County Council for Independent Examination. The County Council is satisfied that the submission is complete and complies with legal requirements. The Plan will now proceed to independent examination. In accordance with the regulations, the County Council is required to publicise the plan and supporting documents and to invite comments. Copies of the Plan and supporting documents will be available for public inspection for seven weeks commencing Friday 11 April 2025 and ending at 5pm on Friday 30 May 2025. Any person or organisation may comment on the Plan or supporting documents. Representations may be made by email to NeighbourhoodPlanning@northumberland.gov.uk. The Plan and supporting documents can be found below:

A number of background documents were also submitted alongside the Neighbourhood Plan. These can be accessed below:

Regulation 14 Publicity and Consultation

Longhoughton Parish Council has prepared a Neighbourhood Plan, which was subject to consultation in accordance with statutory requirements, for the period 29 September to 13 November 2023.

The draft Plan and supporting documents can be viewed on the Longhoughton Neighbourhood Plan website: Home - Longhoughton, Boulmer and Howick Neighbourhood Plan (longhoughtonndp.co.uk)

The draft Neighbourhood Plan is therefore a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, although it may be afforded little weight at this stage.

Designation of neighbourhood area Following a formal boundary review which was approved by Northumberland County Council and which came into force on 1 April 2021, the parish boundary of Longhoughton has been modified: the boundary change consists of the transfer of a small area of land from Craster Parish to Longhoughton Parish. This new neighbourhood area replaces the area previously approved on 26 October 2018. Longhoughton Parish Council applied to the County Council seeking designation of the parish as a new neighbourhood area. The application was approved by Northumberland County Council on 11 August 2021. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Mid Coquetdale

Rothbury Parish Council applied to Northumberland County Council to designate the civil parishes of Cartington, Rothbury, Thropton and Whitton & Tosson as a neighbourhood area. The parish council is the qualifying body for the purpose of the application and their lead role has been endorsed by the three other parish councils included within the proposed neighbourhood planning area to be known as Mid Coquetdale. The application was approved on 5 March 2015 following a period of publicity between 4 December 2014 and 29 January 2015. Details can be found below:

A steering group has been established to oversee the preparation of the plan. Work is still in the early stages and some early community consultation took place between 23 April and 22 May 2015 to gather views from the community on the issues the plan should look at.

Newton-on-the-Moor & Swarland

Neighbourhood Plan Progress For information about the Plan, please visit the Parish Council website: Neighbourhood Plan - Newton on the Moor and Swarland Parish Council (newtonswarlandpc.org.uk)

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Newton-on-the-Moor & Swarland Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Newton-on-the-Moor & Swarland as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 05 May 2023. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Norham and Islandshire

Designation of Neighbourhood Area

An application by Ord Parish Council to re-designate the Norham & Islandshire Neighbourhood Area has been approved by Northumberland County Council. The neighbourhood area comprises the whole of the administrative area of seven parishes: Ord, Norham, Horncliffe, Ancroft, Shoreswood, Kyloe and Duddo.

The application was approved on 12 January 2024 following a period of publicity between 20 November 2023 and 5 January 2024.

Details can be found below:

Rennington

Neighbourhood Plan Progress For information about neighbourhood planning in Rennington, please visit the Parish Council website: Documents | Rennington Parish Council (northumberlandparishes.uk) Designation of Neighbourhood Area

An application by Rennington Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Rennington as a Neighbourhood Area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 15 June 2021.

Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Rennington Designation Application

Rennington Designation Decision Document

Rennington Designation Decision Report

Slaley

Designation of Neighbourhood Area

An application by Slaley Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Slaley as a Neighbourhood Area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 21 September 2021.

Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Slaley Designation Application

Slaley Designation Decision Document

Slaley Designation Decision Report

Stamfordham

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Stamfordham Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Stamfordham as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 06 October 2023. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Tarset and Greystead

Withdrawal Tarset and Greystead Parish Council informed Northumberland County Council and Naorthumberland National Park Authority of the withdrawal of the Tarset and Greystead Neighbourhood Development Plan from examination on 20 January 2017. As a result the plan will not be proceeding to a referendum. Independent examination

An independent examination of the Tarset and Greystead neighbourhood development plan has now been completed. We will consider the recommendations made by the independent examiner in discussion with the parish council and Northumberland National Park Authrority before deciding whether the plan should progress to referendum.

Consultation on submission plan

Tarset and Greystead Parish Council submitted their proposed neighbourhood development plan to Northumberland County Council and Northumberland National Park Authority and this was publicised from 2 October 2015 to 16 November 2015. The written comments submitted during this publicity period have been passed to the person appointed to carry out the independent examination of the proposed plan. To view the submission document, click on the link below:

Neighbourhood area application Tarset and Greystead Parish Council submitted a neighbourhood area application in January 2013 and this was approved in March 2013. All the details on this application can be found below:

 

Tillside

Neighbourhood area designation application Tillside Parish Council applied to designate the civil parishes of Chatton, Chillingham and Lilburn as a neighbourhood area, with the express purpose of preparing a neighbourhood plan. The application was approved on 17 May 2016 following a period of publicity between 30 March 2016 and 11 May 2016. Details of this application can be found below:

Ulgham

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Ulgham Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Ulgham as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 09 December 2024. Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

West Bedlington

Regulation 14 Publicity and Consultation

West Bedlington Parish Council has prepared a Neighbourhood Plan. The Town Council consulted on this draft plan in Feb - April 2021.

The draft Plan and supporting documents can be viewed on the West Bedlington Parish Council website.

Neighbourhood Area designation application

An application by West Bedlington Parish Council to designate the civil parish of West Bedlington as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 3 May 2016 following a period of publicity between 25 March 2016 and 25 April 2016. Details of this application can be found below:

Whittingham, Callaly and Alnham

Neighbourhood Plan Progress For information about neighbourhood planning in Whittingham, Callaly & Alnham, please visit the Parish Council website: Documents | Whittingham Callaly & Alnham Parish Council (northumberlandparishes.uk)

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by the Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Whittingham, Callaly and Alnham as a 'neighbourhood area' was approved by Northumberland County Council on 18 March 2022.

The proposed neighbourhood area crosses the administrative boundaries of Northumberland County Council and the Northumberland National Park Authority. For this reason, an application has also been made by the Parish Council to the Park Authority for the Neighbourhood Area to be designated. The Park Authority has agreed that the County Council will be the lead authority to handle neighbourhood planning in Whittingham, Callaly and Alnham Parish.

Details of this application and the decision can be found below:

Wylam

Designation of neighbourhood area An application by Wylam Parish Council to designate the civil parish of Wylam as a neighbourhood area was approved by Northumberland County Council on 06 October 2023. Details of this application and the decision can be found below: