Protecting Solihull – Neighbourhood Plans

At last nights Council meeting Cllr H Delaney ( Conservative ) proposed a motion regarding the importance of maintaining the funding enabling local decision makers to produce their own Neighbourhood Plan. Without this funding the cost becomes prohibitive and weakens local communities voice to shape the Local Plan.

This is a strong motion and received cross party support for the Conservatives, Green Party, LIb-Dems, Solihull Independents, and Independents. A great example of parties working together.

Blythe Ward will be directly effected by the new Local Plan and any layer of protection is vital. It was my pleasure to wholeheartedly support this motion

Protecting Solihull- The Impact of Removing Neighbourhood Planning Support

The Council acknowledges that neighbourhood planning has been a cornerstone of local planning,
empowering communities to shape the development and growth in their local
areas, in line with their local priorities. Neighbourhood Plans have provided a
democratic and constructive means of ensuring housing development is
sustainable, locally appropriate and aligned with the needs of local communities.

That the Labour Government’s decision in the recent Spending Review, to
remove central funding and technical support for neighbourhood planning,
significantly undermines the ability of residents, parish and town councils and
neighbourhood forums to influence planning decisions.
That removing this support, risks increasing top-down planning, with less input
from local communities and local people, who are directly affected by new
development.

This Council believes:

That local decision making is a fundamental principle that should be protected
and promoted, not weakened.
That neighbourhood planning has been one of the most successful tools in
engaging residents in the planning process and building consensus around
housing and infrastructure development.
That removing support for neighbourhood planning diminishes local
accountability and is likely to increase public frustration with the planning
system.
That councils now face the challenge of meeting hugely ambitious housing
targets without the benefit of neighbourhood input, that helps ensure
developments are better designed, better located and more widely supported.

This Council RESOLVES to:
(i) Ask the Leader of the Council to write to the Secretary of State for Housing,
Communities and Local Government to formally express concern about the
withdrawal of the neighbourhood planning support, and to urge reconsideration
of this decision in line with the principles of local decision making and
community empowerment;

(ii) Ask the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Climate Change and Planning to write to the
Local Government Association (LGA), the County Councils Network (CCN) the
Royal Town Planning Institute and the Planning Officers Society, to highlight this
issue in their engagement with the Government on future planning reform; and

(iii) Publicly reaffirm our commitment to local, community-led planning and the
importance of communities in shaping development that meets the needs of our
local communities throughout the Borough, and to work with local parish and
town councils and neighbourhood forums to assess the impact of this policy
change on neighbourhood plans in progress, under review, or due to be
reviewed in the next year.”

(IV) amendment by Cllr M McLoughlin (Green Party) To offer support to all localities in Solihull that can benefit from developing a Neighborhood Plan