Businesses must register for neighbourhood planning referendum vote, draft regulations say

The draft regulations deal with the rules and conduct of business referenda relating to neighbourhood planning proposals (94-page / 1.7MB PDF) and have been laid before Parliament.

The draft regulations state that a person is entitled to vote in a business referendum if they are registered on the business voting register on the day of the business referendum. Non-domestic ratepayers in the referendum area are entitled to be registered on the business voting register. The business voting register is a register that must be compiled by the local council. Each business vote holder will have one vote in the referendum.

The draft regulations state that a business registration officer must send each business vote holder of which he is aware a notice inviting that business vote holder to register for the right to vote in the business referendum.

"The requirement for business voters to have to register before they are eligible to vote in a neighbourhood planning business referendum is an important distinction from an ordinary neighbourhood planning referendum in which a person is automatically entitled to vote provided they are eligible to vote for councillors of their district council," said Jamie Lockerbie, a planning expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-law.com. "Business owners would be wise to keep an eye out for an invitation to register if they are aware that they are trading in a neighbourhood area that has also been designated a business area."

A local planning authority has a duty, when exercising its powers to designate an area as a neighbourhood area, to consider whether they should also designate the area concerned as a business area. A local planning authority may only designate a neighbourhood area as a business area if it considers that the area is wholly or predominately business in nature.

If a neighbourhood area is also designated as a business area then in relation to any neighbourhood planning proposals, for example a neighbourhood development plan or a neighbourhood development order, two referenda must be held, one for residents and the other for non-domestic ratepayers.

If more than half of those voting in one referendum have voted in favour of the relevant neighbourhood planning proposal but more than half in the other referendum have not then the local planning authority may make the relevant proposal but is not compelled to do so. If only a residential referendum is held and more than half of those voting vote in favour of the relevant proposal then the authority is compelled to make the relevant proposal.