Government pledges £10m funding for neighbourhood planning

The fund will be made available to councils to help cover the cost of providing support and advice to local groups which are progressing neighbourhood plans and to go towards the cost of the neighbourhood plan examination and local referendum. However, a planning expert has questioned where longer term sources of funding for neighbourhood planning are going to come from.

Grants of up to £30,000 will be made available to councils in two separate payments, under the terms of the funding. Up to £5,000 will be made available when a neighbourhood area has been designated and a second payment of up to £25,000 will be made available on successful completion of the neighbourhood planning independent examination.

“Access to funding continues to be one of the most significant barriers to the successful and widespread implementation of neighbourhood planning across the country and therefore this new £10 million fund will be welcomed by many hoping to get a neighbourhood plan in place for their local area," said Jamie Lockerbie, a planning and neighbourhood plan expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.  

"However, one has to question where a more reliable, long term  and consistent stream of funding is going to come from, especially given that local planning authorities’ duties to provide advice and assistance in relation to neighbourhood planning does not extend to the giving of financial assistance," he said.  

"DCLG says it has committed to providing up to £50 million until March 2015 to support local councils in making neighbourhood planning a success but what happens when this money runs out?” Lockerbie said.

Dawlish Parish Neighbourhood Plan (DPNP) was the first plan to reach the examination stage, but the independent Examiner recommended that the Dawlish Parish Neighbourhood Plan (DPNP) should not proceed to referendum until Teignbridge Council's strategic policies were settled and the Plan was in "full conformity" with them.

The DPNP has been drawn up by a steering group of local representatives, including Dawlish Town Council and Teignbridge District Council, and aims to set out the local community's planning vision for the development of Dawlish Parish over the next 20 years.

A total of 900 new homes were proposed in the DPNP, 270 of which would have been made available as affordable homes. It also outlined that land should be used for new employment land and a range of community facilities.

"This fund will give councils and community groups working on plans a big boost in getting their vision in place as soon as possible to ensure people can enjoy the benefits sooner rather then later," said Greg Clark, Housing Minister. "Neighbourhood planning is making sure local residents are, for the first time, centre stage in helping decide their neighbourhood's future. It is giving people the chance to plan positively and will help deliver the homes and jobs their communities need to thrive."