The stages are defined by Buckinghamshire County Council and ultimately by the Government, through the Localism Act of 2011. Many local parishes have already completed the process.
From the Bucks CC perspective, the formal stages involved in creating a neighbourhood development plan are:
plan preparation: the parish/town council or a neighbourhood forum produce their plan
screening the plan: every plan needs to be screened to see if it needs a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) or Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA). Get in touch with us once you know which policies your plan will have
pre-submission consultation: this is a minimum 6-week consultation carried out by the town or parish council or Neighbourhood Forum
submission of the plan: the plan is checked to ensure it has the correct accompanying documents. These include a basic conditions statement, consultation statement and either a letter saying SEA/HRA are not required or an Environmental report if they were required
submission consultation: this is a consultation like the pre-submission consultation except that it is carried out and paid for by Buckinghamshire Council. Everyone consulted in the previous consultation and everyone who responded to it is consulted again and their comments are sent to the examiner alongside the plan and its documents
examination: the plan is examined by an independent examiner to check if it meets the basic conditions and can proceed to referendum or not. Sometimes changes are suggested
referendum: if the plan passes an independent examination, a referendum is held and the local community votes on whether it supports the plan. If more than 50% vote ‘YES’ then it will be formally made
From the Parish perspective, we need to:
carry out a Survey to find the views of residents, and provide them with feedback on this
formulate a plan according to the rules
submit the plan for screening, amending, and submission to the relevant Bucks CC department
once the Plan passes the Bucks CC independent examination, hold a referendum