Postwick with Witton Neighbourhood Plan

Postwick with Witton Neighbourhood Plan

In 2023 Postwick with Witton Parish Council submitted a Neighbourhood Area application for the purpose of developing a Neighbourhood Plan. The designated area is the whole civil parish and, in accordance with Regulation 5A of the 'Town and Country Planning, England - Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012' Broadland District Council has confirmed the designation. The parish council is the relevant body for preparing the Neighbourhood Development Plan.

Since that time, a steering group of volunteers, working on behalf of the Town Council has been developing a proposed Neighbourhood Plan for the parish, which has involved extensive research and consultation with the community and other stakeholder bodies.

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The proposed Postwick with Witton Neighbourhood Plan has undergone an independent examination by Mr Andrew Ashcroft (Andrew Ashcroft Planning Ltd). The examination concluded on 4th June 2025 and the report of findings has now been submitted to Broadland District Council and the Broads Authority.

Broadland District Council and the Broads Authority have now considered the examiner’s recommendations and have issued a Decision Statement detailing their intention to send the Neighbourhood Plan to a referendum, subject to modifications being made as specified by the examiner.

The local referendum will be held on 7th August 2025 in order to determine whether residents within the neighbourhood area support the proposed Postwick with Witton Neighbourhood Plan.

In the meantime, where a local planning authority has made a decision detailing its intention to send a Neighbourhood Plan to referendum (as in this case), that Plan can be given significant weight in decision-making, so far as the plan is material to the planning application being considered. Planning Practice Guidance  provides further advice on the weight to be attached to a post-examination Neighbourhood Plan.

Information relating to the referendum, the local planning authorities’ Decision Statement, the Examiner’s Report, the submitted Neighbourhood Plan and other related information is available to view in the documents section below.

Background

Postwick with Witton Parish Council submitted the Neighbourhood Plan and other required documents to Broadland District Council and the Broads Authority in February 2025. The submitted documents were checked by the local planning authority against the relevant criteria in Schedule 4B of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 and were approved for publication.

In accordance with Regulation 16 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations, 2012 (as amended), there followed a period of consultation on the Neighbourhood Plan, which took place between 19 March and 2 May 2025. A summary of the representations received during the consultation can be viewed in the documents section, below.

Mr Andrew Ashcroft (Andrew Ashcroft Planning Ltd.) was appointed to carry out an independent examination of the Plan following this consultation period. The examiner considered not only the submitted Neighbourhood Plan documents, but also the representations that were submitted during the consultation, and the responses to the examiner’s clarification note.

On 4th June 2025, the Examiner issued his final report. It contains a number of recommended modifications and states that, subject to these being implemented, the Postwick with Witton Neighbourhood Plan meets the basic conditions and should proceed to a local referendum.

View the Neighbourhood Plan documents.