Swainsthorpe Neighbourhood Plan

In February 2024 South Norfolk Council designated the Swainsthorpe Neighbourhood Area, for the purposes of developing a Neighbourhood Plan (in accord with the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended)), following an application from Swainsthorpe Parish Council. The Neighbourhood Area follows the civil parish boundary and the Parish Council is the relevant body for preparing the Neighbourhood Plan.

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A local referendum will be held on Thursday 10 December 2026 in order to determine whether residents within the neighbourhood area support the proposed Swainsthorpe Neighbourhood Plan.

Further details regarding the referendum, including the referendum information statement, the local planning authority’s basic conditions statement, the examiner’s report and the related Neighbourhood Plan documents are available to view in the documents section, below.

Background

Swainsthorpe Parish Council submitted the proposed Neighbourhood Plan and supporting documents to South Norfolk Council in May 2026. The submitted documents were checked by the local planning authorities against the relevant criteria in Schedule 4B of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 and approved for publication.

In accordance with Regulation 16 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulation, 2012 (as amended), there followed a period of consultation on the Neighbourhood Plan, organised by South Norfolk Council between June and July 2026. A summary of the representations received during the consultation can be viewed in the documents section, below.

At the close of this consultation, the Neighbourhood Plan was subject to an independent examination, undertaken by Mr Andrew Ashcroft. Mr Ashcroft considered not only the submitted Neighbourhood Plan documents, but also the representations that were submitted during the consultation and the responses from Swainsthorpe Parish Council to the examiner’s clarification note.

On 12 October 2026, Mr Ashcroft issued his final report. It contains a number of recommended modifications and states that, subject to these being implemented, the proposed Swainsthorpe Neighbourhood Plan meets the basic conditions and should proceed to a local referendum.

South Norfolk Council has published a decision statement detailing its intention to send the Neighbourhood Plan to a referendum, subject to modifications being made as specified by the examiner.

The proposed Neighbourhood Plan and supporting documents, referendum information and examination material can all be viewed in the documents section – see the link below.

The stages involved in the plan are summarised in the table below and will be updated as the plan progresses.

View the Neighbourhood Plan documents.