Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning

Locality’s Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning programme is now open for applications.

The programme, which has a £9.5million fund available, aims to provide support and grants to help hundreds of areas across the country create neighbourhood plans.

The Localism Act 2011 introduced statutory Neighbourhood Planning in England, enabling communities to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan for their area and intended to give communities more of a say in the development of their local area.

These plans will be used to decide the future of the places where you live and work giving opportunities to:

• Choose where new homes, shops and offices to be built
• Have a say on what new buildings should look like
• Grant planning permission for new buildings to go ahead.

The Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning programme will support groups developing neighbourhood plans in two ways:

• Direct advice and support, tailored to meet the needs of supported neighbourhoods
• Grant payments of up to £7,000 per neighbourhood area, to contribute to costs incurred by the group preparing a neighbourhood plan or order.

The programme is underpinned by activities and resources to share learning, promote good practice, and encourage networking for groups developing neighbourhood plans.

For further information, including eligibility and to apply for direct support or a grant, visit http://mycommunityrights.org.uk/neighbourhood-planning.