Examination Update

Following the hearing which was held on 29 April, the Examiner has considered the procedures regarding the possible need for a Strategic Environmental Assessment. He has concluded that while the intentions of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Regulations 2004 (EAPPR) have been followed to a very large extent, in the screening report carried out in October 2013 and amplified in Appendix A to the Council’s letter of 22 January 2015, the procedure that has been followed has not fully complied with the regulations.

Although the Parish and Borough Council, and statutory consultees are of the opinion that the Earls Barton Neighbourhood Plan would not have significant environmental effects, neither council has made a formal determination in accordance with regulation 9, nor followed the requirements for publicity for any determination in regulation 11 of the EAPPR.  The Examiner has therefore decided to suspend the examination of the Earls Barton Neighbourhood Plan to allow a determination in accordance with regulation 9 of the EAPPR.

As the determination and any other documents associated with it are in the list of documents to be submitted to the Examiner under regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Plan Regulations they should first be published in accordance with regulation 16 for a minimum period of 6 weeks.  When the Examiner has received these documents he will resume his examination and complete it as soon as possible

Determination of the need for Strategic Environmental Assessment

The Earls Barton Neighbourhood Plan has been formally determined in relation to the Need for Strategic Environmental Assessment under Regulation 9 of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 on 8 June 2015.

It is determined that the Earls Barton Neighbourhood Plan is unlikely to have significant environmental effects.

The determination has taken into account regulation 9 (2) (a) by considering the criteria specified in Schedule 1 to the above regulations and 9 (2) (b) which relates to the consultation bodies of Natural England, the Environment Agency and English Heritage and has taken into account their responses in this determination. In accordance with regulation 9 (3) given that the determination is unlikely to have significant environmental effects (and accordingly, does not require an environmental assessment), a statement of reasons for the determination has been prepared. This determination has been sent to the statutory consultees in accordance with regulation 11 to the above regulations.

Consultations:

There are currently two consultations running on the Earls Barton Neighbourhood Plan

Consultation 1: Notification of publicity of further information to the Earls Barton Neighbourhood Plan: Formal Determination of the need for Strategic Environmental Assessment

The Examiner of the Earls Barton Neighbourhood Plan has requested that the following additional information is made available for consultation:

Where can the further information be inspected?

Details of the further information and downloadable copies of the relevant documents can be found in the links above.

If required, hard copies of the documents listed above are available from the Borough Council of Wellingborough. A postal charge may apply. Otherwise, copies of the plan can be viewed or collected in person from BCW’s main reception throughout the publicity period.

How and by when must you make representations?

Representations can either be sent via email or by hard copy to:

Maxine Simmons Principal Policy and Regeneration Manager Borough Council of Wellingborough Swanspool House Doddington Road Wellingborough Northamptonshire, NN8 1BP

Email: msimmons@wellingborough.gov.uk

This further information is being made available for publicity for a minimum period of six weeks. To ensure that you have adequate time in which to respond, submissions will be accepted until 5pm on Friday 24 July 2015. All responses will then be forwarded to the plan’s examiner. In the interests of fairness to all respondents no late submissions will be accepted.

Consultation 2: Earls Barton Neighbourhood Plan Implications of Pre-Submission North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy 2011-2031 published January 2015

A hearing was held on 29 April 2015 as part of the examination of the Earl’s Barton Neighbourhood Plan.  At the hearing reference was made by the Borough Council of Wellingborough to the Pre-Submission North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy 2011-2031 January 2015.

As this document had not been referred to in previous documentation the Examiner decided that interested parties should be given an opportunity to comment on the implications of this document for the Earls Barton Neighbourhood Plan.

Planning Policy Guidance (Ref ID 41-009-20140306) states: “A draft Neighbourhood Plan or Order is not tested against the policies in an emerging Local Plan although the reasoning and evidence informing the Local Plan process may be relevant to the consideration of the basic conditions against which a neighbourhood plan is tested”.

The references at the hearing were to Policy 29-Distribution of new Homes of the January 2015 document and to Table 5: Housing delivery in named settlements.

How and by when must you make representations?

Interested parties may comment on the relevance and implications of pages 125-132 of the Pre-Submission North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy 2011-2031 published in January 2015.

Comments should be sent to:

Maxine Simmons Principal Policy and Regeneration Manager Borough Council of Wellingborough Swanspool House Doddington Road Wellingborough Northamptonshire, NN8 1BP  Email: msimmons@wellingborough.gov.uk

Comments should be received by 5pm on Tuesday 30 June