Page 349 - All files for Planning Inspectorate update

1. Introduction

1.1 About Neighbourhood Plans

The Localism Act 2011 introduced a number of measures allowing communities to
shape the future of their area and to deliver the sustainable development that they
need. One of these measures is the Neighbourhood Plan. This is a new type of planning
document, which can set policies for the use of land and rules for local development. A
Neighbourhood Plan must comply with higher level planning policy at district,
national and European level and must be based on evidence. Following community
consultation, it will be examined by an independent Examiner and must be approved
by residents at a local referendum. The completed Plan will become part of the
development plan for the local area and will be used in determining planning
applications.

A Neighbourhood Plan cannot be used to stop development. There is a requirement
for new homes nationally and every Neighbourhood Plan must plan for new growth.

Ashurst Wood Village Council resolved to prepare a Plan so that the community could
work together to shape the future of the village and have a say about where new
homes should go and what they should look like, how the local economy should be
supported, how the countryside and open spaces of the village should be protected
and how local facilities and infrastructure could be improved.

1.2 The Neighbourhood Plan Period

The Ashurst Wood Neighbourhood Plan will be for the period from 2015 to 2031.

1.3 The Neighbourhood Plan Area

The area covered by the Neighbourhood Plan is the whole of the civil parish of Ashurst
Wood, as shown in Map 1, Appendix 1. The local planning authority, Mid Sussex
District Council (MSDC), formally designated the parish as a Neighbourhood Area on
9 July 2012.
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AWNP March 2016 Page 6