Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP)
The Parish Council is continuing to develop the Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP). There is no requirement for parish councils to prepare an NDP but they have a power to do so. Preparing an NDP gives local people more say in where development should go and what it should look like. NDPs are statutory documents can also help to protect areas that are important to residents or for wildlife etc from development. This is because all planning applications are determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise, and NDPs are part of the development plan, once adopted.
All parish residents are welcome to join meetings or become part of the Steering Group. Please contact the Clerk for further details: clerk@dormingtonmordifordgroup-pc.gov.uk
More about NDPs
Any NDP must confirm with local and Government Planning Policy, which is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This advises that to support the Government’s objective of significantly boosting the supply of homes, it is important that a sufficient amount and variety of land can come forward where it is needed, that the needs of groups with specific housing requirements are addressed and that land with permission is developed without unnecessary delay.
The NPPF sets out that strategic policy-making authorities (such as Herefordshire Council) should establish a housing requirement figure for their whole area. To comply with this Herefordshire Council’s new emerging Local Plan (2021-2041) identifies a requirement of 850 houses a year over the next twenty years, rounded off at 17,000 dwellings over a 20 year plan period. Taking into account existing planning permissions, 11,200 dwellings will be needed.
As the new Herefordshire Local Plan is at an early stage of preparation, any new Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs) are being prepared within the context of the adopted Herefordshire Local Plan Core Strategy 2011 – 2031. This includes minimum housing target figures for different areas in the county. Dormington and Mordiford Parish (D&MP) has to provide at least 21 dwellings. As work progresses on the new Herefordshire Local Plan there will be more detailed information about the new housing requirements, including for D&M Parish up to 2041.
To help ensure that a parish meets its housing needs, it may develop an NDP to determine sites where housing should be located and policies to guide design and types of housing. In line with the NPPF and HCs planning policies, NDPs should focus development in and around settlements rather than in the countryside.
Purpose of NDP
The purpose of an NDP therefore, is to allow a parish and its residents to determine settlement locations, design of housing, and sufficient housing to meet local needs (e.g. for key workers in a rural environment), but also to resist development of houses unsuited to local needs, unsympathetic to local landscapes or to local vernacular and built in order to meet the Herefordshire Local Plan housing targets for the whole county.
If a parish has an NDP, it does NOT prohibit the development of other houses or buildings. However should developers wish to build in the parish, the NDP stipulates where those development sites should be located, and that developments should contribute to meeting local needs. NDPs can also support other types of development (such as a parish / school hall) which are needed in the area.
For more information about the general NDP process, please visit the Herefordshire Council Website