Neighbourhood plan

Great Addington Parish Council Neighbourhood Plan

The Great Addington Neighbourhood Plan has now been officially made by the executive members of NNC at the meeting held on 11th November 2025.

See the attached made version of the Neighbourhood Plan.

GAPC made version of the Neighbourhood Plan

You can read or download the Great Addington Neighbourhood Plan documents from the table below.

The Great Addington Neighbourhood Plan has now progressed to the referendum stage and the Notice of Referendum has been added to the documents table.

The Examiner has now issued a final version of his report that incorporates 2 respondents that were omitted from the representors list at para 4.7. However, these representations (Northamptonshire Police and Anglian Water) were fully considered at the time of his original report and the examiner previously determined that they did not require any amendments to the Neighbourhood Plan.

Great Addington Parish Council has received a request from NNC to allow an extension of time to progress the Neighbourhood Plan.

The request was granted by Great Addington Parish Council on 9th July for 7 days.

On 11th July Great Addington’s Neighbourhood Plan received approval and is now proceeding towards referendum. A date for the referendum is to be agreed.

We have received the Decision Statement and Record of Delegated Decision from NNC and these can be found in the Documents Table.

Great Addington Parish Council has received the Independent Examiners report which can be found in the documents table above.

Great Addington Parish Council sent the following response to the queries raised in the Independent Examiner’s Clarification Note.

Examiners Clarification Note- Response on behalf of Great Addington Parish Council

In accordance with the examination arrangements detailed below, the Independent Examiner sent the following clarification note to Great Addington Parish Council.

Great Addington Neighbourhood Development Plan – Clarification Note.

The next stage in the Neighbourhood Plan process is the appointment of an Independent Examiner.  North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) has appointed Andrew Ashcroft to carry out the examination.  The examiner’s note below explains the process that will be followed:

Neighbourhood Development Plan

Examination Arrangements

Purpose of this Note

This Note sets out the basis on which the examination of the neighbourhood plan will be undertaken. Its ambitions are two-fold:

• to comply with the NPIERS Guidance for service users and examiners (April 2018); and
• to provide guidance for the Parish Council on the key stages of the examination.

The examination route map

Different examinations raise their own issues. Nevertheless, the examination of the submitted Neighbourhood Plan will have the following the key stages:

Stage 1: Background Reading

This involves reading the submitted Plan, its supporting documents, and the various representations. I will take all this information into account when preparing my report.

I have started this stage of the examination.

Stage 2: Visit to the neighbourhood area

The visit will provide me with an opportunity to look at specific issues and locations in the neighbourhood area. Plainly not every component of the Plan needs to be viewed on the visit. Nevertheless, it will be focused on the issues that have arisen either from the background reading and/or which are fundamental to the Plan.

The visit will be unaccompanied. I will not meet with representatives of the Parish Council, North Northamptonshire Council or any of the parties who have commented on the Plan.

I will visit the neighbourhood area next week.

Stage 3: Clarification Note

I will send a clarification note shortly after the visit. It will raise a series of questions for the Parish Council on the submitted Plan. The answers to the questions will help me to understand the Plan better and, where necessary, to recommend modifications to ensure it meets the basic conditions. The Note will also provide an opportunity for the Parish Council to respond to the representations received on the Plan.

The clarification note will suggest a timescale for responses. However, this is a matter which I am happy should proceed at whatever pace is determined locally. This acknowledges that work on neighbourhood plans is carried out by local councils and individuals on a voluntary basis.

Stage 4: Decision about the need for a hearing

The combination of the background reading, the unaccompanied visit and the responses to the clarification note will allow me to come to a view about the need or otherwise for a hearing as part of the examination process. The legislation anticipates that most examinations can proceed by way of written representations and without a hearing.

If a hearing is required, North Northamptonshire Council will make the necessary arrangements.

Stage 5: The Examination Report

The report will be prepared throughout the examination period. Its general parts can be written early in the process. The elements of the report that overlap with the clarification note will not be prepared until the responses to the note are received. These arrangements would also apply if a hearing was required.

I will prepare a fact check report before the final report. This will give an opportunity for the Parish Council and North Northamptonshire Council to comment on any factual inaccuracies and/or omissions within the report. It will not present an opportunity for the examination to enter another phase.

Other related matters

The timing of the examination

Plainly different plans cover different issues. Neighbourhood plan examinations are inevitably linear and are directly affected by the number of policies and the number and complexity of the representations received.

In the case of the Great Addington Plan, I anticipate being able to send the fact check report in early-May 2025. The exact timing will be influenced by the responses to the clarification note and/or the organisation of any required hearing.

Documents

I have asked North Northamptonshire Council to display all examination-related documents on its website.

Contact arrangements

My principal contact for the examination will be the Planning Policy Manager at North Northamptonshire Council.

In most cases, I will ask the Planning Policy Manager to send documents to the Parish Council on my behalf.

Andrew Ashcroft -Independent Examiner

The Reg 16 Consultation carried out by North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) has now been completed.

A number of representations were received by NNC, and these can be found here:

Historic England response

National Highways response

NNC response

Roebuck Homes – GA Reg 16 response

Additional Reg 16 responses

Cranford Parish Council response

Davies and Co response

Environment Agency response

Headland Developments response

North Northamptonshire Council has formally received the Great Addington Parish Neighbourhood Plan, which has been submitted for consultation in accordance with Regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended), it includes the following documents:

• Map identifying the area to which the proposed neighbourhood plan relates
• Great Addington Neighbourhood Plan
• Consultation Statement
• Basic Conditions Statement
• Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report

These documents are set out below on the Parish Council’s website.

In accordance with Regulation 16 of The Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) North Northamptonshire Council is now publicising the Neighbourhood Plan proposal for a period of eight weeks. Representations are invited from 10 December 2024 to 4 February 2025 (midnight) and can be made via the online form, using the following link, which includes additional information on the public consultation: https://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/planning-strategies-and-plans/neighbourhood-planning/neighbourhood-planning-activity-north

The last meeting of the Steering Group was held on Thursday 22nd August 2024 in the Memorial Hall. The Minutes of that meeting can be found here; 220824-Neighbourhood-Plan-Steering-Group-Minutes

We hope that the consultation with all residents of Great Addington will be carried out this summer, but we will keep you well-informed if there is a delay.  In the meantime, please contact the Clerk at clerk@greataddingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk

Great Addington Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group would like to thank all those who came along to our last consultation event, and also all those who sent in their comments after the event.  All of these comments were looked at closely and questions raised were passed on to the landowners and their agents to help the Steering Group make an informed decision about which potential housing site should be recommended to the Parish Council for inclusion in the Neighbourhood Plan.

We are very pleased to say that the Parish Council has recently approved a draft Neighbourhood Plan which will be available for consultation very soon.  We are now waiting for a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and a Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) to be finalised and approved by statutory bodies, and these reports will then be appended to the Neighbourhood Plan.

We hope that the consultation with all residents of Great Addington will be carried out this summer, but we will keep you well-informed if there is a delay.  In the meantime, please contact the Clerk, Elaine Scott, if you have any questions: 07989 493289 or clerk@greataddingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk

The last full meeting of the Steering Group was held in two sessions: the first was on Wednesday 31st January at 7.30 p.m. in The Memorial Hall, and the second was on Sunday 18th February at 4.00 p.m. in the Memorial Hall. The Minutes of that meeting can be found here: 310124 – 180224 Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Minutes

Steering Group meeting to be reconvened on Sunday 18 February, at 4.00 p.m.

At the meeting of the Steering Group held on Wednesday 31st January, the main agenda item was to discuss a potential choice of site for inclusion in the draft pre-submission Neighbourhood Plan document.   All the comments and preferences received from residents were typed up and also summarised to help the Steering Group members to fully consider the issue.   The summary can be found here: Great Addington Neighbourhood Plan Housing Site Selection – comments from residents January 2024

By 10.00 p.m. the discussion was not complete, so it was decided to adjourn the meeting.  The meeting (with the same agenda) will be reconvened on Sunday 18th February, at 4.00 p.m.

New update, 31st January 2024:

During the consultation event on 27th January, the landowners and developers for the two proposed sites received many comments from residents about their plans.  As a result, the agents for both sites have subsequently sent revisions to the plans which were displayed.

The North site developer has sent in a new site plan, showing how the land to the rear of the housing site could be used.  There is also a letter further explaining their proposal.

• North of Cranford Road – Plan Clarification 300124
• Indicative Layout – Public Park- Rev C 300124

The South site developer has sent in a new street view, showing the houses with buff bricks rather than red bricks.  The landowner would like to reassure residents that the design will be in keeping with the village.

Proposed Illustrative Street View 04 300124

The next full meeting of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group is on Wednesday 31st January, at 7.30 p.m. in the Memorial Hall.  The agenda can be found here: 310124 Agenda NPSG

Consultation on Housing Site Proposals

On Saturday 27th January, a Consultation Event was held at the Memorial Hall in Great Addington.  This event included displays by developers about the two housing site proposals that are being considered as part of the Neighbourhood Plan process.  Residents were invited to give their comments and express their preferences.  The information gathered will be reviewed by the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group at a meeting on Wednesday 31st January, at 7.30 p.m.

For those who were unable to attend the event and those who wanted more time to consider their responses, the site plans are available to view here:

• Site North side of Cranford Road.
• Street view North site
• Site South side of Cranford Road
• Street view South site

Please can respondents give the following information, plus any comments:

Which of the two housing site proposals best meets the needs of Great Addington?

On a scale of 1 to 5, please circle a score for the site on the North side of Cranford Road (opposite Rushwell Close), with 1 being least preferred and 5 being most.

1           2           3           4           5

On a scale of 1 to 5, please circle a score for the site on the South side of Cranford Road (adjacent to Rushwell Close), with 1 being least preferred and 5 being most.

1           2           3           4           5

What did you like and/or dislike about each of the proposals?

Please email your responses to clerk@greataddingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk to arrive by 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday 30th January. If you would like any further information, please email the Clerk.  Thank you.

Last Steering Group meeting

The last full meeting of the Steering Group was held on Wednesday 17th January at 7.30 p.m. in The Memorial Hall. The Minutes of that meeting can be found here:170124 Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Minutes

The next full meeting of the Steering Group will be on Tuesday 12th December at 7.30 p.m. in The Memorial Hall.  Members of the public are welcome to attend.  The agenda can be found here: 121223 Agenda NPSG

The last full meeting of the Steering Group was held on Tuesday 28th November, and the site assessment process was discussed in detail.  The Minutes for this meeting can be found here:   281123 Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Minutes

On Wednesday 22nd November a sub-group of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group met to begin the site assessment process.

On 18th October 2023 a Steering Group meeting was held.  Please find the minutes here:181023 Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Minutes

On 5th September 2023 a Steering Group meeting was held.  Please find the minutes here:050923 Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Minutes

On 23rd September 2023 a public dissemination event was held to display the results of the Neighbourhood Plan Questionnaire.

The link to the survey results can be found below, but if you have any queries you can contact Elaine Scott: clerk@greataddingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk or 07989 493289.

In May a community survey was delivered to all residents and we received 103 responses. The full survey results can be found here: Neighbourhood Plan Questionnaire Results

The responses show that the majority of people who completed the survey feel the Neighbourhood Plan should allow for some housing development, with a focus on 2/3-bedroom homes. It follows that the neighbourhood plan may need to allocate site(s) to meet these housing requirements until at least 2031.

New housing can be an emotive subject for any parish. By going through a fair and transparent housing site assessment process, the Council aims to deliver an evidence-based, robust and sustainable Neighbourhood Plan for Great Addington Parish.

We are now asking for potential sites to be put forward. These will be subject to an objective site assessment process. All sites must be ‘deliverable’ over the plan period, i.e. to 2031. At the end of the process, the council may or may not decide to allocate housing site(s) in the neighbourhood plan.

If you are a landowner or developer and would like your site to be considered, or want to ask any questions, please email clerk@greataddingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk before 30 September.

030423 Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Minutes

220223 Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Minutes

On Saturday 21 January 2023 we held an event in the Memorial Hall and invited all residents of Great Addington to come along and tell us their thoughts about developing our Neighbourhood Plan.

There was a really good response and many people wrote down their thoughts, ideas and questions to help in the next stage of developing the plan.

To find out what everybody said, click here: Great Addington Neighbourhood Planning Consultation Event

It’s not too late to tell us what you think.  Read the questions from the document above and email your thoughts to: clerk@greataddingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk

The next meeting of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering is on Wednesday 4 January 2023, at 7.45 pm in the Memorial Hall.  All are very welcome to come along and see how the Neighbourhood Plan is being developed.  It’s your plan, so we’d love you to get involved.

For the agenda click here:  040123 Agenda NPSG

For the minutes click here: 040123 Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Meeting Minutes

Introduction

In November 2021, all residents living in Great Addington were invited to an event to launch the development of a Neighbourhood Plan for the village.  Those who couldn’t attend the event forwarded their comments in writing via email or letter.

24 people attended, along with 7 people from the Council Neighbourhood Planning Group.  People were asked to comment against the following headings:

• Education
• Housing
• Green Space
• Infrastructure
• Heritage
• Employment
• Environment
• Transportation

Notes and comments from the meeting can be downloaded

Neighbourhood Plan 2022 Inaugral Meeting:

minutes-04-03-2020Download

minutes-11-12-19Download

minutes-29-1-20Download