Neighbourhood Plan Timeline

Current Progress and Next Steps

The Parish Council has spent several years building the evidence base, including the Housing Needs Assessment and environmental surveys. The plan is now transitioning from a draft document into a statutory tool.

The Parish Council meeting on the 9 March, 2026 resolved to submit the draft Neighbourhood Plan to Stafford Borough Council for screening.

Regulation 14 Consultation: The Parish Council is now preparing for the Regulation 14 pre-submission consultation, which is the first formal opportunity for the community to comment on the full draft plan.

Stafford Borough Screening: The draft plan has been submitted for “screening” by Stafford Borough Council to ensure it aligns with national planning policies and the wider Local Plan.

The primary purpose of Regulation 14 is to conduct a formal pre-submission consultation on a draft Neighbourhood Plan. It serves as a legal “gatekeeper” stage to ensure the community and statutory bodies can comment on the plan before it is officially submitted to the local planning authority.

Key Objectives

The screening and consultation process ensures the plan is robust, legal, and truly reflects local needs through four main goals:

• Community Validation: Gathers feedback from residents, workers, and businesses to ensure the proposed policies have local backing.
• Statutory Compliance: Requires formal comments from national bodies such as Historic England, the Environment Agency, and Natural England.
• Environmental Assessment (SEA): A critical “screening” part of this stage determines if the plan needs a full Strategic Environmental Assessment or Habitats Regulations Assessment.
• Basic Conditions Check: Helps identify if policies conflict with national planning rules or the Stafford Borough Local Plan, reducing the risk of the plan being rejected later by an independent examiner