Neighbourhood planning has been introduced to enable more community involvement in the planning process, so that people can shape their local areas and have a greater say in planning decisions.
There are three types of neighbourhood planning documents:
No current plans
No current plans
One of the first steps in preparing a Neighbourhood Plan is to apply to designate the Neighbourhood Area, which is the geographical area that the plan will cover. This process can only be done by a parish council, or by a Neighbourhood Forum in an unparished area.
Designated Neighbourhood Areas
Within the borough of Maidstone, the following Neighbourhood Areas have been designated;
Designated Neighbourhood Forums
The Localism Act gave local communities the power to come together as Neighbourhood Forums and work on Neighbourhood Plans to develop and implement local priority objectives such as infrastructure improvements and community facilities.
The following Neighbourhood Forum has been designated;
Neighbourhood Planning is governed by the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 and is made up of a number of key stages;
There are certain processes that need to be gone through while preparing a Neighbourhood Plan to make sure that it is in line with government regulations and guidance. The Plan must also conform with strategic policies in the local plan. Have a look at our advice note pages which outlines the process.
The Statement of Community Involvement 2020 sets out when and how stakeholders and the local community can get involved in the preparation of local plans, neighbourhood development plans and supplementary planning documents, and be involved in the process of decision making on planning applications.
There was a temporary addendum in relation to Covid 19 Temporary Addendum which can be viewed here. As restrictions have been lifted this addendum has now been revoked.
The Neighbourhood Planning Protocol supports the Statement of Community Involvement and outlines detailed actions for each regulatory stage. Have a look at our advice note which outlines the process.
Locality offer advice and guidance for communities looking to produce a Neighbourhood Plan.
| Area/Parish | Area Designation | Pre-Submission Consultation | Submission to MBC and Public Consultation | Independent Examination | MBC's decision to move to Referendum | MBC's decision to make a Neighbourhood Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bearsted | ||||||
Boughton Monchelsea | 26.04.2019-11.06.2019 | Submission - 10.03.20 Consultation - 14.08.20 - 28.09.20 | Referendum - see below | Decision Statement (to recommend adoption) | ||
Boxley | ||||||
Broomfield & Kingswood | Ended on 13.07.15 | Submission - 21.10.15 Consultation - 06.11.15 - 18.11.15 | Final Examiner's Report February 2016 | Decision Statement | ||
Coxheath | Ended on 20.12.13 | Withdrawn on 02.10.14 | ||||
Harrietsham | Withdrawn on 05.05.15 | |||||
Headcorn | Ended on 31.07.15 | Submission - 13.11.15 Consultation - 15.01.16 - 26.02.16 | Decision Statement | |||
Lenham | 24.09.18 - 09.11.18 | Submission - 19.12.19 Consultation - 14.02.20 - 27.03.20 | Referendum - see below | Decision Statement (to recommend adoption) | ||
Loose | 31.10.16 - 13.12.16 | Submission - 10.07.18 Consultation - 02.11.18 - 14.12.18 | Referendum - see below | |||
Marden |
09.06.2018 - 21.07.2018
09.06.2018 - 21.07.2018- Annex 1 | Submission - 28.05.2019 Consultation -14.06.19-26.07.19 | Final Examiner's Report (October 2019) | Referendum - see below | ||
North Loose | Ended on 21.06.15 | Submission - 09.08.15 Consultation - 11.09.15 - 23.10.15 | ||||
| Otham | 01.08.2017 | 22.07.19 - 06.09.19 | Submission - 08.09.20 Consultation - 16.10.20 - 27.11.20 | Referendum - see below | ||
Staplehurst | Ended on 17.07.14 | Submission - 08.09.15 Consultation - 23.10.15 - 04.12.15 | ||||
Sutton Valence | ||||||
Tovil | ||||||
| Yalding | 19.04.18 |
This consultation opened on Thursday 22nd June 2023 to Monday 14th August 2023.
Further information on the consultation and the Regulation 14 document can be found on the Parish Council's website here.
There have been seven Neighbourhood Plans that have passed the referendum stage.
Referendum Results
Do you want Maidstone Borough Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Otham to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?
| Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 163 | 98.8% |
| No | 2 | 1.2% |
Rejected Ballots
| Reason | Number of Ballots |
|---|---|
| Want of official mark | 0 |
| Voting for and against the same question | 0 |
| Writing or mark by which voter could be identified | 0 |
| Being unmarked or wholly void for uncertainty | 0 |
| Rejected in part | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
Information Statement
The following amendments are made to Page 1
“Do you want Maidstone Borough Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Boughton Monchelsea to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”
Information for Voters
The following amendments are made to Page 1
“Do you want Maidstone Borough Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Boughton Monchelsea to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”
“If more people vote ‘yes’ than ‘no’ in this referendum, then Maidstone Borough Council will use the Neighbourhood Development Plan to help it decide planning applications in Boughton Monchelsea.”
The following amendments are made to Page 2
“In Boughton Monchelsea the boundary of the neighbourhood area was determined by Boughton Monchelsea Parish Council and is identical to Boughton Monchelsea Parish.” “Neighbourhood plans are prepared by town or parish councils, or neighbourhood forums. In this case, the Boughton Monchelsea Neighbourhood Development Plan was prepared by the Boughton Monchelsea Parish Council.”
Referendum Results
Do you want Maidstone Borough Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Boughton Monchelsea to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?
| Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 951 | 89% |
| No | 121 | 11% |
Rejected Ballots
| Reason | Number of Ballots |
|---|---|
| Being unmarked or wholly void for uncertainty | 18 |
| Total | 18 |
Referendum Results
Do you want Maidstone Borough Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Lenham to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?
| Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 1242 | 92% |
| No | 108 | 8% |
Rejected Ballots
| Reason | Number of Ballots |
|---|---|
| Being unmarked or wholly void for uncertainty | 6 |
| Writing or mark by which voter could be identified | 7 |
| Total | 7 |
Referendum Results
Do you want Maidstone Borough Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Marden to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?
| Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 844 | 90.4% |
| No | 90 | 9.6% |
Rejected Ballots
| Reason | Number of Ballots |
|---|---|
| Want of official mark | 0 |
| Voting for or against the same question | 0 |
| Writing or mark by which voter could be identified | 1 |
| Being unmarked or wholly void for uncertainty | 0 |
| Rejected in part | 0 |
| Total | 1 |
Turnout = 26.8%
Referendum results
Do you want Maidstone Borough Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Loose to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?
| Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 435 | 93.95% |
| No | 27 | 5.8% |
Rejected Ballots
| Reason | Number of Ballots |
|---|---|
| Want of official mark | 0 |
| Voting for or against the same question | 0 |
| Writing or mark by which voter could be identified | 1 |
| Being unmarked or wholly void for uncertainty | 0 |
| Rejected in part | 0 |
| Total | 1 |
Turnout = 22.42%
The Staplehurst Neighbourhood Plan was updated in August 2020. The changes that were made to the neighbourhood plan can be found in the modification document.
There are 7 made (adopted) neighbourhood plans in Maidstone
If you would like to get in contact with us please email neighbourhoodplanning@maidstone.gov.uk