Designated Neighbourhood Areas

Neighbourhood Plans once 'made' i.e. adopted, become part of the statutory development plan for that area and the local planning authority (Ashford Borough Council) will be used in determining planning applications in the following parishes within Ashford borough:

1. Wye Neighbourhood Plan
2. Pluckley Neighbourhood Plan
3. Rolvenden Neighbourhood Plan

The following parishes within Ashford borough are designated formally as 'neighbourhood areas' under the Localism Act (2011), and are in the process of developing their neighbourhood plans.

1. Bethersden Neighbourhood Plan
2. Boughton Aluph and Eastwell Neighbourhood Plan
3. Charing Neighbourhood Plan
4. Egerton Neighbourhood Plan
5. Hothfield Neighbourhood Plan
6. Tenterden Neighbourhood Plan
7. Smarden Neighbourhood Plan
8. Aldington and Bonnington Neighbourhood Plan

A neighbourhood plan may only be prepared and submitted for examination by a qualifying body, which in parished areas is the parish or town council. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states (para. 29) that 'Neighbourhood planning gives communities the power to develop a shared vision for their area. Neighbourhood plans can shape, direct and help to deliver sustainable development, by influencing local planning decisions as part of the statutory development plan' Furthermore, the NPPF states that 'Neighbourhood plans should not promote less development than set out in the strategic policies for the area, or undermine those strategic policies'.