Neighbourhood Plan Timeline

Semington Neighbourhood Plan – key dates

June 2021 – Parish Council decides in principle to support the development of a neighbourhood plan to cover the civil parish of Semington

July 2021 – Community meeting takes place to gauge the level of support for developing a plan

August 2021 – Open day to increase awareness of a plans advantages and limitations; individuals are asked to volunteer to take part

September 2021 – Parish Council agree to go ahead with Neighbourhood Plan, and submits application for Semington parish to become a designated area to Wiltshire Council

September 2021 – First Meeting of the Steering Group

October 2021 – Wiltshire Council designates Semington parish a Neighbourhood Plan Area

November 2021 – Steering Group commissions consultants and the drafting of the outline plan begins, including developing draft vision, priorities, objectives and policies

March 2022 – Neighbourhood Plan Open Day Event – Village Hall; community is consulted about the draft vision, priorities objectives and policies

May 2022 – Steering Group contacts landowners about land available for development

June 2022 – Steering Group contacts villagers about identifying land (un)suitable for development

July 2022 – Steering Group initiates a climate change survey

August 2022 – Steering Group commissions housing land sites survey from Aecom

September 2022 – Steering Group commissions landscape report

November 2022 – Steering Group begins a business and working from home survey

March 2023 – Aecom report and landscape survey accepted by the Steering Group. Non-designated heritage assets identified and sites nominated for designation as Local Green Spaces agreed.

April 2023 – Community consulted about allocating land for housing, designating green space and protecting sensitive areas of landscape.

June 2023 – The Plan is further developed by the Steering Group to include policies and a pre-submission (Regulation 14) plan is prepared.

July 2023 – This draft is submitted to Wiltshire Council for a screening opinion as to whether the plan will require a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) or a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA)

September 2023 – Wiltshire Council confirms that a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) / Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) is needed.

October 2023 – AECOM is commissioned to carry this out.

January 2024 – AECOM reports and a revised plan is prepared.

February to March 2024 – The draft plan is then consulted on by Semington Parish Council, as the the Qualifying Body, for a 6-week Regulation 14 community consultation.

April to July 2024 – Following the Regulation 14 consultation the draft plan was revised and associated documentation put together in preparation for approval by the Parish Council and subsequent Regulation 15 submission to Wiltshire Council.  The plan was approved by the Parish Council on July 17th and submitted to Wiltshire Council on July 22nd.

July to September 2024 – Wiltshire Council carried out a 6-week Regulation 16 consultation on the plan which ended on September 24th.

October to November 2024 – Following the end of the Regulation 16 consultation, Wiltshire Council appointed John Slater to provide an independent inspection of the plan.  This work began on September 30th.  The Parish Council has received Mr Slater’s initial comments and will be responding by November 1st.

Next Steps

Autumn  2024 – Wiltshire Council commissions an independent examination of the draft Plan by an Inspector who makes recommendations to Wiltshire Council and Semington Parish Council about changes that might or should be made.

Winter 2024/25 – A community referendum takes place organised by Wiltshire Council

Spring 2025 – The Plan is “made” after which it becomes part of the Wiltshire Development Plan and carries weight in the planning process