Neighbourhood plans enable people living and working in an area to guide where and how future development happens.

Plans are prepared by the local community through their parish council, rather than being prepared by Northumberland County Council.

They must be supported by the local community and will be used by Northumberland County Council to make decisions on planning applications in the parish.

What can a neighbourhood plan include?

• Plans can include a range of planning policies to guide the sustainable location and delivery of new development. This could include design, delivery of affordable and community led housing, identification of important green spaces, and the protection and enhancement of community facilities.
• They can also include community actions for those things that do not require planning permission, such as environmental enhancement projects.

Humshaugh Parish Council

Humshaugh Parish Council is the qualifying body for the preparation of a Neighbourhood Plan for their civil parish area. The Parish Council has agreed to establish separate project management arrangements to facilitate the delivery of this plan-making function. The Parish Council has granted delegated authority in exercise of all relevant plan-making functions to the Humshaugh Parish Neighbourhood Planning Steering Group. The Steering Group sits as the Project Board for project management and decision making purposes and will lead the preparation of the Humshaugh Parish Neighbourhood Plan. The Group will guide and agree the content of the Plan and all associated evidence and analysis up to Preferred Option Consultation Draft stage.

Since 2022 Humshaugh Parish Council, through a steering group of parish councillors and local volunteers, has been working to develop a Neighbourhood Plan. This is a document which is prepared and agreed by the local community. Neighbourhood Plans include planning policies to guide new development in the local area as well as community actions that relate to other non-planning matters.

Once the plan is adopted, its policies will be used by Northumberland County Council to assess planning applications for new development. The parish council will work with others to facilitate the delivery of the community actions.

On 3rd March 2022, Northumberland County Council confirmed that the civil parish of Humshaugh was designated as a neighbourhood area for the purposes of section 61G(1) of the Town & Country Act 1990.