£22m funding to boost neighbourhood planning

HOUSING and planning minister Brandon Lewis has announced a multi-million pound boost to support communities looking to set up neighbourhood plans.

Neighbourhood planning allows people to decide the future development of their area, including where new homes and businesses should be built.

Nearly 1,400 areas representing six million people across England are already using their neighbourhood planning powers, with others looking to follow suit.

Lewis announced that neighbourhood planning groups can able to apply for grant funding as part of the £22.5m programme.  Grants can be used to pay for events to engage the local community, print leaflets and to pay for specialist planning expertise.

The support programme runs to 2018 and from April it will also provide community groups with technical assistance and expert advice to support new neighbourhood plans and neighbourhood development orders, throughout the process.

It comes as ministers are due to host a National Neighbourhood Planning Summit, bringing together local authorities, MPs, builders, and communities from across the country to help more people bring forward neighbourhood plans.

Visiting Altrincham Forward, which is seeking a business-led neighbourhood plan for the town, Lewis said: “From the very beginning we’ve been clear that we wanted to give power back from Whitehall to local communities and with six million people living in areas producing neighbourhood plans the success of our reforms is clear.

“Now I want to keep up the momentum,and encourage  more areas to come forward and this new £22m programme for grant applications will do just that. It will also support lots more areas and enable people to take control over planning in their neighbourhood.”