The Arundel Neighbourhood Plan Review 2018-2031

This is the home page of the Arundel Neighbourhood Plan. Here you will find information about what the plan is and how we are going about reviewing it.

Neighbourhood planning is a way for communities to have a say in the future of the places where they live and work. It gives them the power to produce a plan with real legal weight that directs development in their local area.

While neighbourhood planning gives a community the opportunity to shape development in their area, any neighbourhood plan must align with national planning policies as well as policies contained in the local plans for that area.

Background Information
The Arundel Neighbourhood Plan 2018-2031 was extensively reviewed in 2018/19, identifying land that could be developed for housing – including low cost housing – in the period up to 2031. This plan was approved in a referendum in 2019.

At the meeting of Full Council on 15th January 2020, Arun District Council resolved to ‘make’ the Arundel Neighbourhood Plan Review 2018-2031. This means that the plan has been brought into legal force and forms part of the statutory Development Plan for Arundel, Arun District and South Downs National Park. It now sits alongside the Local Plan and is used when determining planning applications for Arundel.

2023 – What’s happening now?

In 2023/24, Arundel Town Council (ATC) will be undertaking a second review of the Arundel Neighbourhood Plan. This will look at all of the current policies to identify: those that are no longer relevant; those that need to be amended; and to consider areas where new policies might be made. It will also be updated to reflect changes in law and government policy which have been introduced since 2018.

A briefing session was held with members of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group (NPSG) on 1 March 2023. O’Neill Homer, the appointed Planning Consultants, made a presentation which reviewed the current Neighbourhood Plan and considered the policies within it. Following discussion and feedback from the NPSG, O’Neill Homer produced a report to set out the template and approach to the review going forward.

This review is now ongoing, alongside a Character Appraisal of the Arundel conservation area. This Character Appraisal will underpin any proposed design guidance to be incorporated in the Neighbourhood Plan Review.

Our update of the 2023 Neighbourhood Plan is not expected to result in any material changes to the existing plan. In particular, we do not expect to be identifying any more land for housing in the town than was identified in 2019. However, there are a number of changes to government policy that we will want to reflect in the Neighbourhood Plan 3. If the changes are not material, the Examiner may conclude that a referendum on the changes is not required this time.

Updates
The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group will meet periodically throughout 2023 and into 2024. Minutes of these meetings will be shared here, for residents to access and follow the process of the Neighbourhood Plan Review.

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN REFERENCE DOCUMENTS: