Click to see the full Reg 14 version of Garforth Plan in PDF format or Flipbook format

Garforth Neighbourhood Plan Update September 2021

It has been a few months since our Regulation 14 Consultation, January to March 2021, and firstly thank you again for participation. Your feedback and opinions help shape the plan.

So, what’s been happening since?

General comments:

We received 739 written comments from residents, statutory bodies, local councillors and Leeds City Council, some of these are very detailed. Our writing team are reviewing every comment to assess if any change to the plan is required and making said changes. Due to the tremendous volume this process will continue to take a few more months.

Policy responses:

We asked for your comments per policy and section of the plan. For the 53 policies within the plan we asked if you agreed (92%), maybe (7%) or disagreed (1%).

What are the next stages after the revised draft plan is produced?

• Submission to Leeds City Council
• Examination
• Referendum

As we approach and progress through each stage we’ll keep you updated on the progress and steps involved.

Thank you for your patience whilst this review is undertaken and again thank you for all your support.

The Garforth Plan Website of Garforth Neighbourhood Planning Forum ( GNPF )

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Garforth Neighbourhood Planning Forum’s website. The Garforth Neighbourhood Planning Forum is a group of volunteers/residents in Garforth who have committed to preparing a neighbourhood plan for the Garforth Neighbourhood Area.   The Forum was established in 2014 in response to the Council’s emerging plans and proposals for the area, set out in the Site Allocations Plan. Since then, the Forum has been working on collecting evidence, surveying and talking to local residents and other stakeholders, and preparing a plan that will set out how we wish Garforth to develop to make it a more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable place to live and work.

Neighbourhood plans are statutory land-use planning documents, which include policies and projects to shape the development of an area over the long term. They are prepared through a process of engagement and consultation with local residents and other stakeholders, and should reflect the needs and aspirations of the area in the future. Once the plan has been adopted, it will be used by Leeds City Council, the Local Planning Authority, to help determine planning applications in the Garforth Neighbourhood Area.

The Forum is made up of XX people, and is open to anyone who lives, works or carries out business in the neighbourhood area. We have a Steering Group who are responsible for the overall preparation of the plan and management of the neighbourhood planning process. We have a Working Group, responsible for preparing the evidence base for the plan and co-ordinating surveys and consultations. And finally we have a Writing Group, responsible for pulling the plan together based on the engagement and on local evidence.

For more information about neighbourhood planning and the planning process in general, visit this PAGE. To join the Forum, visit this page.

LATEST UPDATES (THIS CHANGES DEPENDING ON WHAT STAGE THE PLAN IS AT)

We are currently preparing the pre-submission draft of the neighbourhood plan. This draft of the plan is based on the results of the surveys and engagement that the Forum has conducted with local residents and other stakeholders, and on locally sourced pieces of evidence, put together by the working group. To view the surveys and other evidence base material, visit the Evidence page.

Once this version of the plan is finalised, it will be subject to formal consultation in Garforth and will be sent to Leeds City Council for their formal comments. The consultation period will last for a minimum of 6 weeks, and there will be an opportunity to view the plan and supporting documents and make comments, to shape the submission draft plan.

Once we have made changes to the plan as a result of the consultation, it will be submitted to Leeds City Council for a final round of publicity, and then be subject to an independent examination. If the plan passes the examination process, it will come back to Garforth and be subject to a local referendum.

Everyone registered to vote in Garforth will be eligible to vote in the referendum, and it will ask the question:

“Do you want Leeds City Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Garforth to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

If there is a >50% yes vote, the plan will be made (adopted) by Leeds City Council, and will be part of the statutory development plan.

If you’d like to know more about the Forum and what it involves, feel free to send us an email at garforthplan@gmail.com