Council-wide Plans
Neighbourhood Plans
The 2011 Localism Act has given communities the right to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan. This right is aimed at giving local communities genuine opportunities to influence the future of the places where they live
Grafton Underwood Parish Council agreed to prepare a neighbourhood plan for the parish. The preparation of the Grafton Underwood Neighbourhood Plan is intended to allow people who live, work and have a business in the area to have a say where they think new houses and businesses should be located and what they should look like.
A Neighbourhood Plan can also identify and protect important Local Green Spaces, conserve local heritage and protect areas of nature conservation interest.
The Grafton Underwood Neighbourhood Plan will be a statutory plan which means that once it has been finalised, decisions on planning applications will be made using the North Northamptonshire Development Plan and the Neighbourhood Plan, and any other material considerations
The Grafton Underwood Neighbourhood Area
The Neighbourhood Area includes the whole of Grafton Underwood Parish. Grafton Underwood Parish Council applied for Neighbourhood Area designation and the Neighbourhood Area was designated by Kettering Borough Council on 3 June 2019
Grafton Underwood Neighbourhood Area (Parish)
Basic Conditions
Only a draft neighbourhood plan that meets each of a set of basic conditions can be put to a referendum and be adopted. This means that there is not an entirely free hand over how the Plan is prepared. In particular, a Neighbourhood Plan must have regard to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), National Planning Practice Guidance and the Development Plan for the area.
National Planning Policy Framework
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was first published on 27 March 2012 and updated on 24 July 2018, 19 February 2019, 20 July 2021, 5 September 2023 and 9 December 2023. It sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied.
The NPPF and the planning practice guidance to support the framework are published online.
North Northamptonshire Development Plan
For the purposes of the Grafton Underwood Neighbourhood Plan, the relevant parts of the North Northamptonshire Development Plan are the North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy 2011 – 2031 (Adopted July 2016) and the Kettering Site Specific Part 2 Local Plan 2011 – 2031 (Adopted December 2021).
Kettering Site Specific Part 2 Local Plan 2011 – 2031 (Adopted December 2021)
Work has started on the North Northamptonshire Local Plan Review, to take into account changes that have occurred since its adoption, including the publication of a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Its adoption is anticipated for 2026