Wallington Neighbourhood Plan 2022 - 2031 Submission Version June 2023

(1)9 Implementation and plan review

9.1. The Parish Council is the official qualifying body responsible for the Neighbourhood Plan.

9.2. Once the Plan has been 'made', there are a series of actions that will need to be undertaken to ensure that the policies within the Neighbourhood Plan are being interpreted and used in the way intended. It will also be necessary to maintain a watching brief on changes to the planning policy landscape, both at the national and local planning authority levels, which may have an impact on the plan's policies. Finally, the non-planning policy projects and activities will need to be prioritised for delivery, in partnership with other organisations.

9.3. Specific actions that will need to be undertaken are as follows:

• Pursuing the Non-Policy Actions detailed in Section 11 of this document – a range of organisations may be involved in delivering these and there will be need for a co-ordinated approach. Many will require funding and therefore it would be helpful to consult with the community to understand which are priorities and the potential costs and achievability of each. Funding may be sourced from developer contributions or tailored funds, such as the Big Lottery Fund.
• Commenting on planning applications or consultations relating to the Neighbourhood Plan area – the Parish Council has a role in ensuring that the Neighbourhood Plan policies are being adequately considered, where relevant, in decisions to determine the outcome of planning applications in the Parish. A meeting between local councillors, planning committee members and the supporting planning officers at NHDC would be a useful step in ensuring that the purpose and application of the policies is fully understood. This will assist in ensuring that policies are interpreted and applied in the way intended.
• Monitoring the application of the Neighbourhood Plan policies to ensure they have been applied consistently and interpreted correctly in response to planning applications – there may be scope to identify indicators to measure the effect that each policy is having and the extent to which this is delivering against the associated objective. The Parish Council maintains a log of planning applications relating to the Parish, and this should detail which Neighbourhood Plan policies have informed the Parish response and the outcome of the decision. This will assist in understanding whether the policies have been used in the manner intended or whether changes may be required, for instance in any future review of the Neighbourhood Plan.
• Maintaining a dialogue with NHDC regarding the timing and content of the emerging Local Plan – it will be important to consider the policies in the emerging document and how these may impact the Neighbourhood Plan policies. The adoption of the Local Plan may trigger a light-touch review of the Neighbourhood Plan.
• Maintaining a watching brief on the national policy landscape – changes at the national level may impact on the policies contained in the Local Plan and the Neighbourhood Plan. It is therefore important to keep abreast of this, as this could also provide a trigger to undertake a light-touch review of the Neighbourhood Plan.
• Maintaining a dialogue with the local community on the plan implementation – ensuring that all records of how the plan has been used should be made public. It is also recommended that a regular update – for instance at the Annual Parish Meeting – is provided, to feed back to the community on progress about both the effectiveness of the policies and the pursing of the projects. Such a report might also be embedded into NHDC's Authority Monitoring Report, to illustrate how the Neighbourhood Plan is contributing to the delivery of strategic policy.
• Considering gaps in the Neighbourhood Plan – local issues, concerns or opportunities may arise during the lifespan of the Plan that trigger the need for the inclusion of a new policy. Such issues can be most effectively understood by maintaining open dialogue with the community and other partners.

9.4. Whilst it is not a legislative requirement to review a Neighbourhood Plan, it is good practice to do so periodically. This may be because of any of the points noted above. A light-touch review will enable the Parish Council to keep the Neighbourhood Plan up to date in general terms, and to ensure that it remains in general conformity with the wider development plan. In this context, it could consider a review of the neighbourhood plan within six months of the adoption of the new Local Plan. Any review should be undertaken in partnership with and ensuring the engagement of the wider community.