Introduction

Great Torrington Town Council have prepared a neighbourhood plan for their parish. You can find details of the neighbourhood plan and its progression to being "made" (the neighbourhood planning term for adoption) by Torridge District Council below.

Neighbourhood Plan Status and Referendum to Progression of the Neighbourhood Plan

Following a positive referendum outcome, Torridge District Council agreed to "make" the Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan on 2^nd August 2021. The Neighbourhood Plan now forms part of the Development Plan for the area and thus will be influential in decision making in respect of planning applications within the parish area. The "made"  Neighbourhood Plan and the formal Decision Statement, setting out the decision of Torridge District Council on this matter can be downloaded below:

Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan (PDF) [2MB]

Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan Decision Statement (PDF) [397KB]

The Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan passed through examination and was subject to a referendum of eligible residents to decide whether it should progress to be 'made' Thursday 17th June 2021. The referendum had been delayed due to restrictions introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic (through the Local Government and Police and Crime Commissioner (Coronavirus) (Postponement of Elections and Referendums) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020).

The Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan received a positive result at its referendum, with over 80% of those who voted in favour of taking the neighbourhood plan forward to be used to help decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area.

Referendum - Declaration of Result of Poll (PDF) [97KB]

The following documents are published in support of the referendum on the neighbourhood plan:

Notice of Referendum (PDF) [10KB]

Referendum Information Statement (PDF) [323KB]

Proposed Referendum Draft of the Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan (PDF) [2MB]

Neighbourhood Planning General Information Statement (PDF) [776KB]

A copy of the Council's formal Decision Statement on the neighbourhood plan, along with the Examiner's Report and Summary of Representations may be downloaded below.

Planning Practice Guidance sets out that draft neighbourhood plans awaiting referendums can be given significant weight in decision-making, so far as the plan is material to the application.

Post Examination Consideration

The examination of the Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan concluded that, subject to the acceptance of the recommendations put forward by the examiner, the Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan can proceed to referendum. A report was presented to a meeting of the Full Council of Torridge District Council on 2^nd November 2020 to consider the recommendations of the examiner, the reasons for them, to determine whether to accept them and whether therefore the neighbourhood plan can proceed to referendum. The Council accepted the recommendations of the examiner and the associated reasons, concluding that the neighbourhood plan meets all the statutory requirements and that it can proceed to referendum. The formal Decision Statement setting out the decision on this matter was published on 3^rd December 2020 and can be downloaded below:

Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan Decision Statement (PDF) [397KB]

Examination of Neighbourhood Plan

The Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan has been subject to independent examination with Mr Martin S. Lee, MA MRTPI AMInstLM MTCPA NPIERS NSI appointed to carry out the examination. The purpose of the examination was to determine whether or not it met the "basic conditions" as defined in the Localism Act 2011, Schedule 10 and Schedule 4B, 8 (2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and to recommend if it could proceed to referendum. The examiner's final report was published on the 8th December 2019 and can be found below. The examiner concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan could meet the basic conditions, subject to the acceptance of the recommendations contained in his report and that if the recommended modifications are accepted (by the District Council), the Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan 2018 - 2031 is taken forward to a referendum.

• Final Examiner’s Report 8th December 2019 (PDF) [322KB]

In response to recommended actions in the examiner's report Great Torrington Town Council provided further detail in an updated Basic Conditions Statement and an Equalities Impact Assessment. These documents are available below:

• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan Basic Conditions Statement 2020 (PDF) [449KB]
• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan Equalities Impact Assessment (PDF) [384KB]

Submission of Neighbourhood Plan and Consultation

Great Torrington Town Council, as the relevant qualifying body, submitted the Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan proposal to Torridge District Council in accordance with Regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) in November 2018.  The submission documents are available below.

• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan Proposal - Submission Draft (PDF) [3MB]
• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan - Addendum Non-Land Use Matters (PDF) [961KB]
• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan - Basic Conditions Statement (PDF) [914KB]
• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan - Consultation Statement (PDF) [11MB]
• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan - Evidence Base (PDF) [409KB]
• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan - Policies Map v1 (PDF) [1MB]
• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan - Policies Map v3 (PDF) [1MB]
• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan - SEA HEA Screening (PDF) [427KB]
• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan - Sustainability Appraisal (PDF) [1MB]
• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan - Area Designation Map (PDF) [5MB]

In accordance with Regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) the submission Winkleigh Neighbourhood Plan was subject to formal public consultation between 14th February - 28th March 2019. Copies of the representations received to the consultation can be found via the Council's Consultation Portal.

Neighbourhood Area Designation

In accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, Torridge District Council approved the designation of the parish of Great Torrington as a Neighbourhood Area on 24th November 2014, following a six week period of consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Area.

The area to which the designation relates is the whole of the parish of Great Torrington, as identified in the map available as a PDF download below. The letter of application from Great Torrington Town Council can also be downloaded below together with the formal letter of designation.

• Application for Designation of a Neighbourhood Area (PDF) [1MB]
• Great Torrington Neighbourhood Area - Designated November 2014 (PDF) [5MB]
• Letter of Designation - Great Torrington Neighbourhood Area (PDF) [28KB]

Further Information

For further information on the Neighbourhood Development Plan please see the Qualifying Body's dedicated website (Please note this links to an external website and that Torridge District Council cannot be held responsible for the content of such websites).