The Regulation 14 consultation on the Hackleton Parish Neighbourhood Plan is now complete and the Neighbourhood Plan team will now analyse the representations made and carry out any changes to the plan needed. The next step will be to pass the amended plan over to South Northants Council (SNC) and for it to go forward into the formal approval phases which will ultimately lead to review by a Planning Inspector and a local referendum on whether it should be approved.

Following planning guidance issued by the Government following the Coronavirus regulations no Local Plan referendums will be held until May 2021. However in the meantime our plan must pass detailed scrutiny by planners and public bodies, as well as gaining approval from a Government Appointed Planning Inspector.

Hackleton Parish Neighbourhood Plan Team

Just a reminder that the Regulation 14 consultation period ends at Midnight on Friday 24th April.

You will find the plan, and backing documents, as well as a form to make any representations that you wish to make on our dedicated Neighbourhood Plan Website at www.hpnp.org.uk.

Your Neighbourhood Plan Team

One of the things that the Neighbourhood plan team has to produce is an assessment as to whether the impact of our plan on the Environment is likely to need a formal detailed strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Our impact assessment has been completed by our consultant and Natural England, the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England, have responded today (11/03/2020) saying:

“Natural England considers that, based on the material supplied with the consultation, in so far as our strategic environmental interests are concerned, significant environmental effects resulting from the neighbourhood plan are unlikely. We therefore agree with the conclusion of the SEA screening report that a Strategic Environmental Assessment would not be required.”

This is excellent as a formal screening assessment would need additional time, effort and cost to create. It is good news that a body as important as Natural England agrees we do not need to complete one.

The latest version of the Neighbourhood Plan, and supporting documents is now available to view on our website hpnp.org.uk. For those who prefer to read a paper copy it may be examined at Wootton and Towcester Libraries, in Hackleton Stores, and in the White Hart and Spread Eagle.

We will be holding three drop-in sessions over the consultation period at Hackleton Village Hall Annexe where you may read the plan and make representations:

• Saturday March 28^th                       11am to 2pm,
• Thursday 2^nd April                            11am to 2pm, and 
• Wednesday 22^nd April                   7pm to 9pm.

If you wish to make a formal representation about the plan then the easiest way is to complete a representation form online. Paper forms may be obtained from the locations where the plan is available to be read or from the Parish Clerk. All representations must be received by the clerk by April 24th 2020.

Once this formal consultation is complete we will be one step nearer passing the document to SNC to manage the final stages of its progress.

Following your feedback from our Informal Consultation, in October 2019, and further work undertaken as a result, we are now moving on to Formal Consultation, also known as ‘Regulation 14 consultation’.

In accordance with this legal process, you will find our updated draft Neighbourhood Plan here. with its supporting documents. You may read it and make any formal responses before it is passed to South Northants Council (SNC) to proceed with the later steps in the adoption process.

Consultation lasts from 6^th March to April 24^th 2020. Copies of the Plan, supporting policy maps, and the Regulation 14 Representation Forms are available for reading and downloading on this site. They will also be made available at Wootton and Towcester Libraries, The White Hart, The Spread Eagle, and Hackleton Stores. You may also make any representations online on this website here.

We will be holding three drop in sessions in Hackleton Village Hall Annexe where copies of the Plan can be read and representation forms will be available to complete. Steering group members will be present to answer any questions about the plan. The dates and times for these events are:

■ Saturday 28th March from 11am to 2pm
■ Thursday 2nd April from 11am to 2pm
■ Wednesday 22nd April 7pm to 9pm

The members of the Hackleton Parish Neighbourhood Plan Working Party would like to thank all our web site readers and email followers for their interest in the plan during 2019. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

Our work will reach a climax in 2020 with the final submission of the plan and the local referendum. We hope that we will continue to enjoy your support as we enter the final phases of making our plan.

The consultation on the draft plan has now ended and we met on November 1st to review the comments we received from South Northants Council, interested parties, and the community .

SNC approval of planning permission for 21 homes at the top of Lyne Walk on 31st October has obviously had to be taken into account in our deliberations of exactly what the Final Plan should look like.

We have taken all the comments we have received very seriously. In some cases your comments are on matters outside the scope of the plan but we intend to pass those over to those bodies who they concern, be it NCC, SNC or the Parish Council.

We have reviewed the plan in the light of comments and feel some changes are needed. We will now make recommendations to the Parish Council. We will also need to consult SNC further to fully understand their comments and ensure that the plan is clearer in the areas that they question.

Once we have addressed everyone’s comments and made the changes we feel are needed the final plan will go for official consultation and Planning Inspection.

Although the official consultation period is over you may always let the team know what you think at any time by adding a comment to this website.