The result of the Referendum on December 2^nd was a ringing endorsement of Parish Council’s determination to increase wellbeing and to preserve the character of the villages and the surrounding landscape. In case you missed it, 346 votes were cast; 316 in favour and just 29 against. 91% vote in favour and just 9% against, in a 15.8% turnout which is pretty good for a local issue election.

The steering group would like to thank:

The Parish Council for supporting the development of the Plan from its inception in 2017 through to its conclusion; and the three clerks who have attended our formal meetings, taken minutes and undertaken tasks on our behalf, especially Alison Benson;

SNC/WNC for their support, contribution and commitment from day one, especially Alan Munn and, earlier, Ellie Gingell;

Kirkwells Consultants, especially Michael Wellock, for providing the framework for the finished Plan, for his constructive contribution and for his patience and endurance throughout;

Locality for the grant we received and for helping us with the Sites and Housing Needs Assessments;

Those who have assisted with publicity: The Village Hall, Carey Chapel, Hackleton Stores, The White Hart, The Spread Eagle, and especially Alan McDonogh  for help with design and printing posters, drafts of the Plan and other materials;

Members of the parish community who had any input into the process, gave us moral support and who attended the open sessions.

It was a long, challenging process during which we learned a considerable amount about the area in which we live. Through the Plan, we hope to share that knowledge and experience with you.

The Plan is not about how many houses will be built; it is about the quality and the appropriateness of any future developments. Importantly, it is about the whole environment, including biodiversity, wildlife, history and archaeology. People who have read the Plan tell us what an interesting and informative read it is, with lots of maps, diagrams and photographs to illustrate the content. It’s not as daunting as its length might suggest – and it has more pictures than War And Peace!

The journey starts here, in terms of our greater involvement with WNC on Planning. Our policies sit alongside those in the WNC Local Plan and we will have a greater say in our own future.

The Steering Group:

Roy Hawkesford (chair)

Jo Willmer

Carol Lloyd

Maz Woolley

We’ve done all our work and now it is the turn of an independent examiner to review our Neighbourhood plan and make sure that it meets a number of criteria set by the Government in Town and Country Planning legislation.

West Northamptonshire (South) Planning Team have sent our plan and all the supporting information about consultations to the recently appointed independent examiner who will now spend some weeks undertaking an examination which will include a detailed examination of our plan, questioning the neighbourhood planning team where clarification is needed, examining our communications to date and any representations, and even visiting the parish where required to get a fuller picture of the impact of the plan.

Once the independent examiner has completed the review they will issue a report to West Northamptonshire (South) Planning Team who will then publish it. If the local planning authority is satisfied that the report complies with planning considerations then West Northamptonshire Planning will send the plan to a referendum within the Parish.

We will share the progress of the examination on this website as we are updated.

South Northants Council (SNC) has begun their consultation on the Hackleton Parish Neighbourhood Plan. You will find the area dedicated to this consultation on the SNC website at https://www.southnorthants.gov.uk/consultation.

All responses must be made to SNC following the procedures set out there.

Posters issued by SNC giving advice on the consultation exercise may be found in the Parish Notice Boards as shown in the photographs below.

The consultation exercise ends on 26th March 2021.

The SNC led Regulation 16 consultation phase on the Hackleton Parish Neighbourhood Plan opens on February 10th 2021 and lasts until March 26th 2021. This consultation is web and email based and the SNC poster below shows the contact details which will be in force from February 10th. Please note that all comments should be made as to SNC as shown on the poster below following the procedures set by SNC. The poster shown below will be posted up around the parish shortly.

Following this SNC will arrange for a Government approved Planning Inspector to review the plan to confirm that it conforms with the law and the Government’s National Planning Framework after which they will organise a referendum in the parish to approve the plan.

Our Consultant has now returned the latest version of the plan updated and expanded after our Regulation 14 consultation.

The team are now spending time reviewing the plan and trying to make sure that it reflects changes which have happened since the R14 version was written like the start of work at Hardingstone on new housing. We are also trying to make sure that it is very clear before it is passed to SNC for the official comments.

In addition to the plan there are two more documents that have to be submitted to accompany it. These are written by the Consultant and are technical planning documents but we we still have to check that they are correct!

We are still waiting for some supporting policy maps to check but these are likely to be with us soon.

We hope to get the review completed, and the paperwork updated by our Consultant as soon as possible, with an aim of getting it to SNC before the end of 2020.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Neighbourhood Plan Team