Hermitage Neighbourhood Plan

Contents

• Plan adopted
• Referendum
• Post examination 
• Independent examination
• Regulation 16 consultation (Activity closed)
• Regulation 14 pre-submission consultation (Activity closed)
• Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulations Assessment
• Neighbourhood Area Designation

You can find general information about developing a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) and resources to help you develop one for your community on our NDP webpage.

Plan adopted

Following a positive referendum result on the Hermitage Neighbourhood Plan, also known as the Hermitage Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP), West Berkshire District Council adopted the Hermitage NDP on 3 May 2024. It now forms part of the development plan for the purposes of managing development in the parish of Hermitage.

You can view the Hermitage NDP and the Decision Statement below:

• Hermitage NDP [1MB]
• Decision Statement [803KB]

It should be noted that policy HER2 of the NDP makes reference to the Hermitage Design Guidelines and Codes document which can be viewed here [32MB] .

Referendum

The referendum on the Hermitage NDP took place on Thursday 2 May 2024. The question asked at the referendum was:

"Do you want West Berkshire District Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Hermitage to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?"

 

The result of the referendum was declared on 3 May 2024. From the votes recorded, 363 voted 'Yes' to the NDP, and 36 voted 'No'. The turnout of electors was 26 per cent. You can view the Declaration of Results Poll online, here [101KB] .

The referendum was conducted in accordance with procedures similar to those used at local government elections. 

In accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning (Referendum) Regulations 2012 (as amended), we published an Information Statement [299KB] which set out the information relating to the referendum and also the following specified documents:

• The draft Hermitage NDP (as modified) [1MB]
• The independent examiner's report [306KB]
• A summary of representations submitted to the independent examiner [136KB]
• Hermitage NDP Decision Statement (February 2024) [989KB]
• A general information statement on town and country planning, neighbourhood planning, and the referendum [299KB]

Post independent examination

The examiner's report on the Hermitage NDP is not binding. It is the responsibility of West Berkshire District Council to ultimately decide if the examiner's recommendations should be followed or not. Officers considered each of the recommendations in the examiner's report and produced a Decision Statement [989KB] . The Decision Statement recommends that the Hermitage NDP with modifications can proceed to a referendum.

At a meeting of Council on Tuesday 20 February 2024, councillors endorsed the Decision Statement. Councillors also agreed at Council that the NDP can be adopted immediately upon a successful 'yes' vote at referendum.

Independent examination

At a meeting of Council on Thursday 5 October 2023, Councillors agreed that the Hermitage NDP, can proceed to independent examination.  

Andrew Mead was  appointed to carry out the independent examination of the Hermitage NDP. The purpose of the examination is to determine if the plan meets the five basic conditions in Paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 4B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, with or without modifications.

On 16 October 2023, the examiner issued a letter setting out the procedural matters for the examination. You can view the examiners letter here [204KB] .

On 9 November 2023, the examiner issued his final report which can be viewed here [306KB] . This recommends that subject to a modification, the Hermitage NDP can proceed to referendum.

Consultation on the submitted Neighbourhood Plan for Hermitage (Regulation 16 consultation)

Hermitage Parish Council submitted the Hermitage NDP to West Berkshire District Council on 17 February 2023. After submission, responsibility for taking the plan forward lies with the local planning authority. 

Once a plan has been submitted to the local planning authority it must be checked to ensure it complies with the relevant legislation. You can view the Legal Compliance Check of the Hermitage NDP here [176KB] , which confirms that the plan complies with the relevant legislation. 

The Council published the submitted plan and its supporting documents for a 6-week consultation which ran between Friday 21 July and Friday 1 September 2023. The consultation documents consisted of: 

• Hermitage NDP [13MB]
• Basic Conditions Statement [1MB]
• Consultation Statement [1MB]

Other supporting evidence documents used to shape the Hermitage NDP are as follows:

• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) & Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) Screening Report - Consultation Version (October 2022) [1MB]
• SEA / HRA Screening Report - Post-consultation Version (November 2022) [1MB]
• SEA / HRA Screening Decision (November 2022) [277KB]
• Hermitage Design Guidelines and Codes for Hermitage Parish Council (AECOM, 2022) [32MB]
• Hermitage Housing Needs Survey for Hermitage Parish Council (Arc4, 2021) [16KB]
• Guidelines for Ecological Report Writing, Second Edition (Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, 2017) [3MB]
• West Berkshire Density Pattern Book for West Berkshire District Council (David Lock Associates, 2019) [2MB]
• Non-statutory Technical Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems (DEFRA, 2015) [40KB]
• Berkshire (including South Bucks) Strategic Housing Market Assessment for West Berkshire Council (GL Hearn, 2016) [5MB]
• Hermitage Green Spaces Audit (Hermitage Neighbourhood Plan Group, 2023) [2MB]
• Hermitage Footpaths, Bridleways and Byways (Hermitage Parish Council, 2014) [3MB]
• West Berkshire Housing Needs Assessment Update for West Berkshire District Council (Iceni, 2022) [1MB]
• Guidance Note 1 for the Reduction of Obtrusive Light, GN01/21 (Institute of Lighting Professionals, 2021) [5MB]
• Biodiversity in new housing developments: creating wildlife-friendly communities, NF89 (NHBC, 2021) [3MB]
• Sustainable Drainage Systems Supplementary Planning Document (West Berkshire District Council, 2018) [11MB]
• Homes for people and wildlife (Wildlife Trusts, 2018) [2MB]

You can view a summary of the responses received to the consultation, together with the responses in full, below:

• Summary of responses [136KB]
• Canal and River Trust [202KB]
• Ian Develin [376KB]
• Historic England [199KB]
• National Highways [198KB]
• Sport England [444KB]
• Thames Water [296KB]
• The Downland Practice [145KB]
• Transport for London [234KB]

West Berkshire District Council's comments on the submitted NDP can be viewed here [1MB] .

Consultation on the Draft Neighbourhood Plan for Hermitage (Regulation 14 pre-submission consultation)

On Monday 24 October 2022, Hermitage Parish Council published the first draft of the neighbourhood plan for consultation (also known as the Regulation 14 consultation). The consultation closed on Monday 5 December 2022.

The document that was consulted on can be viewed here [8MB] . 

Please note that this consultation was the responsibility of Hermitage Parish Council and not West Berkshire District Council. Any queries about this consultation should be directed to the Hermitage Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, a sub-group of the Parish Council, who can be contacted by email: Hermitagendp@gmail.com. 

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Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulations Assessment

West Berkshire Council undertook screening for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA). You can read the screening report [1MB] and  decision notice [277KB] online.

SEA is required for all plans which may have a significant effect on the environment. A SEA aims to protect the environment at a high level, and ensures the environment is considered during the preparation of plans. This promotes sustainable development.

Not all neighbourhood plans will require a SEA to be carried out. To decide if a SEA is required, a screening exercise is used to look at proposals in an emerging neighbourhood plan, and see if a significant effect is likely.

A HRA is required to determine if a neighbourhood plan would have a significant impact upon the integrity of nature conservation sites of international importance, such as Ramsar Sites, Special Areas of Conservation, and Special Protection Areas. If a plan is likely to result in significant impacts, then an assessment referred to as an Appropriate Assessment must be undertaken.

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Neighbourhood Area Designation

A Neighbourhood Area for the Parish of Hermitage was designated on 26 April 2019; you can view the Designation Notice online, here [919KB] . This is the first formal stage in the preparation of a neighbourhood plan.

In order to prepare a neighbourhood plan, parish or town councils must notify West Berkshire Council of their intention to designate a neighbourhood area. You can read the Hermitage Neighbourhood Area application form [609KB] .

Hermitage Parish Council have set up a website containing more information about their forthcoming neighbourhood plan.

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