Purpose

1.    
The purpose of this report is to consider the
conclusions of the Examiner’s Report on the Stapleford and
Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan, and whether those conclusions
should be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan
should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the
examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood
Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the
Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions.

2.    
Cabinet agreed at its meeting on 26 July 2018 that
where the examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan is
legally compliant, meets the Basic Conditions (with or without
modifications), and should proceed to referendum, the Joint
Director for Planning and Economic Development has delegated
authority to make the decision on the way forward, in consultation
with the Planning Lead Member.
 
Background
 

3.    
The Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Area
was designated on 8 November 2016. The neighbourhood area is for
the whole of both Stapleford and Great Shelford
Parishes.

4.    
Officers recognise the hard work that those on the
steering group of the neighbourhood plan have put into preparing
the Plan. This group has strived to ensure that the whole of both
villages had an opportunity to have an input into the final
Plan.

5.    
A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and
Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) screening was undertaken on a
draft version of the Neighbourhood Plan, and a screening
determination was published in March 2024.

6.    
Pre-submission public consultation on the draft
Neighbourhood Plan was undertaken by the Parish Councils from 11
March 2024 until 30 April 2024. Officers provided a formal response
to the consultation, providing constructive comments about the
Neighbourhood Plan to assist the neighbourhood plan group with
finalising the Neighbourhood Plan. Officers communicated with the
steering group to discuss these comments, and the submission
version of the plan took on board many of the suggested
changes.

7.    
On 21 November 2024, Stapleford and Great Shelford
Parish Councils submitted their Neighbourhood Plan to SCDC.
Officers confirmed by carrying out a Legal Compliance Check for the
Neighbourhood Plan that the submitted version of the Neighbourhood
Plan and its accompanying supporting documents complied with all
the relevant statutory requirements at this stage of plan making.
We therefore were able to carry out a consultation on the
Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan from 18 December
2024 until 12 February 2025. This extended period of consultation
was to take into account that the consultation period extended over
the Christmas holiday period. 

8.    
Officers, in conjunction with Stapleford and Great
Shelford Parish Councils, appointed an independent examiner to
consider this Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner appointed to
undertake the examination of a Neighbourhood Plan: must be
independent of both the District Council and Parish Councils;
cannot be the same examiner that undertakes a health check of the
Neighbourhood Plan; and must not have any interest in any land that
may be affected by the Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner appointed
was Andrew Ashcroft. On 14 February 2025 the Neighbourhood Plan,
its accompanying supporting documents and all comments submitted
during the public consultation on the submission version of the
Neighbourhood Plan were provided to the examiner with a request for
him to carry out the examination on the Neighbourhood
Plan.

9.    
The examiner issued on 21 February a note which set
out the arrangements for the examination and also a clarification
note which included some questions for the Parish Councils (PC).
The PC responded to the questions set for them on 27 March
2025.

10. 
The Examiner’s Report was received on 16 May
2025 (see Appendix 1). The examiner in his report concludes that
subject to a series of recommended modifications the Stapleford and
Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan meets all the necessary legal
requirements and should proceed to referendum. He also recommends
that the referendum should be held within the neighbourhood area
only.

11. 
Now that the Examiner’s Report has been
received, the Council is required to consider the conclusions of
the Examiner’s Report, and whether those conclusions should
be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should
proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the
examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood
Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the
Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. The Council must
publish its decision in a decision statement.
 
Considerations
 

12. 
Where an examiner has concluded that the
Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions (with or without
modifications) and is legally compliant, and therefore that the
Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum, the Council has
limited options in how to respond. The options are as
follows:
 

Option 1: Act upon the conclusions in the
Examiner’s Report, including making any recommended
modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and proceed to referendum,
provided that the Council confirms that the Basic Conditions have
been met.
 

Option 2: Take a decision substantially different
from the Examiner’s conclusions, wholly or partly as a result
of new evidence or fact, or a different view is taken by the
Council as to a particular fact, including that the Council is
unable to confirm that the Basic Conditions have been
met.
 

13. 
National regulations require the Council to make a
decision on the Examiner’s Report and whether the
Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum within 5 weeks of
receipt of the report (unless an alternative longer timescale is
agreed with the Parish Councils). Officers have worked with the
steering group and the Parish Councils, and a longer timescale has
been agreed to ensure that there is agreement to all the proposed
changes that are included in the referendum version of the
plan.

14. 
Officers have concluded that Option 1 should be
followed for the reasons set out in the following paragraphs of
this decision statement. Officers agree with the examiner’s
conclusions, including his recommended modifications to the
Neighbourhood Plan, and agree that the Neighbourhood Plan should
proceed to referendum.
 

a. Meeting the Basic Conditions and Legal
Requirements
 

15. 
To successfully proceed through its examination to a
referendum, a Neighbourhood Plan must meet a number of tests known
as the ‘Basic Conditions’. The Basic Conditions are set
out in national planning regulations and are summarised as
follows:

·      
having regard to national policies and advice
contained in guidance issued by the Secretary of State it is
appropriate to make the Neighbourhood Plan.

·      
the making of the Neighbourhood Plan contributes to
the achievement of sustainable development.

·      
the Neighbourhood Plan is in general conformity with
the strategic policies contained in the development plan for the
area.

·      
the making of the Neighbourhood Plan does not
breach, and is otherwise compatible with, EU obligations;
and

·      
prescribed conditions are met in relation to the
Neighbourhood Plan, including that the making of the neighbourhood
plan is not likely to have a significant effect on a European
wildlife site or a European offshore marine site either alone or in
combination with other plans or projects.
 

Chapter 3 of the Council’s Neighbourhood Plan
Toolkit sets out further detail on meeting the Basic
Conditions.
 

16. 
For the basic condition of having regard to national
policies and advice, it should be noted that an updated version of
the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published on 12
December 2024. Paragraph 239 of the NPPF 2024 sets out transitional
arrangements for plan-making. It comments that the policies in the
Framework will apply for the purpose of preparing neighbourhood
plans from 12 March 2025 unless a neighbourhood plan proposal has
been submitted to the local planning authority under Regulation 15
of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as
amended) on or before the 12 March 2025. On this basis, as the
Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan was submitted in
November 2024, the Plan has been examined against the NPPF
published in December 2023. Where NPPF paragraph numbers are used
they refer to those in the NPPF December 2023 version.

17. 
To proceed to a referendum, a Neighbourhood Plan
must also meet a number of legal requirements, such as whether the
Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared by a qualifying body and meets
the definition and scope of a Neighbourhood Plan.

18. 
The examiner concludes in the Executive Summary and
Chapter 8 (see Appendix 1) that subject to a series of recommended
modifications the Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan
meets the Basic Conditions and all the necessary legal
requirements. The issues he has considered in reaching his
conclusions and his modifications are set out in Chapter 7 of his
report (see Appendix 1). The examiner’s recommended
modifications do not fundamentally change the role or purpose of
the Neighbourhood Plan; they have been recommended by the examiner
to provide clarity and precision.

19. 
Officers, in conjunction with Stapleford and Great
Shelford Parish Councils, have reviewed the examiner’s
conclusions and recommended modifications, and officers and the
Parish Council have agreed each of the recommended modifications
considered necessary by the examiner for the Neighbourhood Plan to
meet the Basic Conditions. A ‘Referendum’ version of
the Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan has been
prepared including these modifications (see Appendix 2).

20. 
In the process of preparing the
‘referendum’ version of the Neighbourhood Plan, it was
found that there was a need to seek clarification from the
examiner. Revisions were agreed to Clause 5 of Policy S&GS 10
adding commas and brackets to improve clarity. It was agreed to
remove an erroneous comma from Policy S&GS 20.

21. 
Additional non-material modifications to the
Neighbourhood Plan have also been prepared by officers and agreed
with Stapleford and Great Shelford Parish Councils, and these
additional modifications are also included in the
‘Referendum’ version of the Neighbourhood Plan (see
Appendix 2). These modifications have been made in accordance with
national planning guidance which states that minor (non-material)
updates to a Neighbourhood Plan that would not materially affect
the policies in the plan can be made by the District Council at any
time, provided they have the consent of the Parish Councils, and
that these modifications can be made without the need for
consultation or examination (see National Planning Practice
Guidance, Paragraph 085, Reference ID: 41-085-20180222).

22. 
In summary, these additional non-material
modifications include the following:

·      
Updates to reflect the current stage of the
Neighbourhood Plan.

·      
Updates to formatting, text and maps to remove
mention of policies deleted by the examiner.

·      
Consequential minor updates to the text and figures
throughout the Neighbourhood Plan to ensure consistency with the
modifications made by the Examiner to the policies and supporting
text. 
   

23. 
Officers have undertaken a Basic Conditions and
Legal Compliance check of the ‘Referendum’ version of
the Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 3) and consider that the
Neighbourhood Plan meets all the requirements.

24. 
As the modifications made to the Stapleford and
Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan following its examination do not
change the essence of its planning policies, the SEA and HRA
screening undertaken on a draft version of the Neighbourhood Plan
and screening determination published in March 2024 remain
valid.
 
b.
Referendum
 

25. 
The examiner concludes in the Executive Summary and
Chapter 8 of his report (see Appendix 1) that, subject to the
incorporation of his proposed modifications, the Neighbourhood Plan
should proceed to referendum. He also concludes that it is
appropriate for the referendum area to be the neighbourhood area
designated by SCDC in November 2016 (see Appendix 1, Chapter 8). He
formally states (see Appendix 1, paragraph 8.3) he states the
following:
 

“On the basis of the findings in this report,
I recommend to South Cambridgeshire District Council that subject
to the incorporation of the modifications set out in this report
the Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Development Plan
should proceed to referendum.”

26. 
The examiner’s conclusions on the referendum
area are consistent with that proposed by the Council in its
response on the submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan agreed
by the Lead Cabinet Member for Planning in February 2025.
Therefore, as it has been demonstrated by officers that the
‘Referendum’ version of the Stapleford and Great
Shelford Neighbourhood Plan meets all the legislative requirements,
officers concur with the examiner that the Neighbourhood Plan
should proceed to referendum and that the referendum area should be
the neighbourhood area. 
 
Next
Steps
 

27. 
The regulations state that a referendum should take
place within 56 working days of the day after the publication of
this decision statement. And therefore, SCDC will proceed to set a
date for the referendum once this statement is
published. 

28. 
If a Neighbourhood Plan is successful at referendum,
the Neighbourhood Plan becomes part of the development plan for the
area (National Planning Practice Guidance, Paragraph: 064,
Reference ID: 41-064-20170728), although the formal
‘making’ of the Neighbourhood Plan will not happen
until SCDC’s full Council are asked to do this at their next
meeting following the referendum.
 
Implications
 

29. 
In the writing of this report, taking into account
financial, legal, staffing, risk management, equality and
diversity, climate change, community safety and any other key
issues, the following implications have been considered:

30. 
Financial: the costs of the examination and
referendum have to be initially met by SCDC. However, the Council
can claim a £20,000 government grant per Neighbourhood Plan
once a plan has been successfully through the examination and the
Council has set a date for the referendum.

31. 
Legal: where the examiner has concluded that the
Neighbourhood Plan is legally compliant, meets the Basic Conditions
(with or without modifications), and should proceed to referendum,
the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development has
delegated authority to make the decision on the way forward, in
consultation with the Planning Lead Member (as agreed by Cabinet at
its meeting on 26 July 2018). National regulations and planning
guidance for Neighbourhood Plans require that the Council considers
the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report, and whether those
conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the
Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes
considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications
to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council
agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. The
Council’s decision must be published in a decision
statement.

32. 
Staffing: the responsibilities associated with
delivering neighbourhood planning are being undertaken within the
existing resources of the Planning Policy Team, drawing upon the
expertise of other staff as required.

33. 
Equality and Diversity: these issues have been
considered in the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan, as to meet
the Basic Conditions a Neighbourhood Plan must not breach, and is
otherwise compatible with, EU obligations, including Human Rights.
Included as part of the Basic Conditions Statement is an assessment
undertaken by Stapleford and Great Shelford Parish Councils to
examine the impact of the Neighbourhood Plan in relation to the
‘protected characteristics’ as identified in the
Equality Act 2010. The Equalities Impact Assessment concludes that:
a number of policies in the Neighbourhood Plan will have positive
benefits for specific protected characteristics; there are no
negative equality impacts that arise from the policies or proposals
contained within the Neighbourhood Plan; and the Neighbourhood Plan
does not raise any issues in relation to any of the convention
rights in the Human Rights Act 1998. The examiner has agreed with
this assessment (see Appendix 1, paragraph 6.21).

Content

That
the Joint Director for Planning, having consulted with the Lead
Cabinet Member for Planning, agrees:

a.    
that South Cambridgeshire District Council should
act upon the conclusions in the Examiner’s Report on the
Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 1)
and that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to a referendum as
set out by the national regulations.

b.    
the ‘referendum’ version of the
Stapleford and Great Shelford (as set out in Appendix
2);

c.    
the ‘referendum’ version of the
Stapleford and Great Shelford Plan be given significant weight in
decision making and that the area for the referendum should be the
Neighbourhood Area.

Reasons for the decision

The Examiner’s
Report on the Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan was
received on 16 May 2025. The examiner concludes that, subject to a
series of recommended modifications, the Neighbourhood Plan meets
all the necessary legal requirements and should proceed to
referendum. He also recommends that the referendum should be held
within the neighbourhood area only.
 
National regulations
and planning guidance for Neighbourhood Plans require that the
Council considers the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report,
and whether those conclusions should be acted upon and therefore
that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This
includes considering whether the examiner’s recommended
modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether
the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic
Conditions. The Council’s decision must be published in a
decision statement. This report is the Council’s decision
statement for the purposes of those regulations.
 
The Council will set a
date for the referendum after the decision statement is published.
Until the referendum takes place the Referendum version of the Plan
will be given significant weight in decision making by the Council
as stated by the government in their revised
regulations.   
 

Alternative options considered

Where an examiner has
concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions
(with or without modifications) and is legally compliant, and
therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum,
the Council has limited options in how to respond. The options are
as follows:
 
Option 1: Act upon the conclusions in the Examiner’s
Report, including making any recommended modifications to the
Neighbourhood Plan, and proceed to referendum, provided that the
Council confirms that the Basic Conditions have been
met.
 
Option 2: Take a decision substantially different from the
Examiner’s conclusions, wholly or partly as a result of new
evidence or fact, or a different view is taken by the Council as to
a particular fact, including that the Council is unable to confirm
that the Basic Conditions have been met.
 
Officers have concluded that Option 1 should be followed for the
reasons set out in this decision statement. Officers agree with the
examiner’s conclusions, including his recommended
modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and agree that the
Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. Officers have
concluded that Option 2 should be rejected as there is no new
evidence or fact, and officers are able to confirm that the Basic
Conditions have been met (as set out in paragraph 22 in the Purpose
/ Background section of this decision statement).