Purpose

1.     The purpose of this report is to set out the results of the referendum on the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan and make a recommendation to Council on whether the Neighbourhood Plan should be formally made (adopted) by South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC).

Background

2.     The Heydon Neighbourhood Area was designated on 15 March 2024. The neighbourhood area is for the whole area of the parish areas of Heydon. 

3.     Officers recognise the hard work of those in the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group and Parish Council have put into preparing the Plan. Both have strived to ensure that the whole village have had their opportunity to have an input into the final Plan.

4.     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 April 2025.

5.     Pre-submission public consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Plan was undertaken by the Parish Council from 9 May 2025 until 20 June 2025. 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 met with the steering group to discuss these comments, and the submission version of the plan took on board many of the suggested changes.

6.     On 1 December 2025 Heydon Parish Council 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 Heydon Neighbourhood Plan from 15 December 2025 to 9 February 2026. This extended period of consultation was to take into account that the consultation period extended over the Christmas holiday period. We wished to ensure everyone had an opportunity to comment on the Plan.

7.     Officers, in conjunction with Heydon Parish Council, 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 Council; 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 24 February 2026 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.

8.     The examiner issued on 2 March 2026 a note which set out the arrangements for the examination, and on the 9 March 2026 a clarification note which included some questions for the Parish Council. The Parish Council responded to the questions set for them on 20 March 2026.

9.     The Examiner’s Report was received on 18 May 2026. The examiner in his report concludes that subject to a series of recommended modifications the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan meets all the necessary legal requirements and should proceed to referendum. The examiner also recommended that the referendum should be held within the neighbourhood area only (recommending that that the Plan should proceed to referendum based on the neighbourhood area as approved by the District Council on 15 March 2024).

10.  Once the Examiner’s Report was received, the Council was able 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 included considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council agreed that the Neighbourhood Plan met the Basic Conditions. The Council published its decision in a decision statement.

11.  Officers, in conjunction with Heydon Parish Council, reviewed the examiner’s conclusions and recommended modifications, and agreed each of the recommended modifications considered necessary by the examiner for the Neighbourhood Plan to meet the Basic Conditions. Additional non-material modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan were also prepared by officers and agreed with Heydon Parish Council. A ‘Referendum’ version of the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan was prepared including these modifications.

12.  The Joint Director for Planning, having consulted with the Lead Cabinet Member for Planning, agreed on 22 May 2026 the Referendum version of the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan and that this plan should proceed to a referendum.

13.  A referendum on the ‘making’ (adoption) of the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan was held on 2 July 2026. Voters were asked “Do you want South Cambridgeshire District Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Heydon to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?” The results were declared as follows:

·       Yes votes: 70 (92.11%)

·       No votes: 6 (7.89%)

·       Turnout: 40.86%

Considerations

14.  If a Neighbourhood Plan is successful at referendum as a result of more people voting ‘yes’ than ‘no’, the Neighbourhood Plan becomes part of the development plan for the area (National Planning Practice Guidance, Paragraph: 064, Reference ID: 41-064-20170728), and all planning decisions in the neighbourhood area will be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The formal ‘making’ (adoption) of the Neighbourhood Plan does not happen until SCDC’s full Council are asked to do this at a meeting following the referendum.

15.  Following a successful referendum, SCDC has limited options in how to respond. National planning legislation requires that the Council ‘makes’ (adopts) the Neighbourhood Plan, unless the making of the Neighbourhood Plan would breach or is otherwise incompatible with EU or human rights obligations. National planning regulations also set out that where a Neighbourhood Plan is successful at referendum it should be ‘made’ within 8 weeks.

16.  The Heydon Neighbourhood Plan was successful at its referendum as more than half of those that voted were in favour of SCDC using the Neighbourhood Plan to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area. The Council is therefore required to ‘make’ the Neighbourhood Plan, unless the making of the Neighbourhood Plan would breach or is otherwise incompatible with EU or human rights obligations, which is one of the ‘Basic Conditions’ set out in national planning regulations that all Neighbourhood Plans must meet.

17.  Officers have assessed whether the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan meets the ‘Basic Condition’ that the Neighbourhood Plan does not breach, and is otherwise compatible with, EU and human rights obligations at various stages during the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan. Officers consider that the ‘making’ of the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan does not breach, and is otherwise compatible with, EU and human rights obligations (see Appendix 2). 

18.  The made version of the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan is included in Appendix 1 of this report. Officers have worked with Heydon Parish Council to agree minor (non-material) amendments to the referendum version of the Neighbourhood Plan to turn it into the made version of the Neighbourhood Plan. Minor (non-material) amendments can be made to a Neighbourhood Plan at any point (National Planning Practice Guidance, Paragraph: 106 Reference ID: 41-106-20190509 and Paragraph: 084a Reference ID: 41-084a-20180222). Amendments include updates to the wording on the front cover, and in the foreword, and chapter 1 (introduction) so that it is clear that the Neighbourhood Plan is made and forms part of the statutory development plan.

Timescales

19.  SCDC’s meeting of full Council on the 16 July 2026 will decide whether to formally make the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan. SCDC and Heydon Parish Council are keen to take the first opportunity to make the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan as it was a successful referendum vote.

Next Steps

20.  Once this decision has been agreed and published, SCDC’s full Council at their meeting on the 16 July 2026 will be asked to ‘make’ (adopt) the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan. Once the Neighbourhood Plan is formally ‘made’ (adopted) by full Council, officers will publish the decision to ‘make’ (adopt) the Neighbourhood Plan and send notifications to the necessary people and organisations as required by national planning regulations.

21.  Once formally ‘made’ (adopted) the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan will form part of the development plan for South Cambridgeshire. All planning decisions in the neighbourhood area will need to be made having regard to the policies of the Neighbourhood Plan, insofar as it is material to the application in line with the requirements of S70 (2) of the Town and Country Planning Act, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Decision

That the Deputy Director of Planning, having consulted with the Lead Cabinet Member for Planning, recommends that Council

1. Notes that the referendum for the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan took place on 2 July 2026.
2. ‘Makes’ (adopts) the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan (appendix 1 to this report) as a part of the statutory “Development Plan” for South Cambridgeshire following the successful referendum.

Reasons for the decision

Where a Neighbourhood Plan is successful at its referendum, national planning legislation requires that the Council ‘makes’ (adopts) the Neighbourhood Plan, unless the making of the Neighbourhood Plan would breach or is otherwise incompatible with EU or human rights obligations.

Officers have concluded that the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan would not breach or be otherwise incompatible with EU or human rights obligations, as set out in the Considerations section.   

Alternative options considered

Where a Neighbourhood Plan is successful at its referendum, SCDC has limited options in how to respond. National planning legislation requires that the Council ‘makes’ (adopts) the Neighbourhood Plan, unless the making of the Neighbourhood Plan would breach or is otherwise incompatible with EU or human rights obligations.

Officers have concluded that the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan would not breach or be otherwise incompatible with EU or human rights obligations, as set out in the Considerations section.