Botesdale & Rickinghall Neighbourhood Plan

The Botesdale & Rickinghall Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) has been prepared by the two parish councils and will now be used to help guide and shape future development in the designated area.

Formal Adoption (Jan 2020)

At its Full Council meeting on 23 January 2020, Mid Suffolk District Council resolved to adopt ('make') the Botesdale & Rickinghall NDP.

The Plan, which covers the period up to 2036, now forms part of the development plan and will be used to help determine planning applications in Botesdale and Rickinghall unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Supporting Evidence

The following documents provide supporting evidence to the adopted NDP:

Previous stages...

Local referendum (28 Nov 2019)

A local referendum on the BoteRick NDP was held on 28 November 2019. The question asked of those entitled to vote was: 'Do you want Mid Suffolk to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Botesdale & Rickinghall to help it decide planning applications on the Neighbourhood Plan Area?'

Reg 17 Independent Examination (Final Report - 15 Aug 2019)

Mid Suffolk District Council appointed Ann Skippers Ann Skippers BSc (Hons) MRTPI FHEA FRSA AoU to carry out an independent examination of this NDP. The examination was conducted through written correspondence.

On 15 August 2019, the Examiner issued her final report. It recommended that, subject to modification, this NDP meets the basic conditions and that it should proceed to a local referendum.

Reg 16 Submission Consultation (11 Feb – 27 Mar 2019)

The submission draft BoteRick NDP was made available for public consultation between 11 February and 27 March 2019. The parish councils (the qualifying body) had submitted the following documents:

An assessment on how this NDP met the basic conditions formed part of the examination. At the time of submission, our initial checks suggested that the relevant requirements had been met. View our Regulation 15 Checklist.

Respondents were reminded that their comments would be forwarded to the independent examiner and, with the exception of personal contact details, be published on this website.

SEA / HRA Screening & Determination (updated July 2019)

The pre-submission draft NDP was screened to determine whether a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and or a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) were needed. The original report from January 2019 was updated in July 2019. This 'screened-out' the need for further work. The updated report and determination notices are published below:

Reg 14 Pre-submission Consultation (9 Nov to 21 Dec 2018)

Consultation on the pre-submission draft BoteRick NDP by the parish council's closed on 21 December 2018.

Reg 05 Area Designation (11 May 2017)