Mendlesham Neighbourhood Plan

A new version of the Mendlesham Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) has been prepared by the Parish Council and local community to help guide and shape future development in the parish. It covers the plan period 2018 to 2037 and now replaces the previously adopted plan.

Latest news...

Reg 20 Formal adoption (24 November 2022)

In an 'out of meeting' decision taken on Thursday 24 November 2022, Mid Suffolk District Council agreed to adopt ('make') the new Mendlesham NDP.

Previous Stages…

Local Referendum (17 November 2022 - majority 'yes' vote)

A referendum was held on 17 November 2022 to decide if the new Mendlesham NDP should become part of the Council's development plan. The count took place the following day.

The question asked was: "Do you want Mid Suffolk District Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Mendlesham to help it decide planning applications in the Neighbourhood Plan Area?"

Reg 18 Exam Report Decision Statement (1 August 2022)

Reg 17 Independent Examination (final report 22 June 2022)

Mid Suffolk District Council appointed Janet Cheesley BA(Hons) DipTP MRTPI to carry out an independent examination of the modification draft Mendlesham NDP. The examination was conducted through written correspondence.

On 22 June 2022, the examiner issued her final report. It recommends that, subject to further amendment, this new iteration of the NDP meets the Basic Conditions and should proceed to a local referendum.

Reg 17 Examination and focused consultation (Spring 2022)

The examination of this new NDP commenced in October 2021 but was then placed on hold to allow for two issues to be addressed. They related to missing content from the Consultation Statement and the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) screening process. A focused consultation on these issues alone took place between 15 March and 29 April 2022.

The revised Consultation Statement (Nov 2021) now included a list of who was consulted at the Regulation 14 stage. It was also re-written to be more relevant to the modification draft NDP.

The SEA Screening Report (Nov 2021) confirmed, retrospectively, that a full assessment of the modification draft NDP was needed.

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

Reg 17(e)(ii) Statement

The NDP regulations required the relevant local planning authority to submit a statement to the examiner that sets out their assessment of the nature of the modifications being made to the NDP. 

Reg 16 Submission Consultation (12 July to 17 Sept 2021)

Formal consultation on the submitted modification draft NDP took place between 12 July and 17 September 2021. The consultation period included a two-week extension following publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework on 20 July 2021.

The parish council (the qualifying body) had formally submitted the following documents:

An assessment as to whether this NDP meets the basic conditions will be carried out by the independent examiner. An initial check suggested that the relevant requirements had been met at this stage. View the Regulation 15 checklist.

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

Reg 14 Pre-submission consultation (15 Feb - 12 Apr 2021)

Pre-submission consultation took place between 15 February and 12 April 2021.

HRA Screening and Determination (Sept 2020)

A working draft of the modified NDP was screened to determine if a Habitats Assessment (HRA) was required. The need for this was 'screened-out'. The relevant report and determination notice are published below:

The adopted Mendlesham NDP (March 2017)

With the exception of the area designation notice published below, all other documents relating to the previously adopted Mendlesham NDP 2016 - 2031 have now been archived from this website.

Reg 05 Area Designation (June 2013)