The Huntington Neighbourhood Plan was formally adopted or 'made' by City of York Council Executive on 20 July 2021.
View the adopted Huntington Neighbourhood Plan (2021) and the Council's Decision Statement regarding adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan. Paper copies of both documents are also available to view in our Customer Centre (Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm) via appointment only. Contact the Forward Planning Team via telephone: 01904 552255 or email: neighbourhoodplanning@york.gov.uk to make an appointment.
In accordance with The Neighbourhood Plan (General) Regulations 2012, this Neighbourhood Plan will be used when determining future planning applications within the identified Huntington Neighbourhood Area.
Background to the Huntington Neighbourhood Plan
In April 2015 Huntington Parish Council wrote to us to formally submit an application for designation of a neighbourhood plan area. People who live, work and conduct business in the area were able to comment on the application and boundary from 10 August to 7 September 2015, as part of a 4 week consultation.
Huntington neighbourhood plan application and boundary was approved as a delegated decision on 28 September 2015, enabling work to start on developing the neighbourhood plan for the area.
Huntington Parish Council undertook a formal pre-submission consultation in accordance with Regulation 14 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations for 8 weeks between 29 January 2018 and ended on the 23 March 2018.
Huntington Parish Council submitted the Submission draft Huntington Neighbourhood Plan and associated documents to City of York Council on 31st July 2019. Once a Neighbourhood Plan is submitted, we're required to "publicise the documents submitted on our website and in such other manner as we consider is likely to bring the proposal to the attention of people who live, work or carry on business in the neighbourhood area" to be in compliance with the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations (2012, as amended).
Following submission of the document by Huntington Parish Council, the Council ran a consultation on the Submission Neighbourhood Plan documents for six weeks between Monday 7 October to Monday 18 November 2019. The documents we consulted on are:
- Huntington Parish Neighbourhood Plan Submission Draft 2017-2032/33
- Basic Conditions Statement
- Strategic Environmental Assessment Screening and Habitat Regulation Assessment Screening Report
- Consultation Statement
- Supporting Evidence – Character Buildings and Sites of Local Heritage Interest
- Supporting Evidence – Local Green Spaces
- Supporting Evidence - Census 2011 Profile Huntington Parish
- Supporting Evidence - Housing Need and Characteristics
Any representation received were processed in accordance with our Strategic Planning Policy Privacy Notice wherein it sets out more about how we will process and use your personal data from this consultation.
Examination of the Huntington Neighbourhood Plan
Following the end of the Submission Consultation on 18 November 2019, the written representations received were sent, together with the final Huntington Neighbourhood Plan documents, for examination with the appointed independent Examiner, Mr Andrew Ashcroft.
The appointed Examiner, Mr Andrew Ashcroft, sent a Clarification Note to Huntington Parish Council on 2 December 2019. Huntington Parish Council responded to the matters outlined in the Clarification Note and this has been submitted to the Examiner for consideration.
Publication of the Examiner's Report
Following the independent examination of the Huntington Neighbourhood Plan, the Examiner has published his final Examiner's report.
Proposed Modifications to Green Belt Policies Consultation
We undertook a consultation on the proposed modifications to Green Belt Policies in the Huntington Neighbourhood Plan. We invited representations for a period of 8 weeks between Thursday 3 December 2020 until Thursday 28 January 2021. The outcomes of this consultation are set out in our report to Local Plan Working Group on 16 March 2021and at Executive on 18 March 2021.
Background
The Huntington Neighbourhood Plan has been independently examined following submission by Huntington Parish Council in 2019. The Examiner issued his final Examiner's report in February 2020. Overall, the Examiner’s Report concluded that:
Subject to a series of recommended modifications set out in this report …[it is]… concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan meets all the necessary legal requirements and should proceed to referendum.
Following the Submission of the Huntington Neighbourhood Plan and receipt of the Examiner’s report, the council has received the outcome of a High Court Judgment pertaining to and clarifying the approach to decision-making in relation to York’s Green Belt in advance of the adoption of the emerging York Local Plan. It is proposed that the outcomes of this judgment should be reflected in the Neighbourhood Plan in order to secure that it meets the Basic Conditions as required by the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations.
Additionally, the council received a challenge to the Green Belt policy in the Huntington Neighbourhood Plan through the examination process. It is proposed that reflecting the outcomes of the judgment above would also satisfy this challenge to the policy.
The council has the capacity to modify the Examiner’s report in line with the applicable Neighbourhood Planning Regulations, if required, where the:
reason for the difference is (wholly or partly) as a result of new evidence or a new fact or a different view taken by the authority as to a particular fact.
The receipt of the High Court Judgment after the Examination of the plan constitutes new evidence in considering the approach to decision-making in relation to York’s Green Belt. It is our view that this should be reflected in the Neighbourhood Plan and therefore requires additional modifications to those proposed by the Examiner.
The Council’s Executive on 22 October 2020(item 49) agreed to consult on the proposed further modification in accordance with Regulation 17A (2) of The Neighbourhood Planning (General) and Development Management Procedure (Amendment) Regulations 2016. This additional consultation will allow all interested parties to comment on the proposed modifications to the approach to Green Belt policies in the Neighbourhood Plan.
Executive – Decision Statement
Following the receipt of the Examiner’s Report and undertaking the additional Proposed Modifications to Green Belt Policies Consultation, Officer’s reported the recommendations to the Council’s Local Plan Working Group and Executive. The Examiner's Report and our Decision Statement were reported to Members at Local Plan Working Group on 16 March 2021 and at Executive on 18 March 2021. Executive agreed with the officers' recommendations that the Huntington Neighbourhood Plan could proceed to referendum.
Referendum
The referendum was conducted in accordance with procedures which are similar to those used at local government elections. The Referendum expenses limit that will apply to the Huntington Neighbourhood Plan is £2817.07. The number of people entitled to vote in the Referendum by reference to which this limit has been calculated is 7713.
Specified documents
Read the:
- Huntington Neighbourhood Plan (Referendum Version);
- Report of the Independent Examiner on the Plan;
- summary of the representations submitted to the Independent Examiner;
- Decision Statement by the local planning authority that the draft plan meets those basic conditions in paragraph 8(2) to Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and complies with the provision made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended)
- General Statement that sets out general information as to town and country planning including neighbourhood planning and the referendum;
- Information Statement that sets out information specific to the referendum
A referendum on the Huntington Neighbourhood Plan was held on Thursday 10 June 2021. The referendum question was:
Do you want City of York Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Huntington to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?
Huntington Neighbourhood Plan Referendum results
Huntington voted "yes" in response to the referendum. The full breakdown of results was as follows:
- Ballot papers issued: 1322
- Yes votes: 1144
- No votes: 174
- Ballot papers rejected: 4
- Electorate: 7733
- Turnout: 17.1%
The breakdown of rejected ballot papers was as follows:
- A: Want of an official mark: 0
- B: Voting for more answers than required: 1
- C: Writing or mark by which voter could be identified: 0
- D: Being unmarked of wholly void for uncertainty: 3
Download the Declaration of Result of Poll for the Referendum on the Huntington Neighbourhood Plan.