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Thanks to your help with numerous surveys and character assessment walks, your feedback at drop-in sessions, village events and focus group meetings, and months of diligent evidence-gathering, the first draft of the Datchet Neighbourhood Plan (DNP) was completed. It was then presented to Datchet Parish Council (DPC) and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) in December 2021 to ask whether they had any initial concerns about its compatibility with relevant legislation and existing planning policies. They both gave us their approval to proceed so it was all systems go and we were able to share the Plan with you and start the public consultation process.
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First public consultation - Regulation 14
This stage, known in planning-speak as the ‘Regulation 14 pre-submission consultation’ (Reg14), is where we asked for your views and comments, good and bad, on the draft plan so that we can make any necessary changes before we submit it to RBWM for independent examination.
The Reg14 consultation ran for eight weeks, from 21 March to 15 May 2022, with an accompanying publicity campaign so people who live, work or run a business in the neighbourhood plan area knew where they could see the draft DNP, how to comment on it – comments must be in writing – and by what date. Certain statutory bodies, such as the Environment Agency, Natural England and Historic England, were also consulted.
The DNP team also organised drop-in sessions where you could come along to see the plan, ask questions and find out more, and a Zoom Q&A was available for those who were unable to attend in person. The plan was published on this website and Datchet Parish Council's website and paper copies were available at advertised venues in the village (The Bridge, Datchet Library, Datchet Parish Council Office). Summaries of the Plan's content were also widely available, in leaflets delivered throughout the village and online, setting out the main aims and focus of the plan.
At the end of the consultation period, all your written responses, or ‘representations’, were considered and a decision made over whether or not to amend the plan accordingly. The DNP team took advice from a professional planner at this stage and the resulting decisions were recorded in a formal Consultation Statement. It was not possible to make some changes because they were beyond the scope of a neighbourhood plan or contradicted existing national or local planning policy. Where different representations took opposing views, a planning judgement was taken.
The resulting revised draft was then presented again to DPC for submission to RBWM. It was accompanied by a Consultation Statement and a raft of supplementary documents to demonstrate that there has been a rigorous programme of community and stakeholder engagement throughout the process, along with evidence to support the plan.
The Reg14 consultation ran for eight weeks, from 21 March to 15 May 2022, with an accompanying publicity campaign so people who live, work or run a business in the neighbourhood plan area knew where they could see the draft DNP, how to comment on it – comments must be in writing – and by what date. Certain statutory bodies, such as the Environment Agency, Natural England and Historic England, were also consulted.
The DNP team also organised drop-in sessions where you could come along to see the plan, ask questions and find out more, and a Zoom Q&A was available for those who were unable to attend in person. The plan was published on this website and Datchet Parish Council's website and paper copies were available at advertised venues in the village (The Bridge, Datchet Library, Datchet Parish Council Office). Summaries of the Plan's content were also widely available, in leaflets delivered throughout the village and online, setting out the main aims and focus of the plan.
At the end of the consultation period, all your written responses, or ‘representations’, were considered and a decision made over whether or not to amend the plan accordingly. The DNP team took advice from a professional planner at this stage and the resulting decisions were recorded in a formal Consultation Statement. It was not possible to make some changes because they were beyond the scope of a neighbourhood plan or contradicted existing national or local planning policy. Where different representations took opposing views, a planning judgement was taken.
The resulting revised draft was then presented again to DPC for submission to RBWM. It was accompanied by a Consultation Statement and a raft of supplementary documents to demonstrate that there has been a rigorous programme of community and stakeholder engagement throughout the process, along with evidence to support the plan.
Second public consultation - Regulation 16
The responsibility for the next stage lies with RBWM. They must check that the proper process has been followed and decide if a ‘Strategic Environmental Assessment’ is necessary. They will then publicise the plan and hold a Regulation 16 (Reg16) public consultation.
The difference between Regulation 14 and Regulation 16
Reg14 and Reg16 are often confused. The Reg14 public consultation, carried out by the DNP team, allows for you to comment on any aspect of the plan and for modifications to be made, if necessary, before it is submitted to RBWM for the Reg 16 public consultation. RBWM conducts this second consultation to check that the proper process has been followed and that the DNP complies with relevant legislation and meets the ‘basic conditions’. The four basic conditions that the DNP will need to meet are as follows:
- have regard to national policy
- contribute to the achievement of sustainable development
- general conformity with the strategic policies in the development plan
- compatible with EU obligations.
Independent examination
After the Reg 16 consultation, the plan and your representations were submitted to an independent examiner. It is not unusual for examiners to recommend that changes are made to a Plan (to meet the basic conditions) before it can proceed to a public referendum. These modifications must also be discussed with the Neighbourhood Plan team. The changes, intended to ensure the planning policies in the DNP stand up to scrutiny, were agreed and in February 2023 the examiner’s recommendations were presented to RBWM’s Cabinet, the executive decision-making body of RBWM, comprising Borough Councillors. They decided that the DNP could proceed to referendum. This is scheduled for the same date as the local elections on 4 May 2023.
Village-wide referendum
RBWM arranged for a referendum to take place on 4 May 2023. Anyone on the electoral register in Datchet had the opportunity to cast a vote on whether or not you would like RBWM to use the Datchet Neighbourhood Plan to help it decide planning applications in our neighbourhood area. If more than 50 per cent of those voting in the referendum vote ‘yes’, then the neighbourhood plan becomes part of the statutory Local Development Plan for the area and its policies must be used when making planning decisions. There were 1014 Yes votes, 127 No votes so the Datchet Neighbourhood Plan was successful at referendum and will now come into force as part of the statutory development plan and has the same legal status as the Local Plan.