Stutton Neighbourhood Plan

The Stutton Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) has been prepared by the Parish Council and local community and will be used to help guide and shape future development in the parish.

Reg 20 Formal adoption (27 July 2023)

In an ‘out of meeting’ decision published on Thursday 27 July 2023 Babergh District Council agreed to adopt ('make') the Stutton NDP.

This NDP now forms part of the development plan and will be used to help determine planning applications in the parish unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Supporting evidence

The following documents provide supporting evidence for the adopted NDP:

Previous stages...

Local Referendum (Wed 19 July 2023) 

A local referendum on the Stutton NDP was held on 19 July 2023. The question asked of those entitled to vote was: "Do you want Babergh District Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Stutton to help it decide planning applications in the Neighbourhood Plan Area?"

Reg 18 Exam Report Decision Statement (11 Jan 2023)

New procedures agreed in September 2021 meant that a NDP could be advanced to a referendum without Cabinet approval where there was no objection to implementing the Examiner's recommendations in full. That applied in this case, and the decision is confirmed through publication of the following statement:

Reg 17 Examination (Final Report - 20 Dec 2022)

Babergh District Council appointed Ann Skippers BSc (Hons) MRTPI FHEA FRSA AoU to carry out an independent examination of the Stutton NDP. The examination relied on the submitted documentation and written representations.

On 20 December 2022, the Examiner issued her final report. It recommended that, subject to modification, this NDP met the basic condition tests and that it should proceed to a local referendum.

Reg 16 Submission Consultation (12 Sept to 28 Oct 2022)

The submission draft Stutton NDP was made available for public consultation between 12 September and 28 October 2022. The Parish Council (the qualifying body) had formally 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 procedural requirements had been met at this stage. View the Regulation 15 Checklist.

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

SEA & HRA Screening and Determination (May 2022)

The pre-submission draft NDP was screened to determine whether a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and or a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) were needed. Both were 'screened-in'. The relevant reports and determination notices are published below:

Reg 14 Pre-submission consultation (8 Nov to 20 Dec 2021)

Pre-submission consultation on the draft NDP ended on 20 December 2021.

Reg 05 Area Designation (12 Oct 2018)