A summary document detailing the implications of a Neighbourhood Plan is available to download.
The full Lichfield City Neighbourhood Plan (Referendum Version) can also be viewed and downloaded.
Background and Development of the Lichfield City Neighbourhood Plan
Neighbourhood planning was introduced as part of the Localism agenda and is a way for communities to decide the future of the places where they live and work, in general conformity with the strategic policies in the Local Plan.
Lichfield District Council, as the Local Planning Authority, designated the Lichfield City Neighbourhood Area in late 2013. This enabled the City Council to commence the process of preparing the Neighbourhood Plan, and it decided to focus the Plan on employment and economic development themes. The principal aim of the Neighbourhood Plan is to increase the number of employment opportunities in the City.
Pre-Submission Consultation (Regulation 14) July - September 2016
Lichfield City Council undertook Pre-Submission Consultation between 15 July and 9 September 2016. 21 responses were received. Several constructive comments were received and various details of the Draft Plan were amended. The revised Neighbourhood Plan was submitted for further informal consultation in February 2017.
A response to this submission was received in March 2017 and revisions were agreed to ensure the Plan reflected the emerging and most recently published evidence. The City Council then submitted the revised draft to Lichfield District Council for formal consultation and independent examination. As part of this process a suite of documents was submitted, including;
Some of the documents used to inform the draft Neighbourhood Plan include;
In December 2017 the Cabinet of Lichfield District Council resolved that the Neighbourhood Plan (as amended) should proceed to the referendum stage; the date for the referendum being 22 February 2018. At the Referendum, majority support for the Neighbourhood Plan was achieved, and as a result it was subsequently adopted by Lichfield District Council.
Following Adoption
The Lichfield City Neighbourhood Plan (LCNP) became part of the formal development plan for the area, with legal force, helping to shape the direction of future employment development within the City.
The City Council established a small working party to oversee the next stages of the Neighbourhood Plan - the Neighbourhood Plan Implementation Working Party (NPIWP). One of the key objectives being to make recommendations to Council on allocations of the Parish proportion of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).
CIL - Allocations and Community benefits
Briefly, CIL is a levy that local authorities can choose to charge on most new built development in their area in order to raise funding to carry out infrastructure projects. Lichfield District Council is the CIL 'Charging Authority' and therefore retains the majority of CIL receipts, but as a Parish Council with an adopted Neighbourhood Plan, the City Council receives 25% of the CIL allocation within its boundaries.
To date, the City Council has allocated more than £370,000 of CIL monies to projects in the City, including new information boards, Community Centre improvements at Boley Park and Curborough, new pathways, replacement pathway lighting, and contributions to local infrastructure causes such as the Lichfield and Hatherton Canal Restoration Trust, Sandfields Pumping Station, Lichfield Hockey Club, the Hub at St Marys and the pre-school play area at Boley Park Community Hall.
The City Council is required to report all CIL spends to the Charging Authority (Lichfield District Council) each year through a prescribed form. This Reporting Statement can be found on the Transparency page of the City Council's website.
CIL allocations are considered by the City Council's Grants Committee
If you have any suggestions for CIL allocations, please contact us.