FAQs
What is a Neighbourhood Plan?
Neighbourhood Plans (NP) were introduced in 2011, they empower communities to shape the development and growth of a local area. Once a Neighbourhood Plan is 'made' (or adopted) it has the same weight and strength as the Wiltshire Local Plan. A Neighbourhood Plan cannot block development that is already part of the Local Plan, but it can shape where that development will go and what it will look like. You can read the Joint Melksham Neighbourhood Plan (JMNP1 for short) on this website - download it by clicking here.
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Why are we reviewing the Plan?
There is no set time period within which a Neighbourhood Plan must be reviewed (it is at least every 5 years for a Local Plan). Ongoing and new issues like providing affordable homes in the right places, tackling climate change and helping local business recover from the impact of COVID and the cost of living crisis make it imperative that our Neighbourhood Plan evolves to provide strong local powers, alongside Wiltshire’s upcoming new Local Plan that will set out where new homes and jobs will be provided looking ahead to 2038. The updated Neighbourhood Plan will be called Joint Melksham Nieghbourhood Plan 2 or the JMNP2 for short.
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How can I get involved in the Plan?
We have given people who live and work in the area of Melksham Without and Melksham town a range of ways to get involved in the Plan review. Find out more by clicking here.
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When will the updated JMNP2 be in place?
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The JMNP2 first formal stage of consultation (known as Regulation 14) took place for 7 weeks between the 16th October and the 3rd December 2023. Since then we've been busy behind the scenes updating the Plan in response to consultation feedback. Significant new information and further work has been done to proposed site allocations at Melksham and Whitley, with a new site in Bowerhill added. We then sought comments on the draft B of the Plan between the 20th June and the 22nd August. Since that consultation closed, Melksham Town Council, Melksham Without Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group gathered together all the comments received from both consultations and agreed how the plan was to be amended as a result.
The revised Neighbourhood Plan has now been formally submitted for the next formal consultation (Reg 16), examination and then another referendum. We expect that could be late 2024/early 2025.
Who pays for the Plan?
Government grant funding will be used and supplemented by Melksham Town and Melksham Without Parish councils. Wiltshire Council provides technical advice and practical support, as well as paying for examination and referendum if needed.
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) allows local planning authorities to raise funds for infrastructure from new development, to address the cumulative impact of development across an area. Having a 'made' Neighbourhood Plan also means that Wiltshire Council must pass on 25% of CIL, a charge that Wiltshire Council places on new development in their area (and 15% to those places without a NP). Click here to find out more about CIL.
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