Council Gateway

Decision

URL: https://scambs.moderngov.co.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=13048

Decision Maker: Joint Director for Planning

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Purpose: Purpose The purpose of this report is to consider the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report on the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan, and whether those conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. Cabinet agreed at its meeting on 26 July 2018 that where the examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan is legally compliant, meets the Basic Conditions (with or without modifications), and should proceed to referendum, the Director of Planning has delegated authority to make the decision on the way forward, in consultation with the Planning Lead Member. Background The Heydon Neighbourhood Area was designated on 15 March 2024. The neighbourhood area is for the whole parish of Heydon. Officers recognise the hard work of those in the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group and Parish Council have put into put into preparing the Plan. Both have strived to ensure that the whole village have their opportunity to have an input into the final Plan. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) screening was undertaken on a draft version of the Neighbourhood Plan, and a screening determination was published in April 2025. Pre-submission public consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Plan was undertaken by the Parish Council from 9 May 2025 until 20 June 2025. Officers provided a formal response to the consultation, providing constructive comments about the plan to assist the Parish Council with finalising the Neighbourhood Plan. Officers have met with the Parish Council to discuss these comments and are aware that the submission version of the plan has taken on board many of the suggested changes. On 1 December 2025, Heydon Parish Council submitted their Neighbourhood Plan to South Cambridgeshire District Council. Officers have confirmed, as set out in the Legal Compliance Check for the Neighbourhood Plan, that the submitted version of the Neighbourhood Plan and its accompanying supporting documents comply with all the relevant statutory requirements at this stage of plan making. The Neighbourhood Plan and its accompanying supporting documents are published on our website. Officers, in conjunction with Heydon Parish Council, appointed an independent examiner to consider this Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner appointed to undertake the examination of a Neighbourhood Plan must be: independent of both the District Council and Parish Council; cannot be the same examiner that undertakes a health check of the Neighbourhood Plan; and must not have any interest in any land that may be affected by the Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner appointed was Andrew Ashcroft. On 24 February 2026 the Neighbourhood Plan, its supporting documents and all comments submitted during the public consultation on the submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan were provided to the examiner with a request for him to carry out the examination on the Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner issued on 2 March 2026 a note which set out the arrangements for the examination and on the 9 March 2026 issued a clarification note which included some questions for the Parish Council (PC). The PC responded to the questions set for them on the 20 March 2026. The Examiner’s Report was received by South Cambridgeshire District Council on 18 May 2026 (see Appendix 1). The examiner in his report concluded that subject to a series of recommended modifications the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan met all the necessary legal requirements and should proceed to referendum. He also recommends that the referendum should be held within the neighbourhood area only. Now that the Examiner’s Report has been received, the Council is required to consider the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report, and whether those conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. The Council must publish its decision in a decision statement. Considerations Where an examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions (with or without modifications) and is legally compliant, and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum, the Council has limited options in how to respond. The options are as follows: Option 1: Act upon the conclusions in the Examiner’s Report, including making any recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and proceed to referendum, provided that the Council confirms that the Basic Conditions have been met. Option 2: Take a decision substantially different from the Examiner’s conclusions, wholly or partly as a result of new evidence or fact, or a different view is taken by the Council as to a particular fact, including that the Council is unable to confirm that the Basic Conditions have been met. National regulations require the Council to make a decision on the Examiner’s Report and whether the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum within 5 weeks of receipt of the report (unless an alternative longer timescale is agreed with the Parish Council). Officers have concluded that Option 1 should be followed for the reasons set out in the following paragraphs of this decision statement. Officers agree with the examiner’s conclusions, including his recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and agree that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. a. Meeting the Basic Conditions and Legal Requirements To successfully proceed through its examination to a referendum, a Neighbourhood Plan must meet a number of tests known as the ‘Basic Conditions’. The Basic Conditions are set out in national planning regulations and are summarised as follows: having regard to national policies and advice contained in guidance issued by the Secretary of State it is appropriate to make the Neighbourhood Plan. the making of the Neighbourhood Plan contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. the making of the neighbourhood development plan would not result in the development plan for the area of the authority proposing that less housing is provided by means of development taking place in that area than if the neighbourhood development plan were not to be made. the making of the Neighbourhood Plan does not breach, and is otherwise compatible with, EU obligations; and prescribed conditions are met in relation to the Neighbourhood Plan, including that the making of the neighbourhood plan is not likely to have a significant effect on a European wildlife site or a European offshore marine site either alone or in combination with other plans or projects. For the basic condition of having regard to national policies and advice, it should be noted that an updated version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published on 12 December 2024. Updated regulations came into force on 25 March 2026. The updates implement both Sections 98 section 99 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. As a result, an Addendum to the original Basic Conditions Statement was prepared by Heydon Parish Council that was consulted on between 15 December 2025 to 9 February 2026. This Addendum addressed the updates to the regulations and set out how the Neighbourhood Plan does not contain policies relating to excluding development in accordance with Paragraph 8 of Schedule 4B to the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA). In all other respects, the NP does not include anything not permitted by section 98 (2) of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act. The Council submitted comments to the further consultation to confirm that the assessment provided was compliant with legislation and therefore should proceed in concluding the examination process. The examination concluded the following Monday 18 May 2026. To proceed to a referendum, a Neighbourhood Plan must also meet a number of legal requirements, such as whether the Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared by a qualifying body and meets the definition and scope of a Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner concludes in the executive Summary and Chapter 8 (see Appendix 1) that subject to a series of recommended modifications the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions and all the necessary legal requirements. The issues he has considered in reaching his conclusions and his modifications are set out in Chapter 7 of his report (see Appendix 1). The examiner’s recommended modifications do not fundamentally change the role or purpose of the Neighbourhood Plan; they have been recommended by the examiner to provide clarity and precision. Officers, in conjunction Heydon Parish Council, have reviewed the examiner’s conclusions and recommended modifications, and officers and the Parish Council have agreed each of the recommended modifications considered necessary by the examiner for the Neighbourhood Plan to meet the Basic Conditions. A ‘Referendum’ version of the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared including these modifications (see Appendix 2). Additional non-material modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan have also been prepared by officers and agreed with Heydon Parish Council, and these additional modifications are also included in the ‘Referendum’ version of the Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 2). These modifications have been made in accordance with national planning guidance which states that minor (non-material) updates to a Neighbourhood Plan that would not materially affect the policies in the plan can be made by the District Council at any time, provided they have the consent of the Parish Council, and that these modifications can be made without the need for consultation or examination (see National Planning Practice Guidance, Paragraph 085, Reference ID: 41-085-20180222). In summary, these additional non-material modifications include the following: Updates to reflect the current stage of the Neighbourhood Plan. Updates to formatting, text and maps to remove mention of policies deleted by the examiner. Consequential minor updates to the text and figures throughout the Neighbourhood Plan to ensure consistency with the modifications made by the Examiner to the policies and supporting text. Officers have undertaken a Basic Conditions and Legal Compliance check of the ‘Referendum’ version of the Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 3) and consider that the Neighbourhood Plan meets all the requirements. As the modifications made to the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan following its examination do not change the essence of its planning policies, the SEA and HRA screening undertaken on the draft version of the Neighbourhood Plan and screening determination published in April 2025 remain valid. b. Referendum The examiner concludes in the Executive Summary and Chapter 8 of his report (see Appendix 1) that, subject to the incorporation of his proposed modifications, the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. He also concludes that it is appropriate for the referendum area to be the neighbourhood area designated by SCDC in March 2024 (see Appendix 1, Chapter 8). He formally states (see Appendix 1, paragraph 8.3) he states the following: “On the basis of the findings in this report, I recommend to South Cambridgeshire District Council that subject to the incorporation of the modifications set out in this report the Heydon Neighbourhood Development Plan should proceed to referendum.” The examiner’s conclusions on the referendum area are consistent with that proposed by the Council in its response on the submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan agreed by the Lead Cabinet Member for Planning in January 2026. Therefore, as it has been demonstrated by officers that the ‘Referendum’ version of the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan meets all the legislative requirements, officers concur with the examiner that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum and that the referendum area should be the neighbourhood area. Next Steps The regulations state that a referendum should take place within 56 working days of the day after the publication of this decision statement. And therefore, SCDC will proceed to set a date for the referendum once this statement is published. If a Neighbourhood Plan is successful at referendum, the Neighbourhood Plan becomes part of the development plan for the area (National Planning Practice Guidance, Paragraph: 064, Reference ID: 41-064-20170728), although the formal ‘making’ of the Neighbourhood Plan will not happen until SCDC’s full Council are asked to do this at their next meeting following the referendum. Implications In the writing of this report, taking into account financial, legal, staffing, risk management, equality and diversity, climate change, community safety and any other key issues, the following implications have been considered: Financial: the costs of the examination and referendum have to be initially met by SCDC. However, the Council can claim a £20,000 government grant per Neighbourhood Plan once a plan has been successfully through the examination and the Council has set a date for the referendum. Legal: where the examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan is legally compliant, meets the Basic Conditions (with or without modifications), and should proceed to referendum, the Director of Planning has delegated authority to make the decision on the way forward, in consultation with the Planning Lead Member (as agreed by Cabinet at its meeting on 26 July 2018). National regulations and planning guidance for Neighbourhood Plans require that the Council considers the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report, and whether those conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. The Council’s decision must be published in a decision statement. Staffing: the responsibilities associated with delivering neighbourhood planning are being undertaken within the existing resources of the Planning Policy Team, drawing upon the expertise of other staff as required. Equality and Diversity: these issues have been considered in the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan, as to meet the Basic Conditions a Neighbourhood Plan must not breach, and is otherwise compatible with, EU obligations, including Human Rights. Included as part of the Basic Conditions Statement (November 2025) is an assessment undertaken by Heydon Parish Council to examine the impact of the Neighbourhood Plan in relation to the ‘protected characteristics’ as identified in the Equality Act 2010. The Equalities Impact Assessment concludes that: a number of policies in the Neighbourhood Plan will have positive benefits for specific protected characteristics; there are no negative equality impacts that arise from the policies or proposals contained within the Neighbourhood Plan; and the Neighbourhood Plan does not raise any issues in relation to any of the convention rights in the Human Rights Act 1998. The examiner has agreed with this assessment (see Appendix 1, paragraph 6.18).

Content: Purpose The purpose of this report is to consider the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report on the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan, and whether those conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. Cabinet agreed at its meeting on 26 July 2018 that where the examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan is legally compliant, meets the Basic Conditions (with or without modifications), and should proceed to referendum, the Director of Planning has delegated authority to make the decision on the way forward, in consultation with the Planning Lead Member. Background The Heydon Neighbourhood Area was designated on 15 March 2024. The neighbourhood area is for the whole parish of Heydon. Officers recognise the hard work of those in the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group and Parish Council have put into put into preparing the Plan. Both have strived to ensure that the whole village have their opportunity to have an input into the final Plan. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) screening was undertaken on a draft version of the Neighbourhood Plan, and a screening determination was published in April 2025. Pre-submission public consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Plan was undertaken by the Parish Council from 9 May 2025 until 20 June 2025. Officers provided a formal response to the consultation, providing constructive comments about the plan to assist the Parish Council with finalising the Neighbourhood Plan. Officers have met with the Parish Council to discuss these comments and are aware that the submission version of the plan has taken on board many of the suggested changes. On 1 December 2025, Heydon Parish Council submitted their Neighbourhood Plan to South Cambridgeshire District Council. Officers have confirmed, as set out in the Legal Compliance Check for the Neighbourhood Plan, that the submitted version of the Neighbourhood Plan and its accompanying supporting documents comply with all the relevant statutory requirements at this stage of plan making. The Neighbourhood Plan and its accompanying supporting documents are published on our website. Officers, in conjunction with Heydon Parish Council, appointed an independent examiner to consider this Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner appointed to undertake the examination of a Neighbourhood Plan must be: independent of both the District Council and Parish Council; cannot be the same examiner that undertakes a health check of the Neighbourhood Plan; and must not have any interest in any land that may be affected by the Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner appointed was Andrew Ashcroft. On 24 February 2026 the Neighbourhood Plan, its supporting documents and all comments submitted during the public consultation on the submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan were provided to the examiner with a request for him to carry out the examination on the Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner issued on 2 March 2026 a note which set out the arrangements for the examination and on the 9 March 2026 issued a clarification note which included some questions for the Parish Council (PC). The PC responded to the questions set for them on the 20 March 2026. The Examiner’s Report was received by South Cambridgeshire District Council on 18 May 2026 (see Appendix 1). The examiner in his report concluded that subject to a series of recommended modifications the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan met all the necessary legal requirements and should proceed to referendum. He also recommends that the referendum should be held within the neighbourhood area only. Now that the Examiner’s Report has been received, the Council is required to consider the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report, and whether those conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. The Council must publish its decision in a decision statement. Considerations Where an examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions (with or without modifications) and is legally compliant, and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum, the Council has limited options in how to respond. The options are as follows: Option 1: Act upon the conclusions in the Examiner’s Report, including making any recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and proceed to referendum, provided that the Council confirms that the Basic Conditions have been met. Option 2: Take a decision substantially different from the Examiner’s conclusions, wholly or partly as a result of new evidence or fact, or a different view is taken by the Council as to a particular fact, including that the Council is unable to confirm that the Basic Conditions have been met. National regulations require the Council to make a decision on the Examiner’s Report and whether the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum within 5 weeks of receipt of the report (unless an alternative longer timescale is agreed with the Parish Council). Officers have concluded that Option 1 should be followed for the reasons set out in the following paragraphs of this decision statement. Officers agree with the examiner’s conclusions, including his recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and agree that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. a. Meeting the Basic Conditions and Legal Requirements To successfully proceed through its examination to a referendum, a Neighbourhood Plan must meet a number of tests known as the ‘Basic Conditions’. The Basic Conditions are set out in national planning regulations and are summarised as follows: having regard to national policies and advice contained in guidance issued by the Secretary of State it is appropriate to make the Neighbourhood Plan. the making of the Neighbourhood Plan contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. the making of the neighbourhood development plan would not result in the development plan for the area of the authority proposing that less housing is provided by means of development taking place in that area than if the neighbourhood development plan were not to be made. the making of the Neighbourhood Plan does not breach, and is otherwise compatible with, EU obligations; and prescribed conditions are met in relation to the Neighbourhood Plan, including that the making of the neighbourhood plan is not likely to have a significant effect on a European wildlife site or a European offshore marine site either alone or in combination with other plans or projects. For the basic condition of having regard to national policies and advice, it should be noted that an updated version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published on 12 December 2024. Updated regulations came into force on 25 March 2026. The updates implement both Sections 98 section 99 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. As a result, an Addendum to the original Basic Conditions Statement was prepared by Heydon Parish Council that was consulted on between 15 December 2025 to 9 February 2026. This Addendum addressed the updates to the regulations and set out how the Neighbourhood Plan does not contain policies relating to excluding development in accordance with Paragraph 8 of Schedule 4B to the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA). In all other respects, the NP does not include anything not permitted by section 98 (2) of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act. The Council submitted comments to the further consultation to confirm that the assessment provided was compliant with legislation and therefore should proceed in concluding the examination process. The examination concluded the following Monday 18 May 2026. To proceed to a referendum, a Neighbourhood Plan must also meet a number of legal requirements, such as whether the Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared by a qualifying body and meets the definition and scope of a Neighbourhood Plan. The examiner concludes in the executive Summary and Chapter 8 (see Appendix 1) that subject to a series of recommended modifications the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions and all the necessary legal requirements. The issues he has considered in reaching his conclusions and his modifications are set out in Chapter 7 of his report (see Appendix 1). The examiner’s recommended modifications do not fundamentally change the role or purpose of the Neighbourhood Plan; they have been recommended by the examiner to provide clarity and precision. Officers, in conjunction Heydon Parish Council, have reviewed the examiner’s conclusions and recommended modifications, and officers and the Parish Council have agreed each of the recommended modifications considered necessary by the examiner for the Neighbourhood Plan to meet the Basic Conditions. A ‘Referendum’ version of the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared including these modifications (see Appendix 2). Additional non-material modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan have also been prepared by officers and agreed with Heydon Parish Council, and these additional modifications are also included in the ‘Referendum’ version of the Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 2). These modifications have been made in accordance with national planning guidance which states that minor (non-material) updates to a Neighbourhood Plan that would not materially affect the policies in the plan can be made by the District Council at any time, provided they have the consent of the Parish Council, and that these modifications can be made without the need for consultation or examination (see National Planning Practice Guidance, Paragraph 085, Reference ID: 41-085-20180222). In summary, these additional non-material modifications include the following: Updates to reflect the current stage of the Neighbourhood Plan. Updates to formatting, text and maps to remove mention of policies deleted by the examiner. Consequential minor updates to the text and figures throughout the Neighbourhood Plan to ensure consistency with the modifications made by the Examiner to the policies and supporting text. Officers have undertaken a Basic Conditions and Legal Compliance check of the ‘Referendum’ version of the Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 3) and consider that the Neighbourhood Plan meets all the requirements. As the modifications made to the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan following its examination do not change the essence of its planning policies, the SEA and HRA screening undertaken on the draft version of the Neighbourhood Plan and screening determination published in April 2025 remain valid. b. Referendum The examiner concludes in the Executive Summary and Chapter 8 of his report (see Appendix 1) that, subject to the incorporation of his proposed modifications, the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. He also concludes that it is appropriate for the referendum area to be the neighbourhood area designated by SCDC in March 2024 (see Appendix 1, Chapter 8). He formally states (see Appendix 1, paragraph 8.3) he states the following: “On the basis of the findings in this report, I recommend to South Cambridgeshire District Council that subject to the incorporation of the modifications set out in this report the Heydon Neighbourhood Development Plan should proceed to referendum.” The examiner’s conclusions on the referendum area are consistent with that proposed by the Council in its response on the submission version of the Neighbourhood Plan agreed by the Lead Cabinet Member for Planning in January 2026. Therefore, as it has been demonstrated by officers that the ‘Referendum’ version of the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan meets all the legislative requirements, officers concur with the examiner that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum and that the referendum area should be the neighbourhood area. Next Steps The regulations state that a referendum should take place within 56 working days of the day after the publication of this decision statement. And therefore, SCDC will proceed to set a date for the referendum once this statement is published. If a Neighbourhood Plan is successful at referendum, the Neighbourhood Plan becomes part of the development plan for the area (National Planning Practice Guidance, Paragraph: 064, Reference ID: 41-064-20170728), although the formal ‘making’ of the Neighbourhood Plan will not happen until SCDC’s full Council are asked to do this at their next meeting following the referendum. Implications In the writing of this report, taking into account financial, legal, staffing, risk management, equality and diversity, climate change, community safety and any other key issues, the following implications have been considered: Financial: the costs of the examination and referendum have to be initially met by SCDC. However, the Council can claim a £20,000 government grant per Neighbourhood Plan once a plan has been successfully through the examination and the Council has set a date for the referendum. Legal: where the examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan is legally compliant, meets the Basic Conditions (with or without modifications), and should proceed to referendum, the Director of Planning has delegated authority to make the decision on the way forward, in consultation with the Planning Lead Member (as agreed by Cabinet at its meeting on 26 July 2018). National regulations and planning guidance for Neighbourhood Plans require that the Council considers the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report, and whether those conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. The Council’s decision must be published in a decision statement. Staffing: the responsibilities associated with delivering neighbourhood planning are being undertaken within the existing resources of the Planning Policy Team, drawing upon the expertise of other staff as required. Equality and Diversity: these issues have been considered in the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan, as to meet the Basic Conditions a Neighbourhood Plan must not breach, and is otherwise compatible with, EU obligations, including Human Rights. Included as part of the Basic Conditions Statement (November 2025) is an assessment undertaken by Heydon Parish Council to examine the impact of the Neighbourhood Plan in relation to the ‘protected characteristics’ as identified in the Equality Act 2010. The Equalities Impact Assessment concludes that: a number of policies in the Neighbourhood Plan will have positive benefits for specific protected characteristics; there are no negative equality impacts that arise from the policies or proposals contained within the Neighbourhood Plan; and the Neighbourhood Plan does not raise any issues in relation to any of the convention rights in the Human Rights Act 1998. The examiner has agreed with this assessment (see Appendix 1, paragraph 6.18). That the Director of Planning, having consulted with the Planning Lead Member, agrees: that South Cambridgeshire District Council should act upon the conclusions in the Examiner’s Report on the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan (see Appendix 1) and that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to a referendum as set out by the national regulations. the ‘referendum’ version of the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan (as set out in Appendix 2); the ‘referendum’ version of the Heydon Plan be given significant weight in decision making and that the area for the referendum should be the Neighbourhood Area. The Examiner’s Report on the Heydon Neighbourhood Plan was received on 18 May 2026. The examiner concludes that, subject to a series of recommended modifications, the Neighbourhood Plan meets all the necessary legal requirements and should proceed to referendum. He also recommends that the referendum should be held within the neighbourhood area only.? ? National regulations and planning guidance for Neighbourhood Plans require that the Council considers the conclusions of the Examiner’s Report, and whether those conclusions should be acted upon and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. This includes considering whether the examiner’s recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan should be made, and whether the Council agrees that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions. The Council’s decision must be published in a decision statement. This report is the Council’s decision statement for the purposes of those regulations.? ? The Council will set a date for the referendum after the decision statement is published. Until the referendum takes place the Referendum version of the Plan will be given significant weight in decision making by the Council as stated by the government in their revised regulations.????? Where an examiner has concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions (with or without modifications) and is legally compliant, and therefore that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum, the Council has limited options in how to respond. The options are as follows:? ? Option 1: Act upon the conclusions in the Examiner’s Report, including making any recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and proceed to referendum, provided that the Council confirms that the Basic Conditions have been met.? ? Option 2: Take a decision substantially different from the Examiner’s conclusions, wholly or partly as a result of new evidence or fact, or a different view is taken by the Council as to a particular fact, including that the Council is unable to confirm that the Basic Conditions have been met.? ? Officers have concluded that Option 1 should be followed for the reasons set out in this decision statement. Officers agree with the examiner’s conclusions, including his recommended modifications to the Neighbourhood Plan, and agree that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum. Officers have concluded that Option 2 should be rejected as there is no new evidence or fact, and officers are able to confirm that the Basic Conditions have been met (as set out in paragraph 23 in the Purpose / Background section of this decision statement).

Date of Decision: May 22, 2026