Neighbourhood Planning in Bristol

Current consultation

On 27 March 2013 an area in Knowle West was designated as a Neighbourhood Planning Area. Up until April 26, 2013 qualifying organisations were invited to apply to be designated as the Neighbourhood Planning Forum that area. The following application was submitted by Knowle West Residents Planning Group:

• Forum Application (pdf, 182 KB) (opens new window)
• Map of designated Knowle West Neighbourhood Planning Area (pdf, 4.7 MB) (opens new window)

This application was published on our website for a six-week consultation period between May 3 to June 14, 2013. Following this consultation period the council will then consider applications and comments and decide on whether the organisation can be designated. Details on the Knowle West Area designation are available below.

Please note that only one organisation can be designated for each Neighbourhood Planning Area

Designated Neighbourhood Planning Areas

A citywide map showing the location of designated Neighbourhood Planning Areas (pdf, 7.2 MB) (opens new window) in Bristol is available to download.

On the May 1, 2013 the council designated:

• Old Market Neighbourhood Planning Forum for the Old Market Quarter Neighbourhood Planning Area and;

• Lawrence Weston Planning Group as the Neighbourhood Planning Forum for the Lawrence Weston Neighbourhood Planning Area.

Details on their designation are available below. The groups now join Lockleaze Voice and Redcliffe Way Neighbourhood Planning Forums to begin work on a Neighbourhood Development Plan for their area.

Knowle West Neighbourhood Planning Area

Designated Area: Knowle West Neighbourhood Planning Area (Designated 27/3/2013)

• Knowle West Neighbourhood Planning Area boundary map (pdf, 4.7 MB) (opens new window)
• Area designation application Knowle West Neighbourhood Planning Area (pdf, 3.9 MB) (opens new window)
• Submitted by: Knowle West Residents Planning Group
• Knowle West web-site

Lawrence Weston Neighbourhood Planning Area

Designated Area: Lawrence Weston Neighbourhood Planning Area (Designated 31/01/2013)
Designated Forum: Lawrence Weston Neighbourhood Planning Forum (Designated 01/05/2013)

• Lawrence Weston Neighbourhood Planning Area Boundary
• Area designation application
• Forum designation application (including constitution) (pdf, 0.8 MB) (opens new window)
• Contact details: Mark Pepper (Chair) 07876403840 markp.wstgroup@gmail.com. Helen Bone 0117 907 3379 helen@vividregeneration.com 
• Ambition Lawrence Weston website

Old Market Quarter Neighbourhood Planning Area

Designated Area: Old Market Quarter Neighbourhood Planning Area (Designated 31/1/2013)
Designated Forum: Old Market Quarter Neighbourhood Planning Forum (Designated 01/05/2013)

• Old Market Quarter Neighbourhood Planning Area boundary
• Area Designation application (pdf, 1.8 MB) (opens new window)
• Forum designation application (including constitution) (pdf, 218 KB) (opens new window)
• Contact details: Paul Bradburn 0117 9850022 info@oldmarketquarterfuture.org.
• Old Market Quarter website

Front runner Neighbourhood Planning Area's

• Lockleaze Neighbourhood Planning Area, overseen by the Lockleaze Voice Neighbourhood Planning Forum and
• Redcliffe Way Neighbourhood Planning Area, overseen by the Redcliffe Way Neighbourhood Planning Forum.

The proposed Myrtle Triangle Area (also an original Front Runner) was not formally designated as a Neighbourhood Planning Area. As a consequence, the proposed Neighbourhood Planning Forum was not progressed to designation. A formal decision document (pdf, 34 KB) (opens new window) is available to download or may be inspected on request at Brunel House (tel: 0117 903 6723).

Guidance on Neighbourhood Planning in Bristol

The following information was made available to help community groups decide whether to apply for a Neighbourhood Planning Area and how to do so. An information sheet (pdf, 0.8 MB) (opens new window) and leaflet (pdf, 183 KB) (opens new window) are also available to download.

Neighbourhood Planning is about making sure a community gets the development it needs for the future - through the building of homes, job opportunities, and leisure and community facilities, including schools, health services and shops.

Any community in the city can get involved in helping to plan their future development and there are lots of ways to do this including through contacting the Bristol Neighbourhood Planning Network or your local Neighbourhood Partnership.

However, there is a new opportunity for communities to write their own Development Plan Documents to help guide future development.

There are two key steps to this process and detailed guidance is available below:

1. Designating a Neighbourhood Planning Area (pdf, 99 KB) (opens new window)
2. Designating a Neighbourhood Planning Forum for that Area (pdf, 82 KB) (opens new window)

Receiving planning application updates within your neighbourhood

Do you wish to receive updates on any new planning applications registered in your local area? Our Planning Applications Online web-page, offers guidance for local groups and individuals who wish to register for updates. The page explains how to create new ‘search profiles’ whereby you can receive e-mail notifications of any applications which are submitted within your search area.

Why get involved in Neighbourhood Planning?

This is a great opportunity to influence how your area will grow and develop in the future. We hope that a number of Bristol’s enthusiastic communities will join the original pilot projects in Lockleaze, Redcliffe in helping to shape their neighbourhoods for a better future.

The council will support neighbourhood organisations in the preparation of a Neighbourhood Development Plan or Order, but the level of resource available to support individual groups will depend on:

• How many groups seek support for formal processes
• Where the Neighbourhood Planning Areas are located – priority will be given to supporting those areas with regeneration potential and areas where there is a high level of deprivation
• How much development potential is likely to come forward in the designated Neighbourhood Plan Area

 … and the level of resource available to the council to support these processes.

Support will be available to a designated Neighbourhood Planning Forum at 2 levels:

Level 1 and 2 support (pdf, 137 KB) (opens new window)

Further assistance

The Department of Communities and Local Government has provided funding to four organisations, to provide assistance to those looking to develop Neighbourhood Development Plans which are listed below:

• The Princes Foundation
• Locality
• The Royal Town Planning Institute
• National Association of Local Councils in partnership with the Campaign to Protect Rural England