Residents of Longframlington now have more of a say over future development in their parish, following a successful referendum which will result in the adoption of a neighbourhood plan for their area. 
 

A local referendum held in the parish this month returned a majority vote (94%) in favour of using the Plan to make decisions on planning applications. 
 

The Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan will form a key part of the planning process for this area and be part of the statutory development plan for Northumberland. This means  that future planning decisions in the parish will be made in line with policies in them, unless ‘material’ considerations indicate otherwise.  
 

The Plan was prepared by Longframlington Parish Council who were supported throughout the process by the County Council’s Neighbourhood Planning Team.  
 

It focusses on a range of planning issues identified by the local community. These include:  protection of the settlement boundary, housing development suitable for the parish, support and protection for local facilities and recreation areas, and conservation of the environment. 
 

The Plan passed independent examination in October 2021 May and will be officially adopted, or ‘made’, at a meeting of Northumberland County Council’s cabinet in March 2022. 
 

Councillor Colin Horncastle, cabinet member for community services at Northumberland County Council, said: "This neighbourhood plan is testament to the hard work of many dedicated people in this community, and I am very pleased to see it come into effect.” 
 

Work is under way on the preparation of neighbourhood plans in over 20 other parishes across Northumberland, while 18 neighbourhood plans are already in place. The Neighbourhood Planning Team continues to provide dedicated help and practical support to all the local parish councils involved in neighbourhood planning.