North Weald Bassett Parish is a complex area, consisting of three individual villages, each with their own specific identity. A Neighbourhood Plan must conform to the strategic policies in a Local Plan. When we started this process, it was done at a time before the EFDC Local Plan had been adopted, and along the road we have experienced numerous challenges which have resulted in the need to place a ‘hold’ on the process, including:
- Frequent changes in Government policy (the NP must be in general conformity with this)
- The Local Plan, and examination in public (the NP must be in general conformity with the Strategic elements of a Local Plan – we needed to wait and see what these were)
- COVID (placed a physical restriction on the ability to meet, along with changes in many residents priorities during the crisis)
- Consultation Fatigue (so many different public consultations run by different developers – we were concerned our residents would simply become sick of the amount of consultation)
- Waiting for the right time (we have discovered there is not a perfect time, so we are cracking on with it now!)
- Lack of trust in the planning system (many residents expressed this concern)