ADOPTION OF THE PLAN
In an ‘Officer Decision’ published on Thursday 27 February 2025 Babergh District Council have agreed to adopt (‘make’) the Hadleigh NDP.
This NDP, which covers the plan period to 2037, now forms part of the development plan and will be used to help determine planning applications across Hadleigh unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
In December 2025, a minor modification was made to the NDP to correct an error within the named and numbered list of Non-designated Heritage Assets. An explanation is set out within the updated plan which is below:
REFERENDUM RESULT
The Referendum for the Hadleigh Neighbourhood Plan took place on Tuesday 25th February 2025.
Voters were asked “Do you want Babergh District Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Hadleigh to help them decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”
Of an electorate of 6,802 voters, 12.07% turned out on the day to vote, that’s 821 people. Of the 821 voters, 97.56% voted in favour of the plan with just 1 spoiled paper and 19 no votes.
Hadleigh now has a strong neighbourhood plan for its future and remember, it will be reviewed and updated throughout the years.
COST
Local List:
The Neighbourhood Plan appendices also include the Local List which was created by Hadleigh Society, supported by Hadleigh Town Council. The selection criteria consisted of five areas of consideration; survival and originality, architectural or artistic interest, historic/social interest, archaeological interest, designed landscapes of interest.
Full details on the selection criteria can be viewed here: https://hadsoc.org.uk/2021/07/28/hadleighs-local-list/ and the full list can be viewed on Hadleigh Society’s website.
Work completed so far:
- Introduction chapters: one, two and three
- Landscape and Biodiversity Assessment by SWT
- Character Assessment
- Shop Front Design Codes
- Photograph competition for minors
- Public consultations:
- June 2021 to groups in Hadleigh about general challenges in Hadleigh
- October 2021 was the Young People’s Survey about general things to do with Hadleigh
- March 2022 market stall, general awareness and character assessment start
- April 2022 open day to get views on character assessment
- May 2022 Hadleigh Show on general Neighbourhood Plan stuff
- June and July 2022 consultation on vision and objectives
- July and August 2022 general engagement days and photograph competition
- December 2022 and January 2023 transport consultancy, online and at Xmas fair
- February and March 2023 Local Green Spaces online and in person at Morrisons and Hadleigh Market
- April / May 2023 Local Green Spaces Landowners letters
- May 2023 Hadleigh Show on general Neighbourhood Plan timeline updates
- May 2023 Young People’s Usable Green Space survey
- May / June 2023 Local List property owners consultation letters
- December 2023 / January 2024 Regulation 14 consultation
- Transport Study by 2020 Consultancy
- Reviews of and additions to the evidence base documents
- Local Green Spaces Report
- Working Group workshops to assess the evidence base and brainstorm for topic papers
- Landscape Appraisal by Lucy Batchelor-Wylam consultant
- Design Guides / Codes by AECOM consultants
- Topic Papers for policies to Navigus Consultants
- Implementation chapter drafted
- Statement of Public Consultations Drafted to the point of regulation 14
- Regulation 14 pre-submission draft Plan prepared (v3)
- Report to Full Council to endorse prior to pre-submission consultation (September 2023 Full Council meeting)
- Regulation 14 six-week consultation and work through of every representation
- Adjustments to plan draft following review of all Reg 14 representations, creating the submission version for regulation 16
- Consultation Statement finalised and uploaded in The Plan document folder
- Statement of Basic Conditions Finalised and uploaded in The Plan document folder
- Town Council signed off the Plan policy document in their meeting in March 2024
- The Plan was submitted to the Local Planning Authority in April and their consultation runs May to July 2024
- BDC Regulation 16 consultation ran from 20th May to 5th July 2024, 21 responses were received
- Independent Examination was conducted between August and October 2024, with the final report being received on 3rd October
- Revisions and edits from following the Examiner’s report, were completed over November and December 2024 and BDC approved the final version ready for the referendum on 7th January 2025.
“Green infrastructure contributes to the quality and distinctiveness of the local environment. It creates opportunities for walking and physical activity and generally adding to quality of life. Green infrastructure is diverse in character and can include formal parks and gardens, informal grassed areas, linear paths, towpaths, sports pitches and various other kinds of landscaped area…securing high quality green infrastructure in and around their neighbourhood is important. Neighbourhood plans can include policies for green spaces and can be used to designate ‘Local Green Spaces’ to protect them for current and future generations.”
Locality, Making Local Green Space Designations In Your Neighbourhood Plan, 2021
View all our documents and draft chapters for the plan here:
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Neighbourhood-Plan-Documents/The-Plan/
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Under 16’s Life in Hadleigh photo competition
Thank you to all the young people (and their parents) who submitted photographs for the competition.
The minutes of the Sub-Committee meetings are available to view here. We’ve also set up a Neighbourhood Plan Facebook page as an information stream, find us @hadleighsuffolkneighbourhoodplan.
Policies in the Neighbourhood Plan can be used to influence the decisions made by the Local Planning Authority when it comes to housing and infrastructure. Therefore it is enabling the community to help shape the area they live, work and play in and ensure specific conditions are imposed on developers and shaped for the future. A plan can set out a positive vision for the community and the means to achieving that. With a Neighbourhood Plan approved by a local referendum and adopted, the Town will receive 25% of the revenues from the Community Infrastructure Levy (more than without an adopted neighbourhood plan), to reinvest into the infrastructure of the town. Don’t forget, if at any time you want to help with
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q – What is Neighbourhood Planning?
Neighbourhood planning was introduced in the Localism Act 2011. It is an important and powerful tool that gives communities statutory powers to shape how their communities develop.
A draft neighbourhood plan needs to be completing including the evidence base gathered and results of consultations and submitted to the Local Authority (Babergh District Council). They’ll check that we’ve followed the correct procedures and that all required documents have been submitted, and an independent assessor will check the plan over. If all the criteria is met, the local authority will organise a public referendum (vote), so that everyone who lives in our neighbourhood area can decide whether you support it. If more than 50% of the voters are in favour of the plan, the local authority must bring it into force.
Q – What can the Town Council use a Neighbourhood Plan for? What are the advantages?
Neighbourhood plans can help to influence the use and development of land in a specific area. They can establish a vision for the area, include general policies for the development and use of land, and bring forward sites for development. The main advantage is an uplift (to 25%) in the amount of CIL receivable from the District Council when new houses are built.
Q – What is Neighbourhood Planning?
This means that it will form part of the statutory development plan for that area, so any decisions about whether or not to grant planning permission in the neighbourhood area in the future must be made by taking your neighbourhood plan into consideration.
Q – How are policies in a neighbourhood plan drafted for use?
All policies made should be clear and unambiguous so as to enable a decision maker to apply it consistently and with confidence. It should be concise, precise and supported by appropriate evidence. It should be distinct to reflect and respond to the unique characteristics and planning context of the specific neighbourhood area for which it has been prepared.