Welcome to the 'Neighbourhood Plan' Page

This part of the website provides information about what a 'Neighbourhood Plan' is and why Hazelwood has developed one. Over time more information, web links and articles will be added. We will also be explaining how you can get involved in the process as a resident of the Parish of Hazelwood . Please note that owing to formatting issues , certain page layouts on this website differ from the document held on the AVBC website . The overall content is exactly the same.

What is a Neighbourhood Plan

Neighbourhood plans were established in 2011 as part of the Localism Act. The process allows groups of people from a local community to put together a Neighbourhood Development Plan and Order, which will guide and shape development in an area over the next 15 years. The plan has to link to both national and local planning guidance, and draft plans have to be checked by the Planning Inspectorate before they are put to a local referendum. If the referendum is successful the plan is adopted by the local authority and forms part of the planning process. Neighbourhood plans are not a way to block all development, but they allow local people to have a say in what they think is important for their area.A more detailed flow diagram of the process can be found in the Plain English Guide to the Planning System. A Neighbourhood Plan will contain information about where future development could take place, what type of housing would be encouraged, details of open spaces to be protected, consideration of future population needs, transport links and details of how the character of villages like Hazelwood can be protected by only allowing developments which would not be at odds with the current style of houses and buildings in the village.

All of our October 2023 Neighbourhood Plan Documents can be found in our Document Management System