Neighbourhood Plans
Town and Village policies led by the community.
What is Neighbourhood Planning?
Neighbourhood Plans are community led plans that can be used by communities to create a vision for their area and establish general planning policies for the development and use of land. This could be where new homes should be built and what types of materials should be used, or where public open space should be located and how it will be maintained. The Neighbourhood Plan must conform to the local planning authority's Local Plan, and as such cannot be used to reduce the amount or type of development currently planned for.
Neighbourhood Plans are not obligatory and are one of several options for guiding development and addressing the needs of an area. The District's Local Plan will address many local issues and allocate sites for development and there are other tools available for issues such as protecting heritage assets or addressing affordable housing need.
More information on neighbourhood planning and other community planning tools can be found on Locality. This website also includes information on the latest grants and funding available to community groups.
Information and Ideas for Parishes in Mendip
The 
information pack [1.95MB] outlines the assistance and resources available from Mendip District Council as well as:
- Key messages from lessons learned so far
- Guidance on options development and policy writing
- Signposts to existing guidance, case studies and data sources
- Information on Environmental Assessments
- The latest update includes more information on climate change policies.
Made Neighbourhood Plans in the Mendip District
Two neighbourhood plans that have been made in the Mendip District in the parishes of Frome and Rode. The areas these plans cover are shown
here [489.22KB] in green:
The Norton St Phillip Neighbourhood Plan can be given 'substantial weight' in planning applications.
Neighbourhood Plans in Progress
Neighbourhood Plans with a formally designated plan area are listed below and are shown on the map
here [489.22KB] in orange:
- City of Wells
- Croscombe
- Evercreech
- Glastonbury
- Kilmersdon
- Norton St Philip
- Shepton Mallet
- St Cuthbert Out
- Street
- Walton
- Westbury Sub Mendip
- Wookey
Contact Details:
If you have any questions regarding the neighbourhood planning process then please contact a member of the Planning Policy Team on 0300 303 8588 or email planningpolicy@mendip.gov.uk
If you wish to get involved with neighbourhood planning in your area, then contact your local Parish Council directly, as these are the bodies responsible for preparing the content of the plans.