Neighbourhood Plan Preparation

This page describes the different stages in preparing the Burscough Parish Neighbourhood Plan, starting with the most recent.

Referendum

The Referendum stage involves a public vote on whether or not to use the neighbourhood plan in decision making.  The Referendum for the Burscough Parish Neighbourhood Plan took place on Thursday 11 July 2019.  The result was a 'Yes' vote, with 89% of those who voted opting for 'Yes' and 11% 'No'.  Turnout was 20%.

The Burscough Parish Neighbourhood Plan Referendum Version

Due to its size this document has had to be split into parts.

  

 

Examination

The examination stage considers whether the plan meets legal requirements and 'basic conditions'.  The examination of the Burscough Parish Neighbourhood plan took place February - April 2019.

The independent Examiner, Bob Yuille MSc DipTP MRTPI, issued a letter clarifying procedural matters and setting out initial questions in relation to the NP.

The Borough Council received the Examiner's Report on 30 April 2019.  Having considered the Examiner's findings, the Council agreed with his recommendations to make certain modifications to the Plan.

 

Submission

Public consultation took place on the Submission Burscough Parish Neighbourhood Plan from 9 January to 20 February 2019..

39 responses were received from the following bodies.

  • 18 private individuals
  • Canal & River Trust
  • Chorley Borough Council
  • Coal Authority
  • Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)
  • Environment Agency
  • Highways England
  • Historic England
  • Lancashire County Council
  • Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service
  • Lichfields
  • Lead Local Flood Authority
  • National Grid
  • Natural England
  • Network Rail
  • Ormskirk and District Friends of the Earth
  • Shevington Parish Council
  • Sport England
  • Story Homes
  • United Utilities
  • West Lancashire Borough Council
  • WWT Martin Mere

Redacted copies of the responses can be provided upon request.

  

Earlier stages

The first stage in preparing the Burscough NP was to identify the area that it would cover. West Lancashire Borough Council's Cabinet approved the boundary of the Burscough NP area on 11 November 2014. This followed a public consultation, and Cabinet considered comments from the community before it approved the proposal. The neighbourhood area is exactly the same as the Burscough Parish boundary.

After the neighbourhood area was identified, Burscough Parish Council prepared a draft NP in consultation with the local community, including residents and local businesses.  The Parish Council undertook formal public consultation on a draft of the NP (called a pre-submission plan) for 8 weeks between 11 August and 6 October 2017. Subsequently, the Parish Council considered responses received and made changes to the plan before producing the Submission Burscough Parish Neighbourhood Plan.

At this point, the Borough Council took on the role of proceeding with the Plan.

 

Evidence Base

The NP is supported by a range of evidence, including a Strategic Environmental Assessment and a Habitats Regulations Assessments.  This evidence has been used to inform the preparation of the document.  There is also relevant material in the West Lancashire Local Plan Review evidence base (for example the West Lancs Playing Pitch Strategy).