Neighbourhood Plan

After more than 5 years’ of research, assessments and community consultation by the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group with the support of Ilmington Parish Council, the Ilmington Neighbourhood Plan passed referendum on Thursday 6th May 2021 with 90% of voters in favour in a 60% turnout.

The Neighbourhood Plan has full weight in planning decisions as it now sits alongside the Stratford-on-Avon District Council Core Strategy 2016 – 2031. The Plan was formally ‘made’ or adopted on 12 July 2021 and will be used by the local planning authority when determining planning applications in the parish. As a community driven planning document, it can also be used to help guide village residents and others in responding to planning applications in order to ensure a sustainable future while safeguarding the parish and village’s distinctive and valued character.

Viewing the Plan

The Ilmington Neighbourhood Plan and associated documents can be viewed at: www.stratford.gov.uk/planning-building/ilmington-neighbourhood-plan.cfm

What do the Plan policies do ?

They …

1. Protect our local green spaces, valued landscapes, wildlife, biodiversity, orchards, allotments and architectural heritage.
2. Set standards for flood risk and foul water drainage mitigation.
3. Ensure new development is sympathetic to Ilmington’s special character through its extensive design guide.
   Allocate sites for new homes which include the building of affordable housing within Ilmington.

Future development in Ilmington

With or without a plan, Ilmington is required to contribute to the district’s housing land supply as part of the Stratford-on-Avon District Council Core Strategy. So, the question is how development is managed. Some of these areas are discussed below.

• Affordable housing: The Neighbourhood Plan provides for on-site affordable housing to address identified need in the village. It is less likely that affordable housing would be built in Ilmington if the Plan does not pass referendum.
• Reserve sites: Reserve sites are identified in Neighbourhood Plans should Stratford-on-Avon District Council not achieve its agreed 5 year housing supply. The Ilmington Neighbourhood Plan provides for one reserve site for approximately 8 dwellings. Because of this, the latest version of the District Council Site Allocation Plan no longer allocates further reserve sites in Ilmington. If the Ilmington Neighbourhood Plan does not pass referendum, it is reasonable to expect that the District Council Site Allocation Plan would revert to the 6 reserve sites in Ilmington with up to 78 dwellings as it had proposed originally.
• Local green spaces: The Neighbourhood Plan identifies 10 green spaces within the village that will be designated and protected from the risk of development.
• Design: The Neighbourhood Plan would guide all new development through its extensive Design Guide. The purpose of the Guide is to identify the distinctive features of Ilmington, help conserve them and influence the look and style of development. The Plan itself sets out policies relating specifically to Ilmington’s character. These are in addition to the more overarching design policies found in the SDC Core Strategy.
• Parking: The Plan creates a local parking standard that requires new developments to provide more spaces than the District Council’s standards so as not to increase present on-street parking.

Supporting documents

A great deal of work went into shaping the Neighbourhood Plan – through extensive research, independent assessments and community consultation. Supporting documents can be found below. If you cannot find what you are looking for then please contact us.

Steering Group Minutes

The minutes chart the process of creating the Plan.

View the Steering Group Minutes