Have your say on how the National Park Authority involves people in its planning work
PUBLISHED ON: 17 APRIL 2023The New Forest National Park Authority is asking people for their views on the involvement of communities and stakeholders in the planning process.
The NPA is reviewing its current ‘Statement of Community Involvement’ (SCI), which all planning authorities are legally required to have, to ensure it reflects recent changes in national policy and legislation.
The SCI is focused on the Authority’s planning role, setting out how and when it will involve the community and other interested people in decisions on planning applications and in preparing its planning policies and guidelines such as the Local Plan, the review of which will begin later this year.
New Forest National Park Authority Chair Prof Gavin Parker said: ‘Engaging local communities is core to the work of the National Park Authority. This includes delivering our statutory planning functions such as development control, plan-making and enforcement.
‘The SCI allows us to add a local flavour to the national regulations – setting out what they mean in the New Forest National Park – and for us to go further than the minimum national requirements set out by the Government where appropriate.’
Keeping an SCI up to date is a requirement of planning regulations and national planning policy. The NPA will also be preparing a fuller strategy setting out how it involves people in its wider work in due course.
You can have your say in the public consultation from 17 April to 5 June 2023.
View the SCI
View and download the revised draft Statement of Community Involvement from www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/consultations or view it and pick up a copy at the New Forest National Park Authority offices at Lymington Town Hall, Avenue Road, Lymington SO41 9ZG.
How to respond
You can complete the response form online via the link above or return your response form to the Policy Team:
- by email to policy@newforestnpa.gov.uk
- or by post at the address above.
Comments must be received by 5pm on Monday 5 June 2023.
Once the responses have been fully considered a final version of the revised SCI is due to be presented to the full Authority for adoption at its meeting in July 2023.
