Introduction

What is a Neighbourhood Plan?

Neighbourhood Plans allow communities to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood, by creating policies that define the development of and use of land within it.

A Plan allows the community to decide where any new homes, shops and offices should be built, specify aspects of their design and the infrastructure needed to support them. 

A group comprising parish councillors and residents created the existing Mortimer Neighbourhood Plan, that gained public approval in 2017 and runs until 2026. It was one of the first in West Berkshire.

There is more information about how Plans are created here. 

 

Why update the Mortimer Neighbourhood Plan?

• The 2017 Plan stipulated that if plans for a new doctors’, school and parking had not progressed by July 2022, the use of the 1 Hectare of land set aside for that purpose needs to be reviewed. That review is in progress, with proposals being put to the public in late 2022. A Planning Application for the preferred option is expected to be submitted by mid 2024.
• When the 2017 Plan was approved, it was assumed to be valid until 2026. However a number of factors can mean that Plan needs updating sooner than 2026. These factors include:
  • new local and national government policies which can render Neighbourhood Plan policies ineffective or redundant.  West Berkshire Council is expected to issue a new Local Plan in mid 2025 which will contain such new policies.
  • The community might wish to add policies or revise existing ones, to reflect their current view of what is important, or lessons learnt from the 2017 Neighbourhood Plan.

A group of parish councillors and community members is working to shape an updated Plan to reflect both considerations.  This version is hoped to be approved by mid 2025. 

The Status section will show the status of the update to the Neighbourhood Plan.