Local council plans and Planning
Local Councils’ Plans
8.1 Rotherham Council recognises that there are a range of local level plans and strategies used by both the Borough and Local Councils; including: Parish Plans, Ward Plans, and in some areas of Rotherham Neighbourhood Plans, for the latter also see section 9.6.
8.2 Rotherham Council recognises that where a Local Council has prepared a
Parish Plan this allows local people to have their say on what is needed or
wanted and how this may be achieved. It provides vital local information and evidence on local needs and wants. Given this, Rotherham Council will take account, wherever possible, of its proposals and priorities. A completed parish plan can be emailed to the Parish Liaison Officer who will share with the appropriate services.
8.3 Rotherham Council will also ensure that key points from any Local Council plan is considered when developing the wider ward priorities for the Ward Plans.
Planning
9.1 National planning policy
Government policy on planning decisions is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) supported by Planning Practice Guidance (PPG). The Council must have regard to this policy and guidance in all planning decisions it takes, along with all other material planning considerations. The NPPF states that decisions should apply a presumption in favour of sustainable development, and that local planning authorities should approve development proposals that accord with an up-to-date development plan without delay.
9.2 Local Plan
Rotherham Council has an adopted development plan (the Local Plan) which allocates land for development and sets out Rotherham Council’s policies on development proposals. The Plan is a key material planning consideration in determining planning applications. The Council’s interactive Policies Map shows all land in the Borough and for what use it is allocated in the Local Plan.
9.3 Public consultation
Rotherham Council’s Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out the requirement for developers to consult with the local community dependant on the nature of the proposals. In addition, there is a statutory requirement for Rotherham Council to notify local residents of development proposals in their area. Rotherham Council, in consultation with Local Councils, has also prepared a Parish Protocol for planning consultation with parish and town councils. The protocol sets out the process of how Rotherham Council will engage with parish councils regarding the planning application process.
9.4 Viewing planning applications
Rotherham Council sends a ‘weekly list’ of all applications received to all Local Councils. The list is set out in ward order and includes applications which are subject to consultation, including a web link to each application. Local Councils are advised to view applications in adjoining wards that may be close to their ward boundary. Planning applications can also be viewed on Rotherham Council’s planning portal by entering the RB reference number or searching by address.
9.5 Planning enforcement
Following consultation with Local Councils, Rotherham Council has produced a Planning Enforcement Plan which sets out how complaints in respect of developments taking place will be investigated.
9.6 Neighbourhood planning
Neighbourhood planning enables communities to play a much stronger role in shaping the areas in which they live and work and in supporting new development proposals. This is because unlike the parish, village or town plans that communities may have prepared, a Neighbourhood Plan forms part of the development plan and sits alongside the Local Plan prepared by the local planning authority.
Decisions on planning applications will be made using both the Local Plan and the Neighbourhood Plan, and any other material considerations. The Local Planning Authority (LPA) must therefore give full regard to any responses on planning applications made by the relevant Local Council where this involves policies in its Neighbourhood Plan. The LPA should also give weight to policies in emerging Neighbourhood Plans in accordance with advice in the National Planning Policy Framework. The more advanced its preparation, the greater weight that should be given.
Neighbourhood planning is not a legal requirement but a right which any community in England can choose to use.
More information on the process of designating Neighbourhood Areas and preparing Neighbourhood Plans is available on Rotherham Council’s Neighbourhood Planning webpage. This webpage also lists the communities in Rotherham which have decided to develop a Neighbourhood Plan and the progress of these plans. Also included in section 13.2 as it is a part of the Localism Act 2011.
9.7 Community Infrastructure Levy
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge that councils can apply to new development to raise funds for local infrastructure, such as: extra school places; road improvements; public transport improvements; and better green spaces. Rotherham’s CIL Charging Schedule was adopted by the Council on 7 December 2016 and came into force on 3 July 2017.
Local Councils are due a ’neighbourhood portion‘ of the CIL income raised from new development within their parish boundary, otherwise known as Local CIL. The default is payment of 15% of CIL income raised within the relevant area; parishes with an adopted Neighbourhood Plan receive 25% of CIL income.
Local Councils can spend CIL income on infrastructure in their parish. The CIL Regulations give more leeway to how parishes spend CIL income than applies to Rotherham Council. Local CIL income is passed on to Local Councils twice a year in line with the CIL Regulations, with payment dates of 28 October and 28 April for the preceding six months.
Details of CIL income and spend is included in the Council’s annual Infrastructure Funding Statement. Local Councils are similarly required to publish annual statements setting out their use of Local CIL income.
Emergency Planning
10.1 Rotherham Council is a category one responder under the Civil Contingencies Act and one of the responsibilities is to warn and inform the public in relation to any major incident which may have an impact on them. In line with this requirement, Rotherham Council is committed to engaging and communicating with Local Councils as soon as is reasonably practicable in the event of a major incident occurring, or likely to occur. Rotherham Council is also committed to engaging and working with Local Councils to plan and prepare for major incidents. Rotherham Council works with Local Councils to enable them to support the response to major incidents through communications with residents or other practical actions.
10.2 Further information can be found on the Council’s Emergency Planning service webpage.
Precepting arrangements
11.1 Local Council tax bases
A Local Councils council tax base is the number of properties in its area expressed in Band D property equivalent terms. (NB this is after adjusting for discounts and premiums and the Council Tax support scheme as well as losses on collection).
The Strategic Director for Corporate Services determines the council tax base for each Local Council between 1 December and 31 January of the preceding financial year. The Council will endeavour to provide details of a Local Councils provisional tax base before the end of December, with confirmation of the actual tax base by the end of January.
Each year, the Corporate Service Directorate will send a standard email to the Clerk with the individual tax base information for their parish. For planning purposes Local Councils can work on the first week in February as being the date when finance figures will need to be returned on a headed PDF so it can be confirmed.
The regulations do require that for precepts more than £140k parishes provide a breakdown of their budget showing spending and income across broad headings – Rotherham Council will provide a pro forma for this.
There is no legal requirement for either Local Councils to submit or Rotherham Council to ask for detailed information as to how a Local Council’s budget requirement has been calculated.
To be in a position to assure local electors that Local Councils have calculated their budget requirement in accordance with the relevant legislation, Local Councils are strongly advised to keep detailed proposals as to how they have built up their budget requirement.
11.2 Collection and payment of local precepts
Local precepts will appear as a separate amount on the council tax bills which are sent out by Rotherham Council to Rotherham residents in March. The publication of the precepts separately on tax bills is a statutory requirement.
All local precepts will be collected by Rotherham Council. Local Councils will then receive their precepts in two equal instalments in April and September.
