Marden Neighbourhood Plan
Back in 2013, following the introduction of Neighbourhood Plans by the Localism Act 2012, Marden Parish Council held an informal meeting inviting residents and representatives along to discuss the possibility of producing a Neighbourhood Plan for the parish of Marden. This was unanimously agreed and an inaugural meeting was held to discuss the procedure.The first stage in the process involved Marden Parish Council applying to Maidstone Borough Council for determination of the Area to be covered by the plan. (See below for the parish boundary map). A six week pre-submission consultation was held before the Parish Council and the Steering Group could proceed.
After many meetings (see "Minutes of NP Steering Group" page), open days, consultations, workshops and attendance at village events the draft plan was submitted for public consultation (Regulation 14) from 9th June to 5pm on 21st July - see drop down menu for "MNP Consultation 9/6/18 - 21/7/18".
The comments received back from Statutory Consultees and residents have now been incorporated into the document and the final amendments are being undertaken by the typesetter. Following the Group ensuring that all the information is correct the MNP will be submitted to MBC, along with the Consultation Statement, Conditions Statement and Checklist against NPPF and Local Plan Policies, known as Regulation 15.
Regulation 16 will then be undertaken by MBC which involves a six week consultation period following which the document will be submitted to a independent planning inspector for examination.
The inspector has now viewed the document(s) and made recommendations and a referendum was held in the Parish on Thursday 27th February 2020. This was voted for by residents and was agreed by MBC at a meeting in July 2020.
A review is currently being undertaken and this will be discussed at a meeting on 26th March 2024: Vision for Marden 2037 - MNP Review - Marden Parish Council - Marden Parish Council, Marden, Tonbridge (mardenkent-pc.gov.uk)