MARDEN NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN - REGULATION 14

The Marden Neighbourhood Plan (MNP) Review is currently being amended and an Open Morning is taking place on Saturday 22nd March 2025 at Marden Vestry Hall from 10.00am to 12.30pm.

All documents can be found below but if you have any questions please contact the Parish Office at [email protected] or come along to the Open Morning where hard copies of the documents will be available along with Cllrs in attendance to answer any queries/concerns etc.

WHAT IS A NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN AND WHY DOES MARDEN NEED ONE?

Planning legislation introduced in 2012 gave greater powers to communities to help them shape the growth of their community in a sustainable way through the development of neighbourhood plans. 

The first Marden Neighbourhood Plan (MNP) was approved in July 2020, having been agreed by the community at referendum in February 2020.  Maidstone Borough Council, our lead local authority and responsible for planning decisions in Marden, is legally required to take the policies contained in the MNP into consideration when deciding on planning applications in Marden.  Already we have seen how powerful the MNP is with several planning applications being rejected because they do not comply with the plan, conversely    Marden Parish Council is pleased to support planning applications that do comply with the MNP.

Why are we reviewing the MNP?

Change is constant and since 2020 when the original plan came into force several events have taken place that may change our perspective.  We have lived through a pandemic that has changed the way people live and their outlook on life. We are living through an unprecedented cost of living crisis and war in Europe, events which will change our lives and our outlook, and we would never have considered possible when the plan was written in 2018 and 2019. These events coupled with a change of Government in July 2024 have changed the outlook in planning terms to a more “bullish” approach.

An important aspect of a neighbourhood plan is that it is in conformity with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the Local Plan.  The NPPF was last updated in December 2024, after the MNP was approved and therefore we need to satisfy ourselves that there are no major changes that impact our plan.  The Maidstone Borough Council Local Plan was adopted in 2017 and revisions adopted in March 2024. It is vital that our Neighbourhood Plan is in line with both of these important planning documents, so that MBC Planning Department continues to give it weight when deciding on planning applications, whilst reflecting any changes we all identified in our community.

Why 2038?

The revised Local Plan for Maidstone has an end date of 2038.  Marden Parish Council consider that it is sensible for the revised MNP to have the same end date.

How are we going about revising the MNP?

A group of Parish Councillors have done a thorough review of our Neighbourhood Plan and identified several changes that make it more relevant to 2025 taking into account all of the above factors and feedback we have received from residents on previous open days.

Most of the changes made are to the explanatory text in each chapter.  The most important part of the plan are the policies.  We have made some changes to the policies, which are explained in the policy change document, and it is these policies we need your feedback on.

A revised neighbourhood plan still has to go through a number of steps for it to be adopted. Depending on the nature of the changes this could range from minor changes which we could just implement, material changes which would require a planning inspector to review the changes, and those that are so significant a referendum would have to be held.

The Parish Council has taken advice from Maidstone Borough Council on the scope of proposed changes and concluded that they represent a major modification but do not require a new referendum. 

We are now in the public consultation phase, known as Regulation 14, when we ask residents and statutory consultees for their views on the proposed amendments.  This phase runs from 10th March to 25th April 2025.  Once all the comments are received, they will be reviewed by the Parish Council and any necessary amendments made.  The plan will then be submitted to Maidstone Borough Council along with documents that evidence the proposed changes. 

Maidstone Borough Council will then run a second stage public consultation, Regulation 16, and involve organisations such as the Environment Agency, Natural England and Historic England.  On completion of this phase, MBC will then submit the draft revised plan to a Planning Inspector.  They will either recommend adoption, with or without any further amendments, or referendum if the changes are deemed more significant than expected.

Please study the proposed policy changes and complete the questionnaire.

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN THIS IMPORTANT CONSULTATION

The original adopted Marden Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed at: NP Documents - Marden Parish Council - Marden Parish Council, Marden, Tonbridge