Commentary Part 6: Planning Chapter 3: Neighbourhood Planning New section 61G: Meaning of “neighbourhood area”
267.New section 61G provides for a system under which local planning authorities are to designate neighbourhood areas, where they have received an application for an area to be designated as such either from a parish council or a body that could potentially be a neighbourhood forum. “Neighbourhood areas” are the areas that neighbourhood development plans and orders can be made in respect of. It is expected that in many cases these areas will follow the boundaries of existing parishes for which there is a parish council (see new section 61G(4)). This is unless the local planning authority concerned considers that some other area is more suitable for the purposes of neighbourhood planning.