Etwall Neighbourhood Plan

This page contains information about the Etwall Neighbourhood Plan and the lower part is divided into a number of sections for ease of reference. You can view the contents of a specific section by clicking on the relevant heading.

We are delighted to say we are now finalising the proposed ‘Submission Version’ of the Plan and hope to submit to South Derbyshire District Council in October for their assessment.

The Pre-submission Draft Neighbourhood Plan for Etwall Parish (2024-2041) was ratified at the Parish Council meeting on 7 April 2025 and, subsequently Pre-submission Consultation, in accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, Section 14, was conducted.

This consultation period closed on Monday 11th August.

From this Consultation we received written representations from 9 organisations, and 20 residents responded on the Parish Council website. There were a total of 141 comments which we have considered, and based on these comments we have amended the Draft Plan as appropriate.

Following these changes a ‘Submission Version’ of the Plan will be considered at the next Parish Council meeting on 6th October. The Parish Council will be asked to endorse this Version to go forward to SDDC for consideration. This a Public meeting and any residents can attend to make any comments in the Public Speaking part of the meeting.

All the challenges made during the Consultation period will be included in a document called the ‘Consultation Statement’ which will be submitted to SDDC along with the Plan. This ‘Consultation Statement’ will show the response from the Working Group and confirm whether the Plan was changed in line with the challenge.

What were the key challenges we received?

We received responses on behalf of three Developers who objected to the Plan on the basis that there is no specific nomination of development sites in the Plan. We do not believe we need to nominate specific sites in the Parish as Etwall is not a self-contained Housing Market Area, it is part of South Derbyshire District which is in turn part of the Derby City Housing Market Area.

They also objected to the designation of the Areas of Landscape Sensitivity (ALS) we included in the Plan. Based on those challenges, we have re-evaluated the different ALS and explained in further detail why we believe they are important.

One resident made a challenge to the Plan saying that we had not considered the issues and challenges affecting local businesses. We have added a new section describing the size and importance of the business sector to the village.

The majority of comments from residents supported our stance that we want to retain the village’s character and identity, as well as retaining the village as a distinct settlement, with open fields separating us from neighbouring villages.

Summary of documentation available

The Submission Version of the Plan is over 93 pages, so the Working Group have provided a Summary Document that provides an overview of the Plan. For those of you who may want to see the full information or areas of particular interest, these can be found in the proposed Submission Version of the Neighbourhood Plan for Etwall Parish 2024-2041, Appendices and the Traffic Review of the Parish.

The other documents that may be of interest are the research that was conducted to build this plan:

  • The Housing Needs Assessmet looks at the demographics of Etwall Parish, now, and the future growth over the next 15 years. It analyses the population and the type of houses that we currently have compared to the type we will require in the next 15 years; it also provides an analysis and understanding of the role of the Parish within the wider housing market area.
  • The Etwall Design Guidance and Code 2024 analysis shows what makes Etwall Parish special and its unique characteristics. The report details the design code that any future development needs to adhere to.

Please contact etwallndp@gmail.com if you have difficulty accessing any of the documents.

The Plan, along with all of the supporting documents, can be found in the Document Library on this page.

Why we are developing this Plan and what have we done so far

Over the past two years, the Working Group for the Neighbourhood Plan gathered evidence and commissioned reports about the Parish to write the Draft Neighbourhood Plan. Further details of our progress can be found in the Story So Far section below.

A Neighbourhood Plan gives communities the opportunity to take a pro-active role in developing a shared vision for their neighbourhood and to shape the development and growth of their local area. During the development of a Neighbourhood Plan, members of the community are asked to consider the local issues and concerns that affect them, their families, and their neighbours; and to identify what it is about their neighbourhood that they value and want to protect.

The Parish Council is consulting across the Parish to ensure that the final Neighbourhood Plan for Etwall Parish (2024-2041) reflects the views of the community. Whilst the Neighbourhood Plan has been produced based on the initial consultation in 2024, we need to know that the community agree, or otherwise, with the emerging Plan and consider any changes that need to be made.

Note: The Neighbourhood Plan for Etwall Parish covers the period up to 2041 in accordance with the time frame of the Local Plan for South Derbyshire; and the area covers the Parish of Etwall.

The Plan will have significant weight in the determination of planning applications; the policies form a framework which will, along with the supporting documents, guide development over the plan period. The Plan will be used by:

  • The Planning Service at South Derbyshire District Council (the local planning authority) in assessing future planning applications.
  • Developers as they prepare planning applications for submission to South Derbyshire District Council.
  • The Parish Council in responding to consultations on applications, and
  • Planning Inspectors to help assess planning applications.

The Neighbourhood Plan for Etwall Parish has been prepared by the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group with support from the qualifying body, Etwall Parish Council, and aided by a planning consultant funded by the Locality Grant Programme.

Following the pre-submission consultation, the Working Group has considered all the responses, amending the Plan as appropriate prior to submission to South Derbyshire District Council for wider consultation and independent examination. It will then be offered for a referendum within the Parish, and subject to a majority vote, will be brought into force within the Statutory Development Plan.

The Etwall Neighbourhood Plan Working Group has been meeting on the second Wednesday of each month, however now the Plan is now nearing completion, no more meetings are planned.

If you have any thoughts or feedback on the project, please contact etwallndp@gmail.com

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