Neighbourhood planning advice

Neighbourhood planning was introduced in the Localism Act 2011. Neighbourhood Plans give communities the ability to shape how their communities develop.

This guide provides information from Norfolk County Council to support the development of your neighbourhood plan.

The County Council is a statutory consultee in the neighbourhood planning process. We provide responses to:

• Draft Neighbourhood Plan consultations (Regulation 14). Please consult localplan@norfolk.gov.uk
• Pre-submission Neighbourhood Plan consultations (Regulation 16). At this stage the relevant local planning authority leads the consultation. They will consult the County Council and other relevant consultees

For further information contact the neighbourhood planning coordinator at: localplan@norfolk.gov.uk. Read our privacy notice to find out how we use your personal information.

When creating a neighbourhood plan, it's important to consider the risk of flooding - both now and in the future. Neighbourhood plans should include an assessment of flood risk from all sources.

To help with this, we recommend including flood maps that show all types of flooding across your whole neighbourhood plan area. Helpful maps and tools include:

• Flood map for planning
• Areas at long term flood risk
• Flood and water management policies
• Lead Local Flood Authority Guidance Document (PDF, 2 MB)

If your neighbourhood plan proposed to allocate sites for development, you will need to:

• Try to place new development in areas with the lowest flood risk.
• Make sure any development in flood-prone areas will be safe for its entire lifetime, even with climate change.
• Show how flood risk will be managed so it doesn't get worse. And show how flood risk could be reduced (for example, by using sustainable drainage systems where suitable).

Any development must align with the local planning authority's application of the Sequential Test (and if necessary the Exception Test). 

You can find more information at:

• Information for developers
• Section 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework
• The Flood Risk and Coastal Change section of the Planning Practice Guidance

Email llfa@norfolk.gov.uk for further information. Read our privacy notice to find out how we use your personal information.

These tools and resources will help you to develop an understanding of green infrastructure in your neighbourhood planning area:

• The Norfolk Public Rights of Way (PRoW) map - An interactive map showing all public footpaths and bridleways in Norfolk
• The Norfolk Trails section of this website - An interactive map showing all public footpaths and bridleways in Norfolk
• Our walking, wheeling and cycling strategy - An overview of Norfolk's walking and cycling routes
• Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service  - Details about local wildlife and County Wildlife Sites
• The MAGIC Map from Defra - An interactive map showing wildlife habitats and protected nature areas
• Our Trees, landscape and ecology page - Advice and information about Norfolk's natural environment

Email NETI@norfolk.gov.uk for further information. Read our privacy notice to find out how we use your personal information. 

If your neighbourhood planning area is within the Greater Norwich:

• The Greater Norwich Green Infrastructure Strategy (2025) - This strategy explains what types of green spaces are needed, where they should go, and what size they should be to support future growth in South Norfolk, Broadland, and Norwich
• The Greater Norwich Green Infrastructure Opportunities Map (2025) - An interactive tool to identify the priority areas for Green Infrastructure in South Norfolk, Broadland and Norwich

When creating a neighbourhood plan, it's important to think about the area's historic environment.

To help with this, you can:

• Read the Historic England Advice Note on how to include the historic environment in neighbourhood planning.
• Visit the Archaeology and historic environment webpage for advice on:  
  • Treasure finds
  • How planning relates to historic sites
  • The Historic Environment Record (a database of historic sites and features)

We can provide data from the Historic Environment Record to support your neighbourhood plan. Please note, there is a charge for this service.

Email hep@norfolk.gov.uk for further information. Read our privacy notice to find out how we use your personal information. 

Norfolk County Council is the Minerals and Waste Planning Authority, we:

• Produce the Minerals and Waste Local Plan for Norfolk
• Decide on planning applications related to minerals and waste.
• Inspect minerals and waste sites.

What is the Minerals and Waste Local Plan?

This plan is part of the planning framework for Norfolk. It works alongside local and neighbourhood plans. It's especially important when a planning application might affect:

• Safeguarded mineral areas (like sand and gravel, carstone, and silica sand)
• Waste management activities
• Safeguarded mineral resources

Neighbourhood plans and minerals and waste

Minerals extraction and waste management development are outside the scope of neighbourhood plans. But they do need to consider these issues if they propose new development on or near protected sites.

This applies if the proposed development:

• Is over 2 hectares and located on a safeguarded mineral resource, or
• Is any size and within 250m of a safeguarded waste management site, mineral extraction site or mineral infrastructure.

You can check whether there are any existing safeguarded or allocated minerals or waste sites within your Neighbourhood Plan area on this Interactive Policies Map.

The Norfolk Minerals and Waste Local Plan (2025)  contains the minerals and waste safeguarding policies:

• Policy WP17: Safeguarding Waste Management Facilities
• Policy MP10: Safeguarding of port and rail facilities, and manufacturing facilities for concrete, asphalt and recycled materials
• Policy MP11: Mineral Safeguarding Areas and Mineral Consultation Areas

The list of safeguarded minerals and waste sites is published on the Annual Monitoring Reports webpage.

Allocation of sites

If you intend to allocate a site of more than 2 hectares for development and it is underlain by a Mineral Safeguarding Area. Then the allocation policy will need to:

• State that the site is underlain by a safeguarded mineral resource
• Include a requirement that "investigation and assessment of the mineral will be required at the planning application stage, potentially followed by extraction of minerals prior to development on the site to ensure that needless sterilisation of viable mineral resource does not take place".

If you intend to allocate a site that is located within 250m of a safeguarded mineral extraction site, safeguarded mineral infrastructure or a safeguarded waste management facility. You will need to:

• Demonstrate that the proposed development would not prevent or prejudice the use of the facility.  The 'agent of change' principal set out in paragraph 200 of the 2024 NPPF will also apply. 

We encourage the use of secondary and recycled aggregates in construction, to conserve minerals and reduce waste.  Therefore, we would support policies that encourage this. 

Email LDF@norfolk.gov.uk for further information. Read our privacy notice to find out how we use your personal informatin.

The County Council is the local highway authority. You should consult us on the highway and transport implications of your neighbourhood plan.

Allocation of sites

If your neighbourhood plan allocates development sites, you must show evidence that you have considered the highway and transport impacts. This means demonstrating that:

• Safe access to the site can be created
• The local road network, including footpaths, is suitable for safe and sustainable development

Your evidence should cover things like:

• Junction layouts
• Road and pavement widths
• Or show that suitable improvements are achievable.

You may need to engage technical specialists to provide this evidence.

Where to find more information

• Safe, Sustainable Development (PDF, 20 MB) - sets out the requirements for safe and sustainable development
• Parking Standards for Norfolk 2022 (PDF, 537 KB) - is our parking guide for new developments

Email infrastructure@norfolk.gov.uk for further information. Read our privacy notice to find out how we use your personal information.

Neighbourhood Plans can identify Local Green Spaces (LGS). LGS are green areas that are especially important to the local community.

When choosing areas to designate as LGS, it's important to make sure they don't interfere with the functions of the County Council. These include:  

• Highways (roads, footpaths, highway maintenance)
• Education (schools and school grounds)

The County Council may object to LGS designations if:

• The land is part of the highway network, as this could prevent future road improvements or maintenance
• The land is part of a school site, including playing fields, as this could limit future development or expansion of the school

Email localplan@norfolk.gov.uk for further information. Read our privacy notice to find out how we use your personal information.

Your local district council will have more advice about neighbourhood planning. The following web links will take you to their neighbourhood planning information:

• Breckland District Council
• Broadland District Council
• South Norfolk and Broadland
• Great Yarmouth Borough Council
• Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk
• North Norfolk District Council  
• Norwich City Council