Great Massingham Parish Council | Neighbourhood Plan

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

Examining Drawings

New Housing

In May 2021, Great Massingham Parish Council agreed to start a Neighbourhood Development Plan following a collective request to do so by approximately 55 residents of the village. The Council appointed a temporary Pre-steering Group of four which subsequently expanded into a larger Steering Group and a Support Group on the basis of responses to a widely distributed recruiting leaflet Leaflet draft 3 PDF (proposed revisions 230521). The Steering Group together with the Parish Council is responsible for preparing the NDP in consultation with residents of the parish.

11th October 2025

Forthcoming meetings and Community Engagement
The schedule for the forthcoming meetings of the NDP Steering Group has been updated.
The next Steering Group meeting, originally planned for Monday 1st December will now take
place one week later, on Monday, 8th December 2025. The meeting will begin at 6 pm as
usual but will be in the main Village Hall instead of the bar area. Looking ahead, the first
Steering Group meeting of 2026 is set for Monday, 2nd February, commencing at 6 pm. All
residents are warmly invited to attend these meetings and to participate actively in the
discussions.

Community Conversation: Climate Change and Green Energy
In addition to the regular Steering Group meetings, a special ‘Community Conversation’
event focusing on ‘Climate Change and Green Energy’ will be hosted at the Village Hall. This
event aims to foster dialogue and gather community input on these important topics in
advance of drafting appropriate policies for the NDP.

Stay Informed: NDP Online Resources
To access a wide range of information about the NDP, including detailed reports from
previous meetings, surveys, and consultation outcomes, residents are encouraged to visit
our website at www.greatmassinghamndp.co.uk . For regular updates, you can join the NDP
e-mail subscription list. To subscribe, simply send your request to gmndplan@yahoo.com.

Have Your Say: NDP Boundary Proposals — Survey Closes 31 October

A ‘Community Conversation’ held on 6th October discussed the NDP Steering Group’s proposals for extending the Development Boundary in ways that could encourage future infill housing. Maps and further information concerning these proposals can be seen on the NDP website. There is also a questionnaire asking you to comment on these. The closing date is 31st October 2025.

Two meetings of the NDP Steering Group are scheduled for the run-up to Christmas. They are:
Monday 3rd November – 6 pm – 7.30 pm (Village Hall bar area)
Monday 1st December – 6 pm – 7.30 pm (Village Hall bar area)
You are very welcome to attend these meetings and contribute to discussion.

Our website provides a fund of information concerning the NDP, including accounts of past meetings, surveys and consultations. You can also keep up-to-date by joining the NDP e-mail subscription list. To do this simply send a request to gmndplan@yahoo.com.

Forthcoming Date for the Neighbourhood Development Plan

The NDP Committee need to consult on the Village’s opinion to change or maintain Great Massingham’s development boundary.

The development boundary is a line drawn on the planning map to define the edge of the built-up area of the village. It distinguishes between areas where development is generally acceptable (within the boundary) and the surrounding countryside where development is more restricted. The boundary is intended to help to manage growth, protect the character of the village, and direct any development to the existing ‘built-up’ area.

On 21st July between 5.00pm and 7.00pm the NDP Committee invite you to a ‘Development Boundary Walkabout’. Starting at the Well, we will walk the boundary to assess its suitability and garner your views for the planning the NDP will propose.

We hope you can join us for this evening event.

How the Great Massingham NDP is organised

The NDP is being prepared by a Steering Group (see below) . The Steering Group operates in partnership with the Parish Council as a Working Party of the Council under agreed Terms of Reference. Inputs may also be needed from professional consultants and the Borough Council. The Steering Group meets at least quarterly and reports to the Parish Council. Any resident with a legitimate interest in the NDP can apply to be a member.

The Council, as the qualifying body in accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012). is ultimately responsible for funding the NDP, appointing external consultants, approving the Steering Group’s final draft of the NDP and subsequent submission to the Borough Council for approval.

Members of the Steering Group

Jess Cunningham, Gary Alexander,

Clare Carroll, Kevin Hobart*,

Peter James*, Oliver Locke*, Phil Ward and Jon Cole. Supported by a number of key volunteers supporting with aspects such as the website, information gathering, technical advice and much more. (*parish councillor)

Members are all residents of Great Massingham

The NDP contact email is gmndplan@yahoo.com. Click on this and send an e-mail asking to be placed on our circulation list. You will get progress reports, a notice of surveys or public meetings, and other updates about the NDP. We will be careful not to overload your email inbox.

The postal address is

Great Massingham Village Hall,

52 Station Rd. Great Massingham,

King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE32 2HU

Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group’s Annual Report 2023/24

Summary

The Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) is a community document which represents the views and ambitions of the community in terms of future development within the parish of Great Massingham. Once completed and adopted it will form part of the formal planning process

for use by the Borough Council planning officers in determining what type of developments comes forward (or not).

During the past year much work has taken place and activity continues towards the development of a draft Neighbour Development Plan supported by a range of external organisations and the local community through its Steering Group and other volunteers. Key activities and events during

2023/24 include:

Community Consultation event in May 2023: over 100 people attended an interactive display setting out the result of the previous engagement and asked the community for their views on a range of topics to include:

Review of the results from the Consultation – Considerable information was collected at the event which required review to understand it’s relevance to the NDP, common themes and emerging ideas to support the ambition of the Community.

Housing Needs Assessment

Change of Chair in August 2023, following much great work to progress the NDP Mike Jackson stepped down as Chair and from the Steering Group. A new Chair was voted on (Jess Cunningham) and a new vice-chair was also appointed (Gary Alexander).

Review of the emerging Local Plan information and assessment of various planning documents to assess how the NDP can provide additionality and not just repeat what is already covered within existing/emerging planning policy/guidance.

Engagement with a Planning Consultant and Local Authority officers to support the development of the key themes and areas/questions for further discussion which have supported the structures for the next round of community engagement (July 2024).

Look forward to 2024/25

A further Community Participatory event is planned for July 2024, this will seek further clarification of key themes/questions that have emerged through this process.
Engagement with the Borough Council NDP Office to help inform the process for the final stages of the NDP
Present a DRAFT NDP document to the community for consideration.
Steering Group envisage being able to present a draft NDP for the community to consider.

April 2024

Update of Activities of the Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP).

Over the last few months, the Steering Group have been considering the results of the consultation activities and how these relate to the existing and emerging local plan. The aim being to not just repeat what is in these documents (This is not the purpose of the NDP), but that we add value to the existing policy concerning issues that are specific to the community. As you can imagine these are very mixed and varied.
We have received a small amount of funding for the current financial year that will cover costs such as website hosting, survey platform subscription and a small amount of consultancy support.
We will apply for more funding in the new financial year to cover future costs were possible.

Where do we go from here?

The Steering will continue to review data and documents.
We will undertake some more refined public engagement on specific issues. Some of the community views are very clear and have given us a mandate for specific areas of work, whilst others are less so. There are also many issues that are outside of the NDP remit and are for the Parish Council or in fact the community to progress themselves.
Set out a programme for communication on progress on the NDP (possibly look for some extra support from the community to do this). We will discuss this further at our next meeting.

Whilst we have lost a few of the Steering Group over the progress of the plan, we still have a solid group of people who can respectfully challenge and are open minded. We don’t have all the answers and will ensure that where we need more information, we will engage with the appropriate people, be it, the community, council officers or others.

Just a reminder that we are a group of volunteers doing our best to capture the views of the Community and reach a consensus.