Note: this post does not attempt to be a complete record of the work of Lambourn’s neighbourhood development plan (LNDP) but is merely intended to be a signpost to, and a summary of, some of the important stages.

• For more information on the Lambourn NDP, please click here.
• Coverage of the Lambourn NDP is provided as necessary in our Lambourn Valley Weekly News section.

Lambourn’s neighbourhood development plan was officially launched in December 2018. Since then, the Steering Group has been working on preparing this detailed document which will, when completed and passed by referendum, become part of the local plan. NDPs provide a way for local communities to get directly involved in this process.

You can find out more about neighbourhood development plans here.

September 2025 update

On 3 September, Lambourn Parish Council unanimously approved the LNDP Submission document.

“There is still work to be done before all the paperwork can be submitted to WBC” Steering Group Chair Sue Cocker told us on 4 September, “but that is in hand.” The Submission document, along with all the other evidence, will be made available for everyone when it is sent to WBC.

Here’s the full text of the statement made to Lambourn PC by Sue Cocker:

“I hope you have all taken the opportunity to read the Submission document. Much of it should be familiar to you from the Pre-submission version, consulted on last autumn, but shorter. If anyone found any errors, please let me know, so that corrections can be made.

“It’s been eight years since the Parish Council authorised the setting up of a Working Group to progress a NDP, and this December it will be seven years since the Parish of Lambourn was designated a Neighbourhood Area by WBC.

“Since 2017, the Steering Group has held over 30 consultation events, organised five surveys, commissioned six formal Assessments, issued a Call for Sites (which resulted in designation of a site for allocated housing), and held discussions with local and national organisations. An enormous Parish resource has been created, including many photographs.

“Ideas and opinions have been gathered from the local community and used to inform the 19 Planning Policies in the Plan. They were tested last September, in the statutory Regulation 14 Public Consultation on the Pre-Submission version, and subsequently refined, to produce this Submission document.

“With its associated documents – Appendices, Consultation Statement, Basic Conditions Statement and the Evidence Base – the Plan will be submitted, on behalf of the Parish Council, to WBC. Planning officers will then assess it to ensure it is “in general conformity” with the Local Plan, and does not duplicate it. It will then be made available for a further six-week public consultation (Regulation 16), responses to which will be analysed by WBC.

“After that it will be examined by an Inspector. If the Inspector is satisfied, then the Plan will be put to a local Parish Referendum (do make sure you are registered to vote!) Assuming parishioners approve, the made plan will then have legal status, becoming part of West Berkshire’s statutory development plan. This means it must be taken into account when decisions are made on planning applications in the Parish. It also means the Parish can claim 25% of CiL money, instead of the current 15%.

“Responsibility for the regular review of the made plan rests with the Parish Council, ensuring it remains relevant and effective.

“Before I close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has engaged with the LNDP over the last eight years. The Plan will not include everything suggested, but we hope parishioners will see their contributions reflected in the policies. Our consultants, Bluestone Planning, have been invaluable. We could not have done this without them.

“Above all, a huge thank you to all those who have served on the Steering Group. Your perseverance, hard work and commitment to the Plan have been heroic and much-appreciated. Thank you for your support.”

May 2025 update

As part of the preparation of the LNDP, a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) have been prepared by consultants AECOM on behalf of Lambourn Parish Council. A screening by West Berkshire Council in July 2023 confirmed that both a SEA and HRA were required. The screening can be viewed here.

When the Pre-Submission (Regulation 14) Version of the Lambourn NDP went out for public consultation in September-October 2024, the SEA and HRA had not been received. Now they have arrived, they must be subject to consultation. The SEA confirms that the policies in the emerging Lambourn NDP will not have any significant negative effects. The HRA confirms that the policies in the emerging Lambourn NDP will not result in adverse effects on the River Lambourn Special Area of Conservation. AECOM is satisfied that the Lambourn NDP meets the requirements of both Assessments.

“n line with regulations, Lambourn Parish Council is consulting on the SEA and HRA between Friday 9 May and 11.59pm on Friday 13 June. The SEA and HRA are available to view online:

• Lambourn NP SEA ER V3.0 – Locality reviewDownload SEA
• Lambourn Neighbourhood Plan HRA for issueDownload HRA

The Pre-Submission (Regulation 14) Version of the Lambourn NDP is also published online. Please note that comments are only being sought on the SEA and HRA.

• Lambourn NDP Pre-Submission Draft Sept 5_5Download Pre-Submission

Please submit your responses:

• By email: lambourn.ndp@gmail.com
• Online: Click here
• By a printable version: Download Comments Form. Please return by post to: Lambourn NDP, Memorial Hall, Oxford Street, Lambourn, RG17 8XP.

All responses will be carefully considered by the Lambourn NDP Steering Group and the Pre-Submission Version will be amended to inform the Submission Version. This will be submitted to West Berkshire Council for the next, Regulation 16, stage of consultation.

November 2024 update

The Steering Group is currently preparing the submission version of the LNDP, the version which West Berkshire Council (WBC) will consider and then pass to the Planning Inspector for an independent examination. Before the document pack can be handed over, however, there are a couple more hurdles to cross.

The first is getting the Strategic Environmental Assessment from the consultants, which is expected in the next week or so. Once received, this will be subject to a five-week consultation which the LNDP steering group will publicise widely, in Penny Post and elsewhere. The other is getting WBC’s own response to the Regulation 14 consultation. This is also expected imminently and has been delayed by the work being done on the examination of WBC’s own local plan (of which the LNDP will eventually become a part).

Once these tasks have been completed, the entire plan will be submitted to WBC and the final stages will start. As mentioned last month (see below), from then on the process is in the control of WBC and the Planning Inspector. WBC is responsible for publicising the Regulation 16 consultation and, ultimately, the referendum and any information will be given wide local publicity.

October 2024 update

As mentioned last month, the Regulation 14 consultation remains active until Friday 18 October: see the September section below for links and more information.

“We really want to encourage people to respond to this,” LNDP Steering Group Chair Sue Cocker told Penny Post on 5 October. “We know that it’s a long, complex and technical document but if people can find even one point on which they have an opinion, please make your views known.”

Anyone who wants to ask questions about any aspect of the plan is welcome to contact the LNDP by email on Lambourn.ndp@gmail.com. In addition, Lambourn Parish Councillors (details here) may also be able offer advice.

This is the last part of the process that is under local control and ideally any changes suggested by residents should be included at this stage. Three more stages will follow: the formal six-week Regulation 16 consultation run by West Berkshire Council (WBC); the examination by the Planning Inspector; and the the referendum which is open to all voters in the parish.

The timing of the third of these depends on when the first two can be accomplished, both of which are completely beyond Lambourn’s control. However, it’s currently hoped that the referendum will be in the spring of 2025. If passed, it will then be “made”, as the phrase goes, and become as much part of WBC’s local plan as if WBC had written it itself.

September 2024 update

Neighbourhood development plans (NDPs) provide a way for local communities to work with the local planning authority (West Berkshire Council (WBC) in this case) to create a set of policies and site allocations which govern decisions about planning and development matters in that area (normally, and in Lambourn’s case, the parish). The process takes many years of work. Once adopted, the NDP becomes as much part of the districts’s load plan as it WBC had written it itself. Although the NDP, and the local plan, can be overtaken by fresh instructions form Whitehall, it provides a good level of protection and a way for for the community to express its aspirations regarding how development will proceed in the future. More information in NDPs can be found here.

Lambourn’s NDP, which has been over five years in the making, has just embarked on its crucial last stage. This is the last opportunity that residents will have to make their views known. Once this Regulation 14 is concluded, the next steps will be the consideration of any comments into the final document, an independent examination by a planning inspector, its formal acceptance by WBC and, finally, a referendum of all residents.

The pre-submission (Regulation 14) version of the Lambourn NDP is now ready for consultation and comment, prior to submission to West Berkshire Council. This consultation is being held according to Regulation 14 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 and will run until Friday 18 October 2024

The Pre-submission version of the NDP and the response form can be found online here.

Hard copies may be viewed at the following locations:

• Lambourn Parish Council Office, Memorial Hall, Oxford Street, Lambourn.
• Lambourn Library, High Street, Lambourn.
• St. James the Greater Church, Church Street, Eastbury.

Anyone having difficulty accessing a copy, or wanting further information, please contact: Lambourn.ndp@gmail.com, or call Lambourn Parish Council on 01488 72400.

Please submit your responses:

• By email: Lambourn.ndp@gmail.com
• By post: Lambourn NDP, Memorial Hall, Oxford Street, Lambourn. RG17 8XP

All responses will be carefully considered by the Lambourn NDP Steering Group and the Pre-Submission Version will be amended to inform the Submission Version. This will be submitted to West Berkshire Council for the next, Regulation 16, stage of Consultation.

There will be opportunities for Parishioners to ask questions during the consultation period, at drop-in sessions and at a public meeting:

• Wednesday 11 September: Woodland St. Mary’s Village Hall drop-in, at Woodlanders’ Protection Group meeting. 7pm to 9pm (TBC).
• Saturday 14 September: Eastbury drop-in, Church Gift Morning. 10am to 12noon.
• Thursday 19 September: Upper Lambourn drop-in, Jockey Club Estates. 5pm to 7pm (TBC).
• Wednesday 25 September: presentation to Lambourn Parish Council and the public, Memorial Hall. 7.30pm.

The LNDP Steering Group hopes that as many people as possible will make their views known in what is the final consultation in the NDP process.

August 2024 update

After nearly six years of work, the finishing line for Lambourn’s NDP is now in sight.

The final consultative phase (known as Regulation 14) will run for six weeks. This will start on Tuesday 3 September and run until Tuesday 15 October. Information about how people can make their views known will be given wide local publicity.

To coincide with this, the Lambourn NDP Steering Group will, as it’s done several times before, be holding four drop-in events throughout the parish to enable residents to ask any questions. These have been provisionally agreed for the following dates and locations but these may change (particularly if the start of the Regulation 14 is delayed beyond 11 September):

• Wednesday 11 September: Woodland St. Mary’s Village Hall drop-in, at Woodlanders’ Protection Group meeting. 7 to 9 pm (TBC).
• Saturday 14 September: Eastbury drop-in, Church Gift Morning. 10am to noon.
• Thursday 19 September: Upper Lambourn drop-in, Jockey Club Estates. 5 to 7pm (TBC).
• Wednesday 25 September: presentation to Lambourn Parish Council and the public, Memorial Hall. 7.30pm.

Local residents are urged to attend these sessions and/or respond to the consultation as this will be your last chance to influence the NDP’s content.

Once the Regulation 14 is complete and any necessary changes incorporated, the next stages are submission to and approval by WBC, consideration by the Planning Inspector; and finally a referendum of all electors in the parish. If approved, the NDP will be “made” as the phrase goes and thereafter will become as much part of WBC’s local plan as if WBC had written it itself.

Announcements in late July 2024 from the government and the Planning Inspector considering the draft of WBC’s local plan have raised the possibility that more housing sites may need to be found in Lambourn. This is a developing situation and it’s not currently clear what effect this will have on Lambourn’s NDP. Once there’s something more definite to announce this will be given wide publicity in Penny Post and elsewhere.

December 2023 update

To repeat an analogy I’ve used several times, these long-term projects can be likened to a train which spends a good part of its journey out of sight in a tunnel. Its bursting out into the sunshine marks the start of a period of engagement with residents. For most of the time, however, it is invisible. This is not to say that work does not continue during these periods: quite the reverse.

Lambourn’s NDP is currently at one of these invisible stages. A number of assessments on matters such as habitats and the environment need to be prepared by experts and, before this can happen, grants have had to be secured. The plan must also now contain site allocations so it’s also necessary to re-do the local housing needs assessment, which was last done in 2019 . Much has changed since then, including the publication of the latest census figures.

The LNDP’s Steering Group Chair Sue Cocker told me on 8 December that it was hoped that these tasks would be completed in the next five or six months. The train would then emerge and a period of public engagement would follow, culminating the the formal six-week Regulation 14 consultation (hopefully starting the summer) and the independent examination by the planning inspectorate (hopefully in the autumn). The final stage is the public referendum. Sue Cocker said that, hopefully, the plan would be “made” – the slightly bizarre technical term for its formal adoption – “as soon as possible in 2025.”

The word “hopefully” has been used several times above, for two main reasons. All NDPs are, like trains, subject to delays. For the wrong kind of leaves, staff shortages and points failures read reports that take longer than expected, people (they are all volunteers) not able to spend as much time on the project or pauses while funding is secured. If completed within this schedule, the LNDP will have taken over five years. This is not unusual. Confidently to predict an end date at this stage would, however, be unwise.

The work is also being conducted against the backdrop of a complex set of uncertainties at local and national level.

• WBC is (or, perhaps, is not) about to withdraw its own draft local plan  The LNDP when completed will be slotted into this and so needs to compliant with it. However, it’s currently very uncertain when WBC’s mammoth project will be concluded and what it will look like.
• In addition, the latest National Planning Policy Framework is about to be published, which may change the required housing figures.
• Whitehall is constantly muttering about radical reforms of the planning system, though so far with little more than piecemeal announcements.
• There’s still no certainty about how the nutrient neutrality issues will be resolved.
• Finally, there will be a general election called some time in the next year. If the polls are correct, this will lead to a change of government, as a result of which some or all of these matters may be thrown into reverse.

All in all, it’s a bit like driving a train when the track gauge, the gradient and even the direction of travel are constantly changing for reasons which the driver cannot control. Despite this, the work continues and, when it’s finished, Lambourn will have a set of planning policies that more closely match local wishes than would otherwise be the case. What further changes may need to be made to be made to the route or the timetable, however, are rather harder to predict.

February 2023 update

Following the informal public consultation about the allocation of future sites for development in the parish of Lambourn, the LNDP Steering Group would like to thank all those who participated for their thoughtful and helpful input. A summary of the comments received and the site preferences expressed is now available here.

In the process of allocating sites, the views of the community will be taken into account, alongside the assessments based on planning considerations, and the Steering Group will keep parishioners informed.

Background and January 2023 consultations

90 new homes

Over the next 15 years land for 90 new homes must be found within the civil Parish of Lambourn. We need additional housing so that our parish can thrive, ensuring that it is a place where people can live and work.

During the last consultation phase, you clearly stated that you would prefer the Parish Council to allocate sites for development. You said decisions of this nature should be taken locally, by people with a much better understanding of the character of the Parish, rather than West Berkshire Council allocating sites as they have done previously.

You asked, we listened and have responded

After much deliberation, we agreed that this task should be undertaken as part of the Local Neighbourhood Development Plan (LNDP) with the full backing of the Parish Council.

• The LNDP issued a call for sites and nine have been put forward by landowners.
• These sites have been assessed by our consultants, Bluestone Planning.
• This information will be shared with you.
• Land now needs to be identified for development.

What is housing site allocation?

Please click here to visit the Lambourn NDP’s website. This section has recently been updated in response to questions that were asked by residents at the first two meetings. This section also includes information on the sites that have already been allocated by WBC and those which have been put forward for consideration for allocation within the LNDP.

We need to ensure that we get this right

• We need to allocate land for additional housing to meet local requirements.
• We need to ensure that we preserve the rural character of the parish.
• We need to protect this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

This Consultation offers you a real opportunity to have your voice heard

The Steering Group has organised six events around the parish during January (see details below) which will be an opportunity for parishioners to comment on the housing sites offered in the LNDP’s Call for Sites. In addition, the Steering Group is asking about policies generally.

Information will also be available on WBC’s Local Plan Review (the over-arching planning document for the district, into which the work of the LNDP will fit). The final public consultation (known as Regulation 19) will run until 17 February 2023 and all residents are urged to have their say.

In Eastbury, we will also be sharing space with Steve Mead’s street-lighting consultation.

The members of the Steering Group look forward to meeting you at one of these events. You can also contact the Steering Group on lambourn.ndp@gmail.com.

• Saturday 14 January: Lambourn Memorial Hall, 10am to 2pm.
• Sunday 15 January: Lambourn Memorial Hall, 2pm to 4pm.
• Saturday 21 January: Eastbury Church, 10 am to noon.
• Tuesday 24 January: JCE Office, Upper Lambourn, 5.30pm to 7.30pm.
• Wednesday 25 January: Woodlands St. Mary’s Village Hall, 7pm to 9pm.
• Thursday 26 January: Lambourn Memorial Hall, 5.30pm to 7.30pm.

The images below are taken from the meeting at Eastbury Church on Saturday 21 January 2023. Top: Lambourn Parish Councillor Steve Mead addressing a group of residents. Bottom: West Berkshire Councillor Howard Woollaston; and Sue Cocker and Peter Penfold (both from the Lambourn NDP Steering Group).