The 2011 Localism Act gives considerable powers to local communities to have a say about both where new houses will be built and the types of houses to be built. The Act states that parish councils are one of the best ways for local communities to have a say about development in their area. The process by which communities have their say is through a Neighbourhood Development Plan and, if this is approved by a local referendum, the plan is legally binding on Bradford Council’s planners.
The one area that local communities have far less influence in a Neighbourhood Development Plan is the number of houses that will be built in their area; that remains the responsibility of planning authorities such as Bradford. The overall number of houses to be built in Wilsden will be decided as part of the development of the Local Plan by Bradford and that is why the Parish Council gave such importance to ensuring that our views are heard.
The development of the Wilsden Neighbourhood Plan is now virtually complete. The final stage is that the Plan must go to a Referendum of all the registered electors in the Wilsden Parish Council area. If this Referendum votes to approve the Plan all the Neighbourhood Plan policies will become part of the Bradford Local Plan and will be used by City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council to help it decide planning applications in the Wilsden Parish Council area.