Cotherstone Parish Council
Neighbourhood Planning
Neighbourhood Planning was introduced in the Localism Act of 2011 to enable parishes and communities to have a say on the development of a plan as a support document to the overall County Durham Development Plan and carries weight in the planning decision making processes.
Cotherstone Parish Council has always worked closely with the planning authority to maintain the character of the village and surrounding areas and for the protection of the village “open spaces” and conservation areas. Previous documents that were developed to support the now disbanded Teesdale Planning Authority included a Village Design Statement (2002) and a Parish Plan (2006), the development of a Neighbourhood Plan will supersede these previous documents.
Referendum - 7 July 2022
Independent Examination of
Cotherstone Neighbourhood Plan 2020-2035
In early 2022 the Submission Draft of the Neighbourhood Plan was subject to independent examination.
Independent Examiner Rosemary Kidd prepared her report in Feburary 2022 and it can be downloaded here. The Examiner was complimentary about the readability of the document and raised a smaller number of issues (4) than Durham County Council has ever experienced, which have all been addressed.
The next stage towards the Plan being 'made' is a referendum, details of which will be announced in due course.
Cotherstone Parish Neighbourhood Plan
The Submission Draft was approved by Cotherstone Parish Council on 14 July 2021 and formally submitted to Durham County Council on 24 August 2021.
The next formal Consultation Phase will take place over an 8-week period starting on Tuesday 21 September and finishing on Tuesday 16 November. This final consultation phase will be via the Durham County Neighbourhood Planning website.
Follow this link to the Plan documents and consultation details on the Durham County Council website.
Cotherstone Parish Neighbourhood Plan 2020-2035
(pre-submission draft, December 2020)
The pre-submission draft of the Plan is available for download by clicking on the adjacent image.
The Pre-Submission Draft has been through a formal review/screening process with Durham County Council and can now proceed to the next formal consultation phase with residents, landowners and statutory consultees.
Note that for ease of file downloading, the document has been compressed in size and this might reduce the resolution of certain images and maps. If you have difficulty and need anything further, please contact Richard Hunter by email: richardwhunter@btinternet.com or tel. 01833 650229.
Introductory Information Leaflet
An introductory information leaflet will be forwarded to all relevant parties as a scene set for the pre-submission consultation (18th January - 12th March 2021 ).
A copy of the Introductory Information Leaflet is available for download by clicking on the adjacent image.
Durham County Screening Report
The Durham County Screening Report ( SEA/HRA) does not form part of the Residents’ formal consultation and is there to support the overall Plan and aid the Statutory Consultees in their assessment/responses to the Plan.
A copy of the Screening Report can be downloaded by clicking on the adjacent image.
Neighbourhood Plan newsletters
In order to keep all residents of the parish informed of progress, regular newsletters have been published and sent electronically or hand delivered to individual households as well as being displayed in village notice boards, at the village post office (when it was open) and at the village’s public houses. In addition regular updates have appeared in Our Cotherstone on the progress of the working group when there was insufficient information to warrant the issue of a formal newsletter. Copies of each newsletter can be viewed and downloaded by clicking on the names below.
Application for designation
An application for the designation of Cotherstone Neighbourhood area was presented to representatives of Durham County Council Spatial Policy Team on Monday 8th December 2014 to allow the commencement of the statutory consultation process to begin. A copy of the report can be viewed and downloaded here.
Cotherstone Neighbourhood Plan Facilitating Group comprises
Richard Hunter
Parish Council
Lynn Metcalfe
Resident/Clerk
Dreda Forster
Resident
Ross Law
Resident
Martin Meggs
Resident
Simon Crowe
Resident
Karen Crowe
Resident
Pippa Leech
Resident
Philip Leech
Resident