Decision details

That the parish of Stalbridge in Dorset be designated a neighbourhood area, as proposed by Stalbridge Town Council.

Scheme of delegation

Under the Officer Scheme of Delegation (April 2019), the Executive Director of Place has the power (138) “To undertake all action in relation to any function of the Council concerning neighbourhood planning” including the power to make a final determination as to whether to designate a neighbourhood plan area and/or make such an area a business area.

This power only applies, however, when there is insufficient time to have the matter considered by the relevant committee as part of the normal committee cycle; the Council is legally obliged to approve the designation; and/or there has been no objection to the proposal submitted to the Council within any relevant time for the submission of representations which has not been withdrawn.

This power (138) with conditions / limitations has been delegated to the Community Planning Manager though the Local Scheme of Nomination for Planning Services (29 April 2022).

On this occasion, Dorset Council is legally obliged to approve the application by the parish council as it meets the requirements set out in legislation (specifically the criteria set out in Regulation 5A, as explained below). The conditions within the Officer Scheme of Delegation / Local Scheme of Nomination have now been met and a decision should be made without delay.

Neighbourhood Area designation

Dorset Council has received a neighbourhood area application from Stalbridge Town Council.

The Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) state under regulation 5A that:

(1)  …where­­─

(a)  a local planning authority receives an area application from a parish council;

(b)  the area specified in the application consists of the whole of the parish council’s area; and

(c)  if any part of the specified area is part of a neighbourhood area, none of that neighbourhood area extends outside the parish council’s area.

(2)  The local planning authority must exercise their powers under section 61G of the 1990 Act to designate the specified area as a neighbourhood area.

Paragraph (3) of regulation 5A states that when this regulation applies, regulations 6 and 6A do not apply, and therefore there is no requirement for Dorset Council to consult on the proposed neighbourhood area.

These provisions are summarised in Paragraph 032 (Reference ID: 41-032-20170728) of the neighbourhood planning section of the national Planning Practice Guidance (PPG). This states:

Where a parish council applies for the whole of the area of the parish to be designated as a neighbourhood area, the local planning authority must designate the whole of the area applied for. This includes where a parish applies to extend its existing neighbourhood area to its parish boundary. Exceptions to this are where the area applied for:

·         has already been designated as a neighbourhood area which extends beyond the parish boundary; or

·         forms part of another application that has not yet been determined.

Stalbridge Town Council has applied to have the whole of its parish area designated as a neighbourhood area. The area specified in the application does not extend beyond the Stalbridge parish boundary and does not overlap with other neighbourhood areas already designated or applied for and awaiting determination.

Regulation 5A of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) therefore applies to this application. The legislation requires Dorset Council to exercise its powers under section 61G of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and designate the area as a ‘neighbourhood area’.

Business Area

Section 61H of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as amended by the Localism Act 2011, requires that when designating a neighbourhood area, a local planning authority should consider whether the area concerned should be designated as a ‘business area’. If a business area is designated, non-domestic ratepayers get an opportunity to vote in an additional referendum on whether the neighbourhood plan should come into force. However, this section of the Act is clear that a neighbourhood area should only be designated as a business area if it is ‘wholly or predominantly business in nature’.

While there are a small number of businesses in Stalbridge, and the area includes two industrial estates (Station Road and Gibbs Marsh), overall the proposed neighbourhood area is predominantly rural and residential in character. In September 2025 there were 1,580 registered addresses in the proposed area, with 1,469 (93%) classed primarily as residential. As we see no evidence that the area is ‘wholly or predominantly business in nature’ we conclude that it is not appropriate to designate the neighbourhood area as a business area.

No interests declared.