JULY 2025

Newton Parish Council (NPC) has agreed to review its adopted Neighbourhood Plan, following initial feedback from Babergh on the number of dwellings that Newton may need to have developed in the next 20 years.

The councillors have appointed Paul Presland and Louise Evers to lead the project from NPC's viewpoint and their initial task is to establish a Neighbourhood Plan Working Party (NPWP).

NPC has adopted the NPWP Terms of Reference and should you live in Newton and be interested in joining the group please email Paul in the first instance.

MARCH 2022

Newton Neighbourhood Plan adopted by Babergh District Council

The adopted version of the Newton NDP (from the Babergh District Council website)

Referendum Result

January 2022

Babergh District Council has now announced that a referendum on the Newton Neighbourhood Plan will be held on Thursday 24th February 2022.

Those entitled to vote will be asked to answer 'yes' or 'no' to the following question:

"Do you want Babergh District Council (BDC) to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Newton to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?"

If more than 50% vote 'yes' then BDC will be legally obliged to make (adopt) the NNP as part of its planning framework.

For further information please refer to the Newton Neighbourhood Plan page on the Babergh website.

November 2021

The project to create a Neighbourhood Plan (Plan) for the parish of Newton is now reaching a significant stage of the process.  Babergh District Council has now completed its Regulation 16 Submission consultation which has allowed villagers, village businesses, landowners, statutory stakeholders, consultees and surrounding parishes to review the Plan and give their views on the Plan.  

The Plan has now completed the Regulation 17 Independent Examination (May 2021) and Ann Skippers BSc (Hons) MRTPI FHEA FRSA AoU has produced the Independent Examination Report of the Newton Plan.  It concludes that:

"I am satisfied that the Newton Neighbourhood Development Plan, subject to the modifications I have recommended, meets the basic conditions and the other statutory requirements outlined earlier in this report.

I am therefore pleased to recommend to Babergh District Council that, subject to the modifications proposed in this report, the Newton Neighbourhood Development Plan can proceed to a referendum.

Following on from that, I am required to consider whether the referendum area should be extended beyond the Neighbourhood Plan area. I see no reason to alter or extend the Plan area for the purpose of holding a referendum and no representations have been made that would lead me to reach a different conclusion.

I therefore consider that the Newton Neighbourhood Development Plan should proceed to a referendum based on the Newton Neighbourhood Plan area as approved by Babergh District Council on 23 March 2018."

FULL INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

Babergh District Council has now released its Regulation 18 Decision Statement (can be reviewed on Babergh's webpage) which states that there will be a Local Refefendum date announced shortly.