Sutton Parish Council is at an advanced stage of preparing a replacement Neighbourhood Plan, which will, if finalised, replace the current Sutton Neighbourhood Plan adopted in May 2019.

This webpage contains details of both the adopted Sutton Neighbourhood Plan (2019) and the emerging replacement Sutton Neighbourhood Plan.

Adopted Sutton Neighbourhood Plan (2019)  

On 30 May 2019, East Cambridgeshire District Council formally adopted (or sometimes known as 'made') the Sutton Neighbourhood Plan (2019) (PDF). The Neighbourhood Plan is used when deciding planning applications within the Sutton Neighbourhood Area.

The Neighbourhood Plan was adopted following a referendum held on 2 May 2019, whereby the Sutton Neighbourhood Plan was supported by the majority of voters. Prior to referendum, the Sutton Neighbourhood Plan had gone through a series of consultation stages, as well being independently examined in February and March 2019. The Sutton Neighbourhood Plan is available to download from the Adopted Sutton Neighbourhood Plan (2019) Document Library below, along with related documents such as the Examiner's Report and Council's Decision Statement.

Replacement Sutton Neighbourhood Plan (2024) - Referendum due in July 2024

Important Update 23 May 2024 - the Replacement Sutton Neighbourhood Plan is due to go to a referendum in July 2024. Further details will be uploaded on this webpage very shortly.

Replacement Sutton Neighbourhood Plan (2024) - Background

During June and July 2023, Sutton Parish Council launched a consultation in its parish seeking views on a replacement Neighbourhood Plan. For details of that consultation exercise, please visit Sutton Parish Council's website (external link). 

Following that consultation event, the Parish Council finalised its draft replacement Neighbourhood Plan, and submitted it to East Cambridgeshire District Council on 10 December 2023. The Parish Council also submitted a number of supporting documents, to help explain and justify the content of the replacement Neighbourhood Plan. East Cambridgeshire District Council invited comments on the draft replacement Sutton Neighbourhood Plan from 2 January 2024 to 14 February 2024. All of the consultation documents remain available to download from the Replacement Sutton Neighbourhood Plan Document Library below. A copy of the draft replacement Neighbourhood Plan is available for inspection at East Cambridgeshire District Council's customer service centre during normal opening times.

The consultation period has now closed. A report setting out all of the representations made (PDF) is available in the Replacement Sutton Neighbourhood Plan Document Library (Part 3).

Examiner's Report Received (2 May 2024)

After the consultation period ended, the Neighbourhood Plan and other supporting material, together with the representations received, were considered by an independent Examiner starting from the end of February 2024. The appointed Examiner was Andrew Ashcroft MRTPI. On 2 May 2024 he published his Examiner's Report (PDF), available in the Examination Documents below. In short, he recommends that the Plan proceed to a referendum, subject to a few amendments to the Plan beforehand. The Parish Council and the District Council have carefully considered the Examiner's Report, and have decided that the Plan should proceed to a referendum as confirmed in a decision statement (PDF). This means the Plan can proceed to a referendum. 

Referendum due in July 2024

A referendum is being set up to take place in July, with the most likely date being 4 July 2024. Further details will be published on this webpage shortly.  

An updated version of the Plan, which incorporates all of the Examiner's recommendations, will shortly be available and entitled Sutton Replacement Neighbourhood Plan Referendum Version (PDF). It is this version of the Plan which residents will be asked to vote upon.

Next steps and other information

If the referendum succeeds, then the Plan will become part of the development plan for East Cambridgeshire, and be used to make decisions on planning applications in the Sutton parish.

Requests to be notified of ECDC’s decision under regulation 19 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012, which relates to the making of the neighbourhood plan after the examination and referendum has concluded, may be submitted via email to planningpolicy@eastcambs.gov.uk.

East Cambridgeshire District Council will process the information you provide in a manner that is compatible with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Council’s Privacy Notice.

If you require accessible documents please email planningpolicy@eastcambs.gov.uk.