Introduction

This chapter provides empirical data from two of the earliest neighbourhood planning pathfinders in England: Upper Eden in rural Cumbria and North Shields on the Tyneside coast. It critically explores how each neighbourhood navigated the plan-making process and provides first-hand insights into the challenges faced by the first wave of pathfinder neighbourhoods to embark on the neighbourhood planning process. The unfolding experiences of the two areas reveal some important questions about the impact of the initial lack of clear policy guidance about neighbourhood planning, whether communities have the capacity to develop robust neighbourhood plans without the direct assistance of professional planners and the role that professional planners should play in the neighbourhood plan development process. The chapter is organised into three sections: the first section analyses the North Shields case study; the second section analyses the Upper Eden case study; and the concluding section draws together key findings from the research. In doing so, the chapter unpacks some important lessons about the limitations and opportunities provided by ‘community-led’ planning.

Case study 1: North Shield Fish Quay Neighbourhood Plan

The fish quay lies within the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, nine miles east of Newcastle in the North East of England. The North Shields Fish Quay Neighbourhood Plan (FQNP) was adopted by North Tyneside Council (NTC) on 8 April 2013. Although the final document is titled a ‘neighbourhood plan’, it is actually a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) as it was not subjected to a referendum. Unlike most contemporary neighbourhood plans, the FQNP was proposed by the local authority (LA) to an existing resident group, and was deemed “the final piece in the regeneration jigsaw” (planning officer, NTC). The fish quay has experienced pockets of persistent blight due to the decline of traditional industries, a changing economic climate and the cessation of area-based regeneration funding initiatives. To attract new investors into the area, it was deemed essential to provide updated planning guidance relating to acceptable land uses on key derelict sites (which had formerly been designated for employment land). Such a case was presented by NTC in their bid to the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to become one of the pathfinders for neighbourhood planning. Following a successful application, NTC received £20,000 and the FQNP officially commenced in June 2011.