Neighbourhood Planning - Bitteswell Neighbourhood Plan

Regulation 14 Consultation.

Bitteswell Parish Council as the Qualifying Body undertook the Regulation 14 consultion between 5 April 2021 and 23 May 2021

Submission of Plan to Harborough District Council

The following documents were submitted by the Bitteswell Parish Council (the Qualifying Body) for Regulation 16 consultation and examination on 2 July 2026..

• Bitteswell NDP - submission version plan
• Bitteswell Consultation Statement including Regulation 14 consultation repsonses
• Bitteswell Basic Conditions Statement
• Bitteswell Neighbourhood Area plan

The Qualifying Body has submitted the appendices supporting the neighbourhood plan

Other documents submitted 

• Appendix C Census Data
• Appendix E Housing Needs Report
• Appendix F Site Selection Process
• Appendix G Environmental Inventory
• Appendix H Local Green Spaces
• Appendix I Important Views

The Council validated the plan in early July 2026

• Read the Bitteswell NDP validation document

Regulation 16 consultation

A six week consultation on the proposed Neighbourhood Plan ran from 29 July to 9 September 2026..

Details of the consutlaiton coudl be found here during the consultaiton period. Open consultations online - Harborough District Council

Representations on the Plan Proposal were welcome during the consultation period and must have been  submitted to Harborough District Council on the submission forms provided  no later than 9 September 2026 as follows:

• by email to neighbourhoodplans@harborough.gov.uk ; or
• by post to Strategic Planning, Harborough District Council, The Symington Building, Adam & Eve Street, Market Harborough, LE16 7AG

The submitted documents were available to view online by selecting the relevant attachments above. Alternatively hard copies of the documents can be inspected at:

• Bitteswell Village Hall, Manor Road, Bitteswell, Leics, LE17 4RZ.  
• Lutterworth Library, George Street Lutterworth
• Concierge, The Symington Building,  Adam and Eve Street, Market Harborough , LE16 7LT

Examination

Harborough District Council contacted a suitably qualified examiner, recommended by NPIERS, with reagard to appointing them for the examination of Bitteswell Neighbourhood Plan. The Qualifying Body were content with the chosen examiner.

The examiner declined to accept the role to examiner Bitteswell Neighbourhood Plan because of an excessive delay between Regualtion 14 consultation and the submission of the Plan to Harborough District Council for examination.

The examiner has highlighted the following issues

• The Parish Council completed some evidence between 2017 and 2020 and undertook a regulation 14 consultation in 2021. Since then nothing has happened between 2021 to date
• During this period there have been many changes in national policy and as I understand it, there has been no consultation with the local community.
• Prior to commissioning an examination a health check is undertaken in the first instance to ensure that the PC can demonstrate sufficient and meaningful ongoing community engagement in accordance with the regulations and that the evidence is still relevant an up to date.  

Bitteswell Parish Coucnil were contacted on 11 September 2026 and asked how they would like to procedd with the neighbourhood plan.

 

Bitteswell Parish Council, as the relevant body, applied for the designation of the Bitteswell Neighbourhood Area on 3rd October 2016. The application was published for a six week period ending on  20th December 2016. A copy of the designation application and Bitteswell Neighbourhood Area Plan

January 2017

The designation of Bitteswell Neighbourhood Area was approved by the Portfolio Holder for Planning on the 31 January 2017

View the Decision Notice for Bitteswell Neighbourhood Area