The Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan was formally adopted or 'made' by City of York Council Officer Decision on 3rd December 2025.
View the adopted Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan and the Council’s Adoption Decision Statement regarding adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan.
Paper copies of both documents are also available to view at:
- our Customer Centre, Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm, by appointment only,please contact the Forward Planning Team to organise an appointment by telephone: 01904 552255, or by email: neighbourhoodplanning@york.gov.uk
- Copmanthorpe Library Monday from 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5.30pm; Tuesday from 2pm to 6.30pm; Wednesday Closed: Thursday 9am to 1pm; Friday 2pm to 5.30pm; Saturday 9am to 1pm; Sunday Closed.
In accordance with The Neighbourhood Plan (General) Regulations 2012, this Neighbourhood Plan will be used when determining future planning applications within the identified Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Area.
Background to Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan
Timetable summary for producing the Neighbourhood Plan
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Neighbourhood Area designated | January 2014 |
| 1st Pre Submission Plan published | September 2014 |
| 2nd Pre Submission Plan published | May 2017 |
| Final Plan Submitted | 29 January 2025 |
| Submission Consultation | 26 March 2025 – 14 May 2025 |
| Examination | 2 June 2025 -14 August 2025 |
| Examiner's Report received | 14 August 2025 |
| Decision Statement | 7 October 2025 |
| Referendum | 27 November 2025 |
| Adoption | 3 December 2025 |
Designation of the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Area
Copmanthorpe Parish Council formally submitted an application for the designation of a neighbourhood plan area in September 2013. A 6 week consultation on the application and boundary received over 120 responses, all supporting the application, which was approved by Cabinet in January 2014.
Pre-Submission on the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan
An initial pre-submission consultation was undertaken in 2014 and the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan has since been revised, taking into account the comments received through the consultation as well as further work on associated documents. They consulted on their draft Neighbourhood Plan and associated documents in an informal pre-submission consultation between 2 May and 13 June 2017.
Submission and Consultation on the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan
Copmanthorpe Parish Council submitted the final draft of the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan to City of York Council on 29 January 2025. Once a Neighbourhood Plan is submitted, we are required to "publicise the submitted documents on our website and in such other manner as we consider is likely to bring the proposal to the attention of people who live, work or carry on business in the neighbourhood area" to be in compliance with the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2016.
The Consultation ran between Wednesday 26 March 2025 until Wednesday 14 May 2025.
The Submission documents consulted on were:
- Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Submission Version
- Basic Conditions Statement
- Habitat Regulation Assessment Screening Report
- Strategic Environmental Assessment Screening Report
- Consultation Statement
The following evidence base documents were also submitted for consultation:
Additional supporting documents:
The following representations were received (redacted):
- 1. National Highways
- 2. Private resident
- 3. York Consortium Drainage Boards
- 4. Private resident
- 5. Private resident
- 6. Private resident
- 7. Private resident
- 8. Private resident
- 9. Private resident
- 10. North Yorkshire Police
- 11. Cllr Steward
- 12. Private resident
- 13. Coal Authority
- 14. Private resident
- 15. Copmanthorpe Parish Council
- 16. Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Planning Group
- 17. Natural England
- 18. Private resident
- 19. Savills (on behalf of local resident)
- 20. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
- 21. Historic England
- 22. Private resident
- 23. Private resident
- 24. Environment Agency
- 25. Peacock and Smith
- 26. Askham Bryan College
- 27. City of York Council
You can also find a summary document of representations received.
Independent Examination Procedure
City of York Council appointed an independent Examiner; Mr Andrew Ashcroft (BA(Hons), MA, DMS, MRTPI), to review whether the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan met the basic conditions required by legislation and whether the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum.
Following the end of the Submission Consultation on 14 May 2025, the representations received were published and made available for be Examiner.
The Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Examiner provided a document ‘Examination Arrangements’ to the City of York Council and Copmanthorpe Parish Council, setting out the Examination process and key stages. He was satisfied that the examination could proceed by way of written representations as opposed to a formal hearing.
The Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Examiner sent the City of York Council and Copmanthorpe Parish Council a Clarification Note with a series of questions. Copmanthorpe Parish Council submitted a response to the Clarification Note via the City of York Council to the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Examiner on Wednesday 2 July 2025. The response sets out the answers to the Examiner’s Questions.
Examiner’s Report
Mr Andrew Ashcroft submitted his final Examiners Report on 14 August 2025. Overall, the Report concluded “On the basis of the findings in this report, I recommend to the City of York Council that subject to the incorporation of the modifications set out in this report that the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum”.
Following the receipt of the Examiner’s Report, officers reported the recommendations to the Council’s Executive. The Examiners Report and our Decision Statement were reported to members at Executive on 7 October 2025. Executive agreed with the officers' recommendations that the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan could proceed to referendum.
Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Referendum
Following the decision to proceed to referendum by the Council’s Executive on 7 October 2025, the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Referendum took place on 27 November 2025, in accordance with The Neighbourhood Planning (Referendums) Regulations 2012.
The referendum question was: "Do you want City of York Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Copmanthorpe to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?"
The specified documents were:
- Information Statement that sets out information specific to the referendum.
- General Statement that sets out general information as to town and country planning including neighbourhood planning and the referendum
- Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan (Referendum version)
- Examiners Report into the Neighbourhood Plan
- Summary of Representations submitted to the Independent Examiner
- Decision Statement by the local planning authority that the draft plan meets those basic conditions in paragraph 8(2) to Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and complies with the provision made by or under sections 38A and 38B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended)
| Responses | Votes Recorded | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number cast in favour of a “Yes” | 692 | 95.32% | |
| Number cast in favour of a “No” | 34 | 4.68% | |
| The number of ballot papers rejected as follows: | Number of ballot papers | ||
| Want of an official mark | 0 | ||
| Voting for more than one answer | 0 | ||
| Writing or mark by which voter could be identified | 0 | ||
| Being unmarked or void for uncertainty | 0 | ||
| Total rejected | 0 | ||
The result declared is therefore in favour to adopt the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan.
- Electorate: 3323
- Ballot papers issued: 726
- Turnout: 21.85%
- Dated: Thursday 27 November 2025
See Referendums for neighbourhood planning for the results of the referendum.