Heslington Neighbourhood Plan 2nd Pre-Submission Consultation
Following the decision by Heslington Parish Council on 23 August 2021 to withdraw the Heslington Neighbourhood Plan from the regulatory process, the Parish Council has started working on a revised version of the Heslington Neighbourhood Plan and has commenced consultation on a revised Pre-Submission version of the Heslington Neighbourhood Plan.
The consultation runs for 6 weeks, from Monday 16th March until 5pm on Sunday 26th April 2026.
The documents being consulted on are:
- Heslington Neighbourhood Plan (2nd Pre-Submission version, November 2025)
- Strategic Environmental Assessment Screening Report (September 2019, as updated November 2025)
- Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report (September 2019, as updated November 2025)
For more information, and to view the documents, please see the Heslington Parish Council website.
This consultation is being run by Heslington Parish Council, not the City of York Council – therefore, any responses should be sent to Heslington Parish Council, not the City of York Council. Responses should be sent to Heslington Parish Council by 5pm on Sunday 26th April 2026, either by email to: heslingtonpcnplan@outlook.com or by post to
Heslington Parish Clerk,The Byre,
Field House Farm,
Thornton-le-Clay,
York,
YO60 7QA.
Following the consultation, the Plan will be reviewed by Heslington Parish Council and submitted to City of York Council, who will conduct a formal consultation, before submitting the neighbourhood plan for examination by an independent examiner, to ensure that the plan complies with all relevant legislation and guidelines. It will then be subject to a referendum and if voted ‘yes’ by over 50% of those who cast a vote, it will become part of the statutory development plan for York, to be used to help determine planning applications in the Heslington Parish.
Background to the Heslington Neighbourhood Plan
Heslington Parish Council wrote to us in November 2015 to formally submit an application for designation of a Neighbourhood Plan area.
People who live, work and conduct business in the area were able to comment on the application and boundary from 18 January 2016 to 29 February 2016 as part of a 6-week consultation.
However, Heslington Parish Council withdrew the Neighbourhood Plan area application on Wednesday 13 April 2016.
A revised Heslington Neighbourhood Plan area application was submitted by Heslington Parish Council on 10 October 2016 for the whole Parish. This application was granted automatic designation following amendments to the Neighbourhood Plan (General) and Development Management Procedure (Amendment) Regulations 2016, which came into force on 1 October 2016.
Heslington Parish Council is preparing a Neighbourhood Plan for their area. The Parish consulted on their Pre-Submission draft Neighbourhood Plan and associated documents for 6 weeks between 29 January and 12 March 2019. See further information about the Pre-Submission Heslington Neighbourhood Plan on the Heslington Parish Council website.
Following the Examiner’s Report, Heslington Parish Council wrote to the council to say:
After careful consideration, following the deletion of three policies, Heslington Parish Council have resolved to withdraw the modified Plan, amend and resubmit."
Heslington Parish Council formally withdrew the Heslington Neighbourhood Plan from the regulatory process on 23 August 2021. The Parish Council intend to amend the plan and resubmit for consideration at a future date.
On the basis of this decision, the council will take no further action to progress the Heslington Neighbourhood Plan Submission Draft (2019) and the Examiner's Report received as a result of the recent examination.
Heslington Neighbourhood Plan Submission Consultation
The Heslington Neighbourhood Plan was submitted to City of York Council by Heslington Parish Council. In line with the Regulations, the Council ran consultation on the submitted Neighbourhood Plan documents for 6 weeks between Wednesday 30 October to Wednesday 11 December 2019.
The documents we consulted on were:
- Heslington Parish Neighbourhood Plan Submission Version
- Basic Conditions Statement
- Habitat Regulation Assessment Screening Report
- Strategic Environmental Assessment Screening Report
- Consultation Statement
Independent Examination
At the end of the Submission Consultation on 11 December 2019, the representations received were sent together with the submitted Neighbourhood Plan documents to an Independent Examiner. The Examiner was satisfied that the examination could proceed by way of written representations as opposed to a formal hearing.
Following the Examiner's unaccompanied visit to the Heslington area, the Examiner sent a Clarification Note on the Plan to the Parish Council for comment. Heslington Parish Council duly submitted their response to the Clarification Note.
Mr Andrew Ashcroft carried out the examination by written representations and provided his final Examiner's Report on 24 March 2021.
The final Examiner's Report concluded:
Subject to a series of recommended modifications set out in this report I have concluded that the Heslington Parish Neighbourhood Plan meets all the necessary legal requirements and should proceed to referendum.