Invitation to Provide Comments on Pre-Submission Consultation (Regulation 14) Rolvenden Parish Neighbourhood Plan 2025 to 2043

Consultation Period: Monday 9 November 2026 to Thursday 31 December 2026

Rolvenden Parish Council invites your views on the proposals contained within the Pre-Submission Version Rolvenden Neighbourhood Plan.

The consultation will run from Monday 9 November 2026 to Thursday 31 December 2026.

Documents to download - scroll down to view the documents

• Rolvenden Parish Neighbourhood Plan 2025 to 2043 – the Plan itself
• Appendix B: Character Areas Assessment and Village Approaches – a description of the character of the two villages and overarching design principles.
• Appendix C: Non-designated heritage assets – detail on those heritage assets that are not nationally significant enough to be ‘listed’, but which are important at the local level.
• Appendix D: Local Green Spaces – detail on the spaces that should be safeguarded in perpetuity from inappropriate development.
• Appendix E: Important Public Views – detail on the important viewpoints that exist in the parish.
• Rolvenden Neighbourhood Plan Strategic Environmental (SEA) and Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) Screening Determination Report August 2026 – The report prepared by Ashford Borough Council to establish that the Neighbourhood Plan is unlikely to have significant environmental effects.
• Appendix 3 of the above Screening Determination Report 2019– this is a copy of the screening prepared for the existing neighbourhood plan.
• Evidence list – detail of the background documents drawn on to develop the plan.
• Map of the Neighbourhood Area – this coincides with the Parish boundary. The policies within the Neighbourhood Plan relate to this area only.
• Summary of the Plan policies – a summary of the 19 policies.
• Modification Statement – setting out how the new plan has evolved from the existing neighbourhood plan.

How to give us your feedback

The Pre-Submission Version (Draft) Plan and the associated documents can be found below, and we welcome your views on the draft policies. If you require assistance in viewing the Neighbourhood Plan documents, please contact the Parish Clerk on: clerk@rolvendenparishcouncil.gov.uk 

Please submit your responses in one of the following ways:

• Using the online survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RNPReg14 (paper copies for printing of the survey can be downloaded below or click here attachments.asp:  or you can pick up a copy from the Church.

• By email to:  clerk@rolvendenparishcouncil.gov.Uk 
• By post to: Neighbourhood Plan Consultation, Rolvenden Parish Council, 5 Artisan Road, Headcorn, Kent, TN27 9AZ
• Drop off comments to the box located at: St Mary the Virgin Church, Hastings Rd, Rolvenden, TN17 4LS

Exhibition: Information about the Plan will be available to view at St Mary the Virgin Church throughout the consultation (aside from a short period around Christmas).

Presentation: Join us for a meeting on Saturday 28 November 2026 at the St Mary the Virgin Church at 11.30am, where you can hear more about the project and how to comment.

What is the consultation?

This is a statutory Pre-Submission Consultation in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 and Regulation 14 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended).

Why are we developing a neighbourhood plan?

We already have a Neighbourhood Plan that was adopted in 2019. However, it is now getting quite old and national and Local Plan policy has evolved. The Parish Council took the decision last year to update our Neighbourhood Plan to ensure that it can continue to carry full weight in planning decisions locally.

The new Neighbourhood Plan 2025 to 2043 sets out planning and land-use policies relating to Rolvenden parish. It will help to determine how land should be used within the parish, as well as planning policies to influence development proposals.

Who has developed the neighbourhood plan?

A steering group comprising local councillors and volunteers from the community was set up to lead the project. A great deal of work has been undertaken to reach the point of having a draft Plan, which we are now consulting on. This has involved a lot of local engagement.

What will the Plan include?

Many of the policies build on our existing plan, while others have been amended or are new to ensure that we are as up-to-date as possible.

We are not seeking to allocate sites for development, as this will be considered in the new Local Plan that Ashford Borough Council is preparing. The neighbourhood plan simply carries forwards existing sites that were allocated in our current neighbourhood plan but which have not yet been delivered.

A summary of the policies can be found below or click here .attachments.asp

What are the next steps?

Like last time, the Neighbourhood Plan must undergo a rigorous process, including a series of consultations, an independent examination and finally a local referendum, as ultimately it will form part of the development plan for Ashford Borough Council, sitting alongside the adopted Ashford Local Plan. If successful, it will be used alongside the Local Plan policies to determine the outcome of planning applications within our parish. 

Responses must be received by 5pm on Thursday 31 December 2026.

Note: A summary of all comments will be made publicly available following the consultation, and each will be carefully reviewed by the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group. The draft Neighbourhood Plan will be amended accordingly into its Submission Version, which will be formally submitted to Ashford Borough Council, who will undertake a further round of consultation. After this, the Plan will be independently examined and, if successful, will proceed to a local referendum. This new document would then replace our existing Neighbourhood Plan.

Please note that personal information provided in your responses will be confidential and processed in line with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulations. The Parish Council will process your details in relation to the preparation of this Neighbourhood Plan document only. As part of the Consultation and in line with the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), when responding to the consultation, please confirm that you are happy for the Parish Council to pass on your contact details (name, address/email address) to Ashford Borough Council so that they can contact you at the next Submission Version (Regulation 16) stage of consultation.