Swaffham Town Council

The Swaffham Neighbourhood Plan is a document written by the community to guide future development of the parish over the next 20 years.

From 18th July until 1st September 2018 you can read and comment on the following key documents:

All you need to do is complete a short feedback form which you can find by visiting:

• Swaffham Assembly Rooms - 18th July from 10am to 7pm

• Online 

• At locations around town - Town Hall, Swaffham Museum, Community Centre & Library.

The Swaffham Neighbourhood Plan is a community-led document for guiding the future development of the parish. It is about the use and development of land over the next 20 years.

Draft Neighbourhood Plan vision (subject to further consultation)

By 2039 Swaffham will be an attractive, well connected and flourishing market town, whilst preserving its distinctive character. 

To meet the growing needs of the town and the rural hinterland, it will have a range of high quality homes, new employment opportunities, essential public services and appropriate infrastructure. Growth of the town will respect the natural environment, heritage, character and green credentials.  Swaffham will be a sustainable place where people want to live, work and visit

Why are we doing a Neighbourhood Plan?
By undertaking a Neighbourhood Plan, Swaffham town aims to:
- Give a voice to residents to shape development
- Allow the town to grow sensitively and sustainably
- Enhance the sense of community 
- Protect and maintain the natural environment
- Identify community needs for the use of developer contributions 

Who is preparing the Plan?  
The Swaffham Neighbourhood Plan steering group has been set up to prepare a plan for the town, on behalf of Swaffham Town Council. The scope of their work involved setting a vision, aims and objectives for the plan, and writing planning policies.  All content of the plan are to be informed by an evidence base which involves extensive community engagement, consultation and research.

What's happening now?
The steering group have undertaken a large amount of desk research and community consultation through 2017.  The group are now preparing a draft set of objectives and policy ideas.  There will be a consultation event in April to ask community views before drafting the Neighbourhood Plan.  Watch this space.

The following documents will be developed through the process:
- The Neighbourhood Plan
- Basic Conditions Statement
- Consultation Statement
- Sustainability Appraisal and Sustainability Scoping Report

Watch this video to understand more about Neighbourhood Planning.