So what is a Neighbourhood Plan?
First and foremost, it is a community-led framework for guiding the future development, regeneration and conservation of an area.
This is a completely new planning tier introduced by the Locality Bill in 2011.
Neighbourhood plans can influence many things including where new developments are built, what they look like, local employment, transport, environmental protection and heritage.
They can identify the infrastructure required by the community and work towards delivering this
They have proved incredibly popular because for the first time in history local people have been given the right to influence the outcome of planning decisions.