Designation 

An application by Bishop’s Castle Town Council to designate a neighbourhood plan area went out for public consultation from 7 June to 5 July 2019. The application was approved by Shropshire Council's cabinet on 4 September 2019. 

Submission 

Shropshire Council received a submission of the draft Bishop’s Castle Neighbourhood Plan and supporting documents from Bishop’s Castle Town Council and consulted on these documents in accordance with Regulation 16 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, from 7 July to 1 September 2023. 

Examination

In October 2023, Timothy Jones was appointed as the independent examiner for the plan. He assessed the plan to decide if it met the basic conditions and could proceed to a referendum with modifications. The amended plan went to cabinet on Wednesday 13 March 2024 where it was agreed that it could proceed to local referendum.

Referendum

A local referendum was held on the 2 May 2024. The result was 88.47% in favour of Shropshire Council using the neighbourhood plan for Bishop’s Castle to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area.

Next steps

We'll now look to adopt the Bishop’s Castle Neighbourhood Plan at the 18 July 2024 meeting of full council.