Over the past three years, Worsthorne with Hurstwood Parish Council has been developing a comprehensive ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ which will, alongside Burnley’s Local Plan, influence the planning decisions made by Burnley Council.
Following earlier consultation stages, a six week public consultation is being launched on 12th May 2025 which will give residents, businesses and other interested parties a last chance to have their say on the final draft version of the Plan.
The Worsthorne with Hurstwood Neighbourhood Plan contains policies which are organised into nine themes – Landscape, Conservation Areas, Nature Recovery and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), Design Guidance, Separate and Distinct Settlements, Housing Need and Mix, Transport and Traffic, Renewable and Low Carbon Energy Projects and Community Facilities.
For those wishing to discover more, copies of the plan and its supporting documents are available online at:
- Burnley Council website –
- https://burnley.gov.uk/worsthornenpreg16/
- Worsthorne with Hurstwood Parish Council website – https://worsthornewithhurstwoodpc.co.uk/neighbourhood-plan/
They can also be inspected in person at the following locations during their normal hours of opening:
- Pike Hill Library; and
- the Council’s Contact Burnley Offices.
Burnley Council is organising the consultation on behalf of the Parish Council. If you wish to comment on the Neighbourhood Plan, your comments must be in writing and should be submitted either by email to localplan@burnley.gov.uk or by post to Planning Policy, Burnley Council, Town Hall, Manchester Road, Burnley, Lancashire. BB11 9SA.
Email is the Council’s preferred method of receiving comments, as it will help them to handle your comments quickly and efficiently.
A Comments Form is available to download on Burnley Council’s website.
After the consultation has ended the Neighbourhood Plan, and all the comments received, will be sent to the independent examiner appointed to conduct the formal Examination.
Following the Examination, the examiner may recommend that the Plan proceeds to a public referendum, subject to any changes necessary. Anyone registered to vote in the area covered by the Neighbourhood Plan will then be entitled to vote in the referendum.
If a simple majority of votes are in favour of the Neighbourhood Plan (i.e. over 50% of those voting) it becomes part of the statutory development plan for the area.
Mark Jinkinson Chair of Worsthorne with Hurstwood Parish Council, said: “This has been a long and at times arduous journey, but once the Plan has been adopted the Parish Council is looking forward to having more direct influence over the future development of our Parish. I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to the creation of our Plan, and I look forward to its formal adoption in the next few months.”