In accordance with Regulation 20 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, Westminster City Council formally 'made' (adopted) The Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan on 11 December 2018. It is therefore now part of the statutory development plan for Westminster, and will be used alongside the council’s own planning documents and the Mayor’s London Plan in determining planning applications in the Knightsbridge neighbourhood area.
The plan includes policies on a range of matters including character, heritage, community uses, retail, offices, housing, cultural uses, transport and the environment. A copy of the ‘made’ plan can be viewed below, and hard copies are available for inspection at council offices at 64 Victoria Street, SW1E 6QP, during normal office hours.
Prior to adoption, the plan was subject to public consultation, independent examination, and local referendum. Further details of these stages can be found below.
Referendum
To meet the requirements of the Localism Act 2011, a referendum was held on 18 October 2018 at Kent House, Rutland Gardens, Knightsbridge, London SW7 1BX. The referendum question was: 'Do you want Westminster City Council to use the neighbourhood plan for the Knightsbridge area to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?'
Of the votes cast, 93% voted in favour. The turnout was 19.21%
The referendum version of the plan (which incorporates all of the examiner’s recommended modifications), can be viewed below.
Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan referendum version
Decision statement
On Tuesday 21 August 2018, the council decided to accept all of the examiner’s recommended modifications to the draft plan. A copy of the decision statement can be viewed below.
Examination
The council appointed Ms Jill Kingaby BSc (Econ) MSc MRTPI as independent examiner for the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan.
The examiner has now considered the draft plan and all submission documents, all representations received, and subsequent modifications proposed to it. The examination into whether the draft plan meets the 'Basic Conditions' has now concluded, and the examiners recommendations are set out in the report below.
When the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan was originally submitted to the council, it formed 3 parts – the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan, the Knightsbridge Evidence Base Document, and the Knightsbridge Management Plan.
Following an initial review of the documentation submitted to her, the examiner determined that the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan should be treated as a stand alone document, and that the other documents comprise supporting, evidential material that should be treated separately and not be subject to examination (see the examiner's letter from 18 April 2018).
Nevertheless, the Knightsbridge neighbourhood forum has updated the Knightsbridge Evidence Base document and the Knightsbridge Management Plan to reflect comments received on them during the regulation 16 consultation and to ensure consistency with the modifications made to the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan subsequent to their submission to the council.
These supporting documents provide context for the policies in the Knightsbridge neighbourhood plan and set out actions the forum wishes to pursue over the plan period. The forum has published the updated documents together with its best practice guidance on its website.