Neighbourhood forums

Section 61F of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as inserted by the Localism Act 2011) provides a local planning authority the power to designate an organisation or body as a Neighbourhood Forum. 

When designating a Neighbourhood Forum, the council must assess whether the forum has met the conditions under Section 61(F). This includes: 

• The forum is established for the express purpose of promoting or improving the social, economic and environmental well-being of the neighbourhood plan area. 
• Its membership is open to those who live in, work in or are elected members of the neighbourhood area concerned. 
• The forum’s membership has a minimum of 21 individuals who live in, work in or are elected members of the neighbourhood area concerned. 
• The forum has a written constitution. 

The assessment of the above conditions must consider whether the forum’s purpose reflects the character of the area, and its membership is drawn from different places in the neighbourhood area concerned and from different sections of the community in that area. 

To successfully meet these conditions, the council recommends the preparation of the following: 

A report or statement of representation 

This should reflect on the neighbourhood area profile, demonstrating the extent to which the demographic structure of the forum is reflective of the area and that the forum is open and inclusive in terms of its membership. 

To understand the demographics of the neighbourhood area, forums can use these tools: 

• Ward profiles published on Council’s website  
• Census information from the Office of National Statistics  
• Build a custom area profile – Census 2021, ONS (BETA tool). Forums can create a polygon of their neighbourhood areas and filter demographic information as required. 

To understand the demographics of the neighbourhood forum, forums should survey their members to collect information on the spread of demographic factors across their membership. The surveys should: 

• Be completely anonymous. An online survey can be used to help collect this information anonymously. The form should not have any identifiable data such as names and email addresses.
• Be deleted as soon as the assessment of the forum’s representativeness is complete. Forums should not store this information longer than needed.
• Make it clear what the purpose of collecting the information is and that providing demographic information is optional.
• Use standardized categories from recognized sources, such as ONS, that correspond to categories identified in the Neighbourhood forum application form 2024, for example, age, gender, ethnic group, economic activity status, and so on.

Example applications 

Below are examples of how the report could be structured:  

• Belgravia Neighbourhood Forum Section 61(F) Report (please note, Belgravia Neighbourhood Forum are currently going through public consultation and have not been formally re-designated)

Neighbourhood forum applications from other boroughs and how they’ve evidenced representativeness:

• Camden - Drummond Street Neighbourhood Forum
• Camden - Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood Forum
• Hammersmith and Fulham - West Kensington and Gibbs Green Neighbourhood Forum

Map to illustrate geographical diversity

• As part of the application, forums should provide a clear, high-resolution map of the neighbourhood plan area with anonymised pins in locations associated with at least 21 members listed in section 9 of the application form.  
• This can help demonstrate that membership is drawn from across the neighbourhood area. This map does not need to be interactive. 

Constitutions

Forum constitutions should set out the structure, key missions and objectives, and governance of the neighbourhood forum. 

In 2024, OLMEC, on behalf of the council, examined the neighbourhood forum’s constitutions. They identified a number of risks associated with their current scopes and produced model constitutions for designated neighbourhood forums outlining powers, the structure of the forum and how the forum will follow good governance. The models below provide examples of formal structures, matters which need to be covered and options for specific arrangements. 

These models are not blueprints but guides, highlighting matters which should be resolved when a forum is established. This advice aims to reduce risks such as legal challenges and managing conflicts of interest. 

Representativeness

It is recommended that the constitution has regard for the conditions of Section 61(F) and the need to show its membership is representative and inclusive.  

This could be through: 

• The inclusion of an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) section to signal the forums’ commitment to welcoming diverse members and promoting equal opportunities within the forum.  
• In some cases, it may be necessary for the forum to take proportionate steps to improve their representativeness. This can be demonstrated through a strategy for community engagement, showing how the forum plans to expand its membership to more accurately reflect the wider population. 

When considering consultation strategies, Schedule 1 Consultation Bodies under The Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, (M to Q) provides a list of the groups within the neighbourhood area that should be part of the statutory consultation process.