The Portland Neighbourhood Plan was made (adopted) by Dorset Council on 22 June 2021. 

Following a majority 'yes' vote in the referendum, the decision was taken to make the Portland Neighbourhood Plan part of the development plan for the Portland neighbourhood area.

The decision statement and the 'made' Portland Neighbourhood Plan are available online and will be available to view at the council's offices (address below) during normal opening hours when the offices reopen to the public.

Dorset Council
County Hall
Dorchester
Dorset
DT1 1XJ

Referendum Result

The Portland Neighbourhood Plan referendum was held on Thursday 6 May 2021 and asked residents: "Do you want Dorset Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Portland to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?" From an electorate of 9494 there was a turnout of 2037 (21.5%). The result; In Favour. YES votes 1653 (82.7%) and NO votes 346 (16.9 %). The full referendum results are also now available.

The plan will now proceed to Full Council on 22 June 2021 where a decision will be made on making the Portland Neighbourhood Plan part of the development plan for the Portland parish area.

Decision to proceed to referendum

Following the successful examination of the Portland Neighbourhood Plan, Dorset Council agreed to enable
the plan, as amended to proceed to referendum. The Council released a Decision Statement to this effect.  Portland Neighbourhood Plan Referendum Draft (as proposed and amended as a result of the examination) and the accompanying Maps book 1 and book 2 can now be given significant weight in decision-making. 

Documents relating to the referendum are listed below:

Neighbourhood Plan Examination

An independent examiner Mary O'Rourke was appointed to examine the Portland Neighbourhood Plan. The independent examiner's report was released on 21 January 2020 with the recommendation that the Portland Neighbourhood Plan should, subject to modification, proceed to referendum.

The examiner wrote to us and Portland Town Council on the 7 November 2019 to clarify several initial procedural matters. On 22 November 2019 Dorset Council and Portland Town Council received a letter from the examiner to ask a number of questions. On 25 November 2019 we supplied the examiner with a hard copy of the Shoreline Management Plan summary leaflet requested by question six. We wrote back to the examiner on 5 December 2019 in response to the remaining questions.

Portland Town Council also wrote back on 5 December 2019 and provided the following documents in support of their response.

On 21 January 2020 the examiner wrote to Dorset Council and Portland Town Council to issue her examination report.  The report recommends that the Portland Neighbourhood Plan should, subject to modification, proceed to referendum.

As part of her examination of the plan, the examiner had to consider whether the plan meets certain basic conditions and satisfies legal requirements.

The basic conditions are set out in the legislation, and are intended to ensure that neighbourhood plans fit within their wider context. The plan must:-

  • have regard to national planning policies and guidance
  • contribute to achieving sustainable development
  • be in general conformity with the strategic policies of the development plan ie the West Dorset, Weymouth & Portland Adopted Local Plan
  • be compatible with European Union law and human rights obligations
  • not breach the requirements of Chapter 8 of Part 6 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017

The examiner provided a review of the plan and made recommendations in accordance with the 2011 Localism Act and related regulations.

If the neighbourhood plan is supported by a local referendum, it will be used to make decisions on planning applications.

Consultation on the Submitted Plan

As the local planning authority, the council is required to consult on the plan proposals before the examination takes place. The consultation process ran from 15 August 2019 until 9 October 2019. This was an opportunity for individuals and organisations to raise concerns they had about the plan with regard to the content and how it was prepared. An independent examiner was appointed and any concerns were passed on to them for consideration as part of the examination process. A summary of the comments was forwarded to the town council and will be published on the website.

Submission Documents

The Portland Neighbourhood Plan is available to read together with the supporting documents which are as follows:

Dorset Council, the competent authority responsible for undertaking a Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) of the neighbourhood plan, produced a HRA in June 2019. The HRA uses information from a report by AECOM, produced in December 2018 on behalf of Portland Town Council, and was submitted with the plan. An addendum to update the HRA was produced in July 2019 following a consultation response from Natural England. The HRA and its addendum conclude that the neighbourhood plan will not adversely affect the integrity of a European site (designated areas of exceptional ecological importance) providing a number of recommended changes are made to the plan. Policies in the neighbourhood plan were amended to reflect the recommendations of the HRA before the plan was submitted. The further change required by the addendum has been agreed with the neighbourhood plan group as set out in this email. The examiner will consider the HRA and addendum, including the recommended changes, as part of their examination of the plan.

A hard copy of the Portland Neighbourhood Plan is available to view at Dorset Council Offices, County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester DT1 1XJ.