The Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan First Review was made (adopted) on 28 July 2026.
The First Review replaces the original neighbourhood plan which was made (adopted) on 22 June 2021.
The examiner’s report on the Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan – First Review was received on 29 May 2026. A referendum was not required. The submitted plan was revised in accordance with the examiner’s recommendations and was taken to Dorset Council’s Cabinet on 28 July 2026 for a final decision.
Between Friday 20 March and Tuesday 7 April 2026 a limited consultation took place regarding changes to the legal compliance and Basic Conditions requirements. This was on the request of the examiner, as detailed in his letter dated 16 March.
In response, 5 responses were received. These were:
On 25 February 2026 the examiner wrote to Dorset Council and the Town Council with questions. The councils submitted a joint response on 18 March 2026.
On 18 February 2026 the examiner wrote to Dorset Council and the Town Council to clarify several initial procedural matters.
The submitted revised neighbourhood plan and supporting documents are:
The Regulation 16 consultation took place between 12 December 2025 and 30 January 2026. Representations received during the consultation have been compiled into the following reports:
The original Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan was made (adopted) by Dorset Council on 22 June 2021.
The decision statement and the 'made' Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan Part 1 (chapters 1-4), Part 2 (chapters 5-6), Part 3 (appendices) are available online.
The Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan referendum was held on Thursday 6 May 2021.
A majority voted in favour of the neighbourhood plan (YES votes: 1556; NO votes: 216). The turnout was 26.9%. See more details regarding the results, plus details of the other elections and referendums that took place that day.
Documents relating to the referendum are:
1. Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan (Submission version, January 2020) - pages 1 to 50
Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan (Submission version, January 2020) - pages 51 to 133
2. Consultation Statement (January 2020)
3. Basic Conditions Statement (December 2019)
4. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) – screening statement (July 2019)
6. Housing and Employment – background paper
Additional evidence used is listed in Appendix M of the submitted plan with weblinks to where these are available on-line.
We are aware that some of these documents are not fully accessible. If you need this information in a different format, contact [email protected].
