Neighbourhood Plan

We’re pleased to announce that Sunningwell Parish Council is now in the early stages of developing a Neighbourhood Plan for our community.

A Neighbourhood Plan gives local residents, businesses, and organisations a real voice in shaping the future of our area. Once adopted, it becomes a formal part of the planning process, helping to guide how any future development should take place — ensuring that it respects the character of our rural area and meets the needs of local people.

At this stage, we’re:

  • Forming a steering group to lead the process.
  • Gathering initial information about the parish and identifying key local issues.
  • Planning future opportunities for community input — your views will be essential in shaping the plan.

We’ll be sharing updates regularly on this website as the process develops. In the meantime, if you’d like to get involved or find out more, please contact us at clerk@sunningwell-pc.gov.uk

An important part of a Neighbourhood Plan is representing your views and input. Please can you complete a short survey to say why you enjoy living in parish and what could be improved. Do pass this survey onto your neighbours and encourage them to complete.

Wide Support & Decision to Proceed

I am pleased to report that with nearly 90 expressions of support received from all areas of the parish the Council voted unanimously in July 2025 to proceed with the development of the Neighbourhood Plan. More than 50 people have offered to assist potentially with its development.

Activities over the Summer

Thanks to the people who have returned questionnaires we now have a good indication of the level and breadth of support; of the topics people consider as priorities; and of the potential pool of people willing to help. 

With this information we will be working over the Summer to formulate the details of the next steps to ensure that we have the best possible coverage of views and expertise from the parish. Members of the Council will be talking with various people and groups to translate the potentially-offered support into a working structure to drive forward the plan.

Not too late to become involved!

The more comprehensive the input, the better the Plan will be, and it’s not too late to have your say, or to become involved. More details on the Plan are here, and we would welcome your input via the short online questionnaire which can also be reached from the QR code below. This survey will close at the end of September but there will be other opportunities in the future to express your views.