Guide to neighbourhood planning

Planning Duty Officer telephone service

Thank you for contacting the RBKC Planning department.

You can search, view and comment on applications using the Planning Applications Search on the council's website. The service is updated regularly, and key milestones and target dates are shown under "Proposal Details".

If you have submitted an application that is still within its statutory determination period, or an agreed extension of time, a progress update may not yet be available. If you need to speak to the planning officer dealing with your application, you can email them directly. Their contact details can be found in:

  • your planning application acknowledgement letter
  • any emails or letters about your application

For more information about planning applications, planning guidance, planning enforcement and other planning services, visit planning and building control.

Planning advice for your business or property is also available through our pre-application advice.

Last updated: 22 September 2026

What happens next?

Publicising the plan

When we receive your neighbourhood plan and consultation statement, we publicise it for six weeks to invite further feedback. We collate any replies into a report.

Examination

The next step is for the draft neighbourhood plan to be examined by an independent examiner. The examiner:

  • checks whether the draft neighbourhood plan meets the basic conditions set out in paragraph 8 of schedule 4B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended)
  • requests any necessary changes to the plan to enable it to meet the requirements - the Council must make these changes
  • decides if the plan doesn’t meet the requirements and can’t be changed in order to meet them

Referendum

If the examiner is satisfied that the plan meets requirements, the Council organises a referendum.

Anyone living in the neighbourhood area who is normally eligible to vote in local elections is eligible to vote. Polling arrangements are same as for elections, although the polling station may be in a different location.

Formalising the plan

If the majority of referendum votes are favour of the draft neighbourhood plan becoming part of the Council's local development framework, it will come into legal force. This happens via a key decision taken by the cabinet member for Planning Policy, Transport and Arts.

 

Last updated: 23 February 2023