This was always going to be a possible scenario given the ill-thought out bolting on of neighbourhood planning with its lesser requirements and approval through referendum to a development plan system with adoption dependent on far more stringent requirements including meeting both legal requirements, test of soundness and binding report. Yet both plans end up carrying the same weight!
It is well worth remembering that this is the neighbourhood’s plan not just a lower tier district plan.
Clearly your district having taken the view (in line with the examiner) that the plan cannot go forward, as it does not meet basic tests, stalls at this stage.
Unless modifications can be made, by the parish and agreed by them, then the only option really is to get the parish to withdraw. You as the district cannot impose modifications on what is not the district’s plan.
It is pretty difficult to see a parish having a strong legal case to force a district to take a plan to referendum where the council as a decision maker at this stage has clearly weighed up not just its own judgement but the independent examiner’s report.
Of course if you were to suggest modifications which the parish reluctantly accepted simply to get the plan through, this could backfire with a massive no vote anyway which is a waste of time, resources and goodwill.
So sadly the only course is to say we cannot go forward and try to convince the parish that the sensible approach is to do so with some form of modification as set out by the examiner. It is clearly a pity that it appears that these issues were not able to be resolved via the plan preparation process…but maybe that was always inevitable?
