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Quality Standards for Local Community-Led Plans - ACRE Framework

This Framework is based on the premise that every local community throughout Northamptonshire, working in association with local partners, should have the opportunity to prepare a community-based plan, such as a Parish Plan, setting out its vision for its area and the necessary action needed to achieve it.

So long as these plans meet certain quality criteria, this Framework endorses that they should be used to engage and direct:

• Relevant spatial and service delivery strategies and policies.
• Sustainable Community Strategies for the county, and the Districts/Boroughs.
• Policy decisions and the planning and delivery of services.
• The allocation of resources.
• The statutory land use planning system.
  

In agreeing to this Framework the parties involved will only endorse local community-led plans that have achieved, and can demonstrate that they have achieved, certain criteria of quality. Therefore any plan submitted should either:

· Demonstrate that it has been undertaken within the quality standards of the National Community-Led Planning Toolkit, as revised and published by ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) and with the guidance of an external facilitating organisation who themselves, are prepared to endorse the process adopted. (e.g. the plan meets the required standards of the local Rural Community Council i.e. Northamptonshire ACRE as appropriate).

• Demonstrate that it has been undertaken by a group that is committed to genuinely representing the issues and needs of the whole community.
• Be holistic in the sense of addressing social, economic and environmental issues and concerns.
• Be based on thorough and socially inclusive local consultation in relation both to establishing the key issues for consideration and to deciding the policies and action points pursued.
• Contain a plan of action that flows clearly from the earlier analysis of issues and that is clear and realistic in terms of "what, why, how and by whom?"
• Have local legitimacy, e.g. by being formally ratified/adopted by the Parish or Town Council or other community Contact Us.
• Have taken cognisance of District, Borough, County and Regional priorities.