Rainford Neighbourhood Plan

Rainford Parish Council as the relevant body submitted an application to St Helens Borough Council to designate Rainford Parish area as a Neighbourhood Area for the purposes of neighbourhood planning.  

Designation of Rainford Neighbourhood Area 

The application to designate Rainford Parish Area as a Neighbourhood Area was approved by St Helens Borough Council on the 7th of December 2023. 

The following documents are available to view and download: 

• Rainford Parish Council neighbourhood area map (PDF) [803KB] (opens new window)
• Rainford Parish Council application to designate  (PDF) [191KB] (opens new window)

Next Steps

Rainford Parish Council as the relevant body, can now start to prepare a Neighbourhood Plan for the Rainford parish.  

The National Planning Practice Guidance sets out the key stages of neighbourhood planning: 

• Step 1: Designate a Neighbourhood Area;  
• Step 2: Start preparing a draft Neighbourhood Plan; 
• Step 3: Pre-submission publicity & consultation; 
• Step 4: Submission of a Neighbourhood Plan proposal to St Helens Borough Council. At this point the proposals are published for a 6-week statutory consultation, where representations are invited; 
• Step 5: Independent Examination; 
• Step 6: Referendum; and 
• Step 7: Making the Neighbourhood Plan (bringing it into force) 

Once 'made', the Rainford Neighbourhood Plan will become part of the statutory Development Plan and will be used to determine planning applications alongside the Local Plan for any application received in the Rainford Neighbourhood Area. 

More information on Rainford Parish Council can be found at rainfordparishcouncil.gov.uk