BOREHAM PARISH COUNCILBoreham Neighbourhood Plan Referendum
Boreham Neighbourhood Plan Referendum
Event Date: Mon, 20th Jul 2026 11:59pm
A Neighbourhood Planning Referendum will be held for the Boreham Neighbourhood Plan on Thursday 30 July 2026. We encourage all Boreham voters to turn out to vote. The referendum will ask you to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the following question that will be printed on the ballot paper:
Do you want Chelmsford City Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Boreham to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?
Who can vote
A person is entitled to vote in the referendum on Thursday 30 July 2026 if they are entitled to vote in a local government election in the referendum area and their qualifying address for the election is in the referendum area (Boreham Parish).
Referendum result
The result of the referendum will be announced on Friday 31 July 2026. If the majority of those who vote support the draft Plan by voting ‘yes’, the plan will become part of the Chelmsford Local Plan and will be used to help decide planning applications.
If more people vote ‘no’ than ‘yes’, then planning applications will be decided without using the Neighbourhood Development Plan as part of the Chelmsford Local Plan.
Specified documents
There are a number of documents relating to this referendum:
- The draft Boreham Neighbourhood Plan 2025-2041
- The report of the independent Examiner
- A summary of the representations submitted to the independent Examiner
- A Decision Statement by Chelmsford City Council that the draft Plan meets the basic
- conditions and Convention rights
- A statement containing basic information about the referendum, and
- A statement containing general information about town and country planning and
- neighbourhood planning (this statement).
All these documents can be viewed on Chelmsford City Council’s website: www.chelmsford.gov.uk/voting-and-elections/upcoming-elections/ and on the Boreham Neighbourhood Plan website: Welcome to the Boreham Neighbourhood Plan website – Boreham Neighbourhood Plan
The documents are also available to view as follows:
- Customer Service Centre, Civic Centre, Duke Street, Chelmsford, CM1 1JE (Monday to
Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm).
- Boreham Parish Council, Main Road, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3JD. Please contact
the Parish Council on 01245 469941 to check opening hours.
About the Chelmsford Local Plan
Local planning authorities, such as Chelmsford City Council, are required to have a development plan in place to set out the planning policies for its area. This is set out in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004[1].
We adopted the Chelmsford Local Plan 2013-2036 in May 2020. In it, we identify the number and locations for houses, jobs and businesses we are planning for, along with the infrastructure needed to support growth. Applications for planning permission have to be decided using the policies contained within the Local Plan. The adopted plan has been reviewed and was submitted for Independent Examination by a government-appointed Planning Inspector on 5 June 2026. It is anticipated that it will be adopted in the first part of 2027 and it will then run until 2041.
About the Boreham Neighbourhood Plan
Town and parish councils, or other organisations, can take the lead in creating neighbourhood development plans, community plans and orders for planning in their area. The Boreham Neighbourhood Plan has been developed by Boreham Parish Council (BPC), known in legislation at the Qualifying Body. It covers the whole of the parish, and includes local planning policies and proposals for improvements.
Following submission of the draft Neighbourhood Plan and supporting documents to the Council it was publicised and comments were invited during January to March 2026. The Council appointed an Independent Examiner to examine whether the Boreham Neighbourhood Plan met the basic conditions as set out in Schedule 4B (Paragraph 8(2))3 to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and whether the Boreham Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to referendum.
The Examiner’s Report, received on 12 May 2026, recommended a number of modifications to enable the Boreham Neighbourhood Plan to comply with the basic conditions and legal requirements, and that the plan as modified should proceed to referendum. The Council agrees that the draft Boreham Neighbourhood Plan will proceed to a local referendum within the Neighbourhood Area.
The Referendum Version of the Plan is the final version of the Plan and includes the recommended modifications.
Further information
If you need further help to access documents, please visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/borehamplan or call the Planning Policy helpline on 01245 606330.
For further queries on the referendum or voter registration please visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/voting-and-elections/ or contact Electoral Services on 01245 606449.
[1] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/5/section/19
