Until the 2025 Spending Review, the Government provided financial and technical support to neighbourhood forums and parish councils for preparing a neighbourhood plan.

This support pogramme has now ended.  Previous publications and ‘toolkits’ on neighbourhood planning as published by the organsiation Locality are gradually being transferred to the Government MHCLG website.

Neighbourhood Planning in England was introduced by the Government in 2011, as part of the Localism Act.   The Ministry of Housing and Local Government  is responsible for the overall programme.  There are some 1,800 neighbourhood plans in force across England.

Neither the StQ Neighbourhood Forum nor the St Helens Residents Association receives any form of regular funding or grant aid.  We are reliant on occasional funds from the Council’s Community Living Local Life programme, and from successful applications for Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) resources.