The Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan sets out the community’s vision, planning policies and how Shaftesbury will evolve through land use, housing, heritage and green infrastructure.
What is The Neighbourhood Plan?
The Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan is all about shaping our town’s future together. It sets out a vision and key policies for the development and use of land. While it can’t prevent all planning developments, it gives our community a stronger voice in how Shaftesbury evolves.
Our vision for Shaftesbury is clear:
“Shaftesbury is the best example of how an historic, hilltop market town adapts and thrives in the 21st century, working towards net-zero emissions whilst keeping its unique identity and character and respecting its beautiful countryside setting and nationally renowned views.”
The Plan focuses on five key areas that matter most: Community and Leisure; Town Centre; Housing and Employment; History, Heritage and Design; and Green Infrastructure.
First Review
The First Review process of the began in 2023, and was finalised and approved in July 2026.
Complete document
First Review 2026 Neighbourhood Plan (very large file 193MB)
Individual chapters
Cover and Index (6MB)
Chapter 1 (Introduction) (17MB)
First Review 2026 Neighbourhood Plan Chapter 2 (The Town Centre) (15MB)
First Review 2026 Neighbourhood Plan Chapter 3 (Housing & Employment) (26MB)
First Review 2026 Neighbourhood Plan Chapter 4 (Green Infrastructure) (43MB)
First Review 2026 Neighbourhood Plan Chapter 5 (Design & Heritage) (38MB)
First Review 2026 Neighbourhood Plan Chapter 6 (Community, Leisure & Tourism) (15MB)
First Review 2026 Neighbourhood Plan Chapter 7 (Appendices A to P) (35MB)
Archive of the 2021 Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan
Information & Evidence Committee Projects The Neighbourhood Plan 2021
Referendum Result 2021
The Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan referendum was held on Thursday 6 May 2021 and asked residents: “Do you want Dorset Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Shaftesbury to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”
A majority voted in favour of the neighbourhood plan (YES votes: 1556; NO votes: 216). The turnout was 26.9%. More details regarding the results, plus details of the other elections and referendums that took place that day can be found on the Dorset Council website.
As a result, the plan will now proceed to Cabinet on 22 June 2021 where a decision will be made on formally making the Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Plan part of the development plan for the area covered by Shaftesbury Town Council (the Shaftesbury neighbourhood area).
