Neighbourhood Planning Independent Examiner Referral Service

By using NPIERS, you are guaranteed:

• Access to highly professional Examiners with a wide range of skills, knowledge and expertise specifically related to neighbourhood planning.
• An accessible service with guaranteed high levels of knowledge, professional standards and integrity.
• An application service designed to determine the amount of time an Examiner is likely to spend on the examination, and as you will know their daily rate, you will have a clear idea of the cost and time commitments involved.

The Service, which is managed and administered by RICS provides cost-efficient, quick and easy access to impartial and highly qualified examiners on an “as needed” basis.

You are able to apply to NPIERS for a pre-submission Health Check review of the neighbourhood plan, or for the referral of Examiners who are able to undertake the examination of the neighbourhood plan.

There is a set fee for Examiners, which provides transparency and clarity on how much an examination will cost. A real benefit of the service is that you only pay for the time you use the examiner, there are no retainer or other employment costs normally incurred by employing an expert or a consultant.

• NPIERS provides quick and simple access to an independent Examiner who has been trained, assessed, interviewed and is regularly monitored by RICS and RTPI.
• NPIERS is supported by DCLG, which has contributed to the training and reassessment of the Independent Examiners.
• NPIERS gives you access to information and guidance on the process, and gives easy access to qualified Examiners who are knowledgeable on planning issues.
• NPIERS is administered by RICS, who provide a range of services including complaints handling and a free appointment service.
• NPIERS has a dedicated point of contact, providing consistency and confidence in the service.

RICS manages the appointment of NPIERS Examiners. The Examiners are professionals drawn from across the planning professions and have specific skills and expertise in neighbourhood planning.

NPIERS ensures that Examiners:

Have the necessary qualifications, expertise and knowledge to undertake specific tasks.

Are able to work within timescales and other criteria required by the communities and local authorities.

Are free from financial or other conflicts of interest in the outcome of the examination.

Have appropriate professional indemnity insurance to undertake the relevant tasks.

Maintain CPD through ongoing quality training and education.

Are continually monitored and undergo reassessment to ensure they maintain performance and standards.

If, after an appointment is made, the Examiner is unable to undertake the task as required (for example, due to sickness), as soon as NPIERS becomes aware of the problem, it will endeavour to appoint another Examiner as quickly as possible.

Obtaining a Health Check before submitting your plan can give you valuable insights into whether your plan meets the basic conditions and whether it would be likely to proceed to the referendum stage. A lot of time and effort goes into preparing a neighbourhood plan, which will then be scrutinised by an Independent Examiner who will judge whether it can proceed to referendum or not.

Using an examiner to undertake a Health Check before submitting a plan will give you an insight as to whether the draft plan meets the basic conditions. The Health Check does not involve the re-writing of the plan, but gives general advice on what changes need to be made.

Costs:

NPIERS makes no charge for you to apply for an examiner. The Examiner will charge £375 plus VAT per day (plus any reasonable expenses) to undertake a pre-submission review of your neighbourhood plan.

Groups writing a neighbourhood plan or neighbourhood development order are eligible to apply for a grant of up to £9,000 from Locality. Groups facing a range of complex issues may able to apply for further support from the programme.

Further Details on Funding Opportunities

The Examination Service allows for access to impartial examiners as and when needed.

Once a draft neighbourhood plan or order has gone through its pre-submission consultation, you should be thinking about sourcing an Examiner. The Examiner will consider the submitted documents and any comments made during the consultation period on the submitted plan or proposal. The Independent Examiner will examine whether the plan meets the ‘Basic Conditions’ and other relevant legal requirements (e.g. consultation).

The Independent Examiner may recommend that the plan proceed to the referendum stage (i.e. that it meets all the legal requirements) or may suggest that modifications are needed to the plan before it can proceed to the referendum. Undertaking the pre-submission Health Check before submitting the plan for examination will give your plan the best opportunity of being approved.

Experience to date suggests that a typical written representations only examination will take around 4-6 days to complete and if the examination requires a public hearing this can take approximately 9-11 days. However, Examiners may well be working on other matters so this may not be consecutive days.

NPIERS makes no charge for you to apply for an Examiner. However, the Examiner will charge £750 plus VAT per day (plus any reasonable expenses) to undertake the examination of your neighbourhood plan.