Neighbourhood Plans were brought into being by the Localism Act 2011, with the intention of enabling communities to play a much stronger role in shaping the areas in which they live and work and in supporting new development proposals. This is because unlike the parish, village or town plans that communities may have prepared, a Neighbourhood Plan forms part of the development plan and sits alongside the Local Plan prepared by Breckland District Council. Decisions on planning applications will be made using both the Local Plan and the Neighbourhood Plan, and any other material considerations.

Neighbourhood planning provides the opportunity for communities to set out a positive vision for how they want their community to develop until the year 2036 in ways that meet identified local need and make sense for local people. They can put in place planning policies that will help deliver that vision or grant planning permission for the development they want to see.