A PARISH council has said it is “vital” that communities have a say over future developments after they became the first to submit their neighbourhood plan.

Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent Parish Council handed in their neighbourhood plan, which allows communities to map out the future of their village, to Darlington Borough Council last week.

A neighbourhood plan is a community led planning framework which will guide future development, regeneration and conservation in an area.

Once it is finalised, it will form part of Darlington’s Local Plan.

The submitted document will be reviewed by Darlington Borough Council, and once all aspects are agreed, it will go to a referendum in the parish.

The document states: “The Parish Council believe that this Submission Neighbourhood Plan represents local needs and aspirations and should therefore be used to assess planning proposals in the parish.

“The plan has been informed by vital feedback from the local community and prepared with a considerable amount of hard work undertaken by the Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group.

“Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent Parish Council would like to thank all those involved in the preparation of this document for their enormous effort and commitment to its production.”

Margaret Ellerton, chair of the parish council, said: “The whole project has been community led, and it has given us the chance to express the needs of the community. They really have rallied around.

“It is vital that any community has a say about what happens in their area.

“We are proud that we are finished and we are proud that we are the first one, it has been a lot of hard work.

“We are hopeful it will encourage other parishes to complete their own plan.

“We have had very positive feedback, even from developers and we have had a lot of support from Darlington Borough Council . They have listened and have been really good.”

Richard Cowen, chair of Campaign to Protect Rural England North-East, said: "We encourage parish councils across the region to create a Neighbourhood Plan as the first line of defence when it comes to protecting the local environment.

"An up-to-date Neighbourhood Plan becomes part of the council's development plan and must be taken into account when planning decisions are made.

"We wish Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent Parish Council every success with their Neighbourhood Plan and hope it will encourage others across the borough - well done them."

The consultation period for the draft Darlington Local Plan ended earlier this year and a spokesperson for the council said they received more than a thousand comments for consideration.

The final plan will be published next year.