Feria Urbanism worked with Canterbury City Council to create a Neighbourhood Planning Toolkit that puts local people at the start of every planning journey. This is now a published guidance document and is available on the city council’s website.
Rather than assuming every community should reach for a full Neighbourhood Plan, the toolkit opens with honest groundwork: understanding what a neighbourhood plan can and can’t do, weighing it against alternatives like Design Codes or Parish Plans, and being upfront about the time, energy and commitment a full neighbourhood plan really takes.
For those ready to proceed, the toolkit walks the reader through the full journey: designating an area, building a steering group, running engaging and inclusive consultation, assembling a robust evidence base, and drafting policies that are clear, deliverable and genuinely shaped by local voices. Practical resources throughout, from place assessment checklists to community workshop templates, turn open conversation into real, actionable insight.
The result is a toolkit that reflects how we work: creative, transparent, and rooted in bringing people in early so that whatever gets built – be that a plan, a policy, or a place – continues to serve the community that shaped it.
