Controversy over proposed reforms to the English planning system has centred on their impacts on local democracy. However, little attention has been paid to the Government’s existing flagship for local democratic involvement in planning - neighbourhood planning. This leaves in gap in arguments both for and against the proposals. This paper reviews the neighbourhood planning initiative in the context of the proposed reforms and the debates over their implications for local democracy. It then summarises recommendations for making neighbourhood planning a meaningful part of a reformed system, based on the outputs of a joint academic-practitioner workshop in March 2021.