Consultation date set for Shipston's Draft Neighbourhood Plan
Public consultation on the draft Shipston Neighbourhood Plan begins on the 7th November. This consultation gives residents the chance to have their say on the plan before it is submitted to the district council for review.
The draft plan is the culmination of a huge amount of work, largely done by volunteers, to get under the skin of the main issues affecting Shipston in relation to planning, development and sustainability. It is designed to reflect the policies and projects which residents have indicated are local priorities and should guide future development in the town. If adopted, the plan will form part of a suite of formal documents which must be considered when assessing future planning applications.
The draft plan covers a variety of topics including making the riverside public land in the Mill Street area more attractive, accessible and valuable to residents, establishing wellbeing zones to improve access to and enjoyment of public open space and consideration of potential schemes to improve traffic flow in the town centre.
The formal consultation notification is on page 11. It sets out how, and where, a copy of the plan may be viewed, together with how comments can be made.
Once the consultation period has ended (31st December), the feedback will be analysed and any relevant changes or alterations to the plan will be made before it is submitted to Stratford District Council.
The plan will then be reviewed by an Examiner, which may take some time to complete, before a public referendum takes place. It will be for local residents to decide, through the referendum, whether they would like to adopt the Neighbourhood Plan.
Mayor, Ronnie Murphy, said: “I am extremely grateful to the members of the public who have volunteered to do all research and public consultation needed to develop this draft plan for our town. Now, it is for us as residents to do our bit. I strongly encourage you to take the time to read and comment on the draft plan.”
Progress reports will continue to be included in future editions of the Forum. For more information and to view the draft plan (from 7th November) visit www.shipstonnp.org