St Neots gets to have its say
Community consultation launched for the St Neots Neighbourhood Plan
Residents of St Neots are being asked to help to shape the future of the town by reviewing the first draft of the St Neots Neighbourhood Plan over the next six weeks.
Neighbourhood Plans are intended to give communities more of a say in the development of their local area and St Neots Town Council has put together a proposal on behalf of the community, based on feedback from local people obtained at the end of last year.
St Neots residents have from Friday 7th February to Friday 21st March to find out more about the plan and feedback on its contents – before a final document is submitted to Huntingdonshire District Council for approval at the end of March.
The Neighbourhood Plan has been compiled by the St Neots Town Council’s Development and Growth committee. Commenting on the plan, Chairman of the committee Councillor Louie Ruck said “The Neighbourhood Plan provides us with a valuable opportunity to build on our town’s successes and enhance its future. We have seen the passion that this community has for St Neots and we look forward to presenting the plan to them in more detail; to demonstrate how we can protect our existing facilities and assets, improve our local infrastructure and create new opportunities for us all.”
A number of roadshow events are taking place in the coming weeks to enable residents to take a first-hand look at the plan’s contents and see how it affects them. The first event in the roadshow calendar takes place at the St Neots Farmers Market on the Market Square on Saturday 8th February and events follow at the Eaton Socon Children’s Centre and Waitrose St Neots during the following week. Other events will take place during the consultation period at central community venues including the St Neots Library and St Neots Museum.
Local print advertisements will be running throughout the consultation period and a number of posters and banners will appear throughout the town. Information is also available at:
www.stneots-tc.gov.uk/stneotsplan with the ability to submit comments online, and the latest news and views will appear on the St Neots Town Council Twitter and Facebook pages.
The Neighbourhood Plan was unanimously approved to proceed to community consultation at a full St Neots Town Council meeting on Thursday 6th February 2014. Following the consultation process, the St Neots Neighbourhood Plan will be submitted to the Local Planning Authority for examination. If approved, the plan will be subject to a referendum in the area it affects. If accepted, the plan will then form part of the local planning policy.
