This will be your chance to vote for or against the use in planning decisions of a Plan that has been drawn up by the local community.

Cornwall Council will be issuing voting slips to all registered electors in Saltash in the next couple of weeks. Watch out for them!

We will publish more details soon.

BIGGEST EVER SURVEY RESPONSE AS SALTASH PEOPLE HAVE THEIR SAY ON FUTURE PLANNING

Saltash residents have returned over 1000 questionnaires in Saltash Town Council’s Neighbourhood Plan Survey. ‘That’s a fantastic level of response’ said Councillor David Yates, who leads the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group. ‘It’s better than we hoped for, and we think may be the biggest ever response to this type of survey in Saltash. It shows how our residents are really concerned about the future planning of the area, and want to make use of the new Neighbourhood Planning system to have some real local control over issues.’

A lot of effort was put into raising awareness of the survey  including three special ‘drop in’ exhibition sessions, a mini exhibition at the Library, stands at the Saltash Regatta, the Saltash Sustainability Show, and the Saltash.net 50th Anniversary,  and attendances at various local meetings such as a Wesley coffee morning and Latchbrook Neighbourhood Association AGM.

‘We also distributed questionnaires to as many households as we could reach, a total of 6,764 in all, which involved walking 96 miles in 49 hours spread over three weeks!’ said Cllr Yates.

‘A steady stream of questionnaires is continuing to arrive, so we are extending the deadline for replies to the end of August to make sure all who want to have their say get a chance to comment’ Cllr Yates added. ‘We are also holding a final ‘drop in’ exhibition session, on the 20^th August at Waitrose’s car park, to give busy families the chance to combine shopping with a say on the Plan.’

During September the response to the survey will be analysed, after which local volunteers will be asked to take part in workshops to develop various options and work in ‘Theme Teams’ to develop ideas and draft planning policies. When the Neighbourhood Plan is written, it will go through a local referendum of all electors in Saltash, and if approved, will become part of the legal Development Plan. It will then, by law, have to be taken into account when future planning applications are decided by Cornwall Council, or by Government Planning Inspectors.

ENDS

Note to editors:

Background:

Saltash Town Council want local people and businesses to be involved as deeply as possible in the creation of the Neighbourhood Plan for the town to guide future development, so that it is truly a plan for the community, made by and approved by the community.

This new type of plan, made under new Council powers from the Localism Act 2011, gives everyone who lives in the area the legal right to be involved in drawing up the plan. When it’s written, the plan has to be agreed through a local referendum, and then becomes ‘made’ in law and must be taken into account when important planning decisions are made by Cornwall Council or Planning Inspectors.

It will give local people a real say in how their community develops and support the things that make Saltash a pleasant place to live, work, learn and visit.

This questionnaire survey is just the first chance to have a say in what the Plan should deal with. The Town Council will be coming back for lots more community involvement as the Plan develops. After the feedback to the questionnaire has been analysed, local volunteers will be asked to work in ‘Theme Teams’ to work up ideas and draft planning policies, and holding workshops to collect views on various options, so please watch out for more news.

Contact: for more information:

Councillor David Yates Tel No…. Tel No: 01752-843260

Email: councillordyates@btinternet.com

Steve Besford-Foster Tel No: 07786065245

Email: sblfoster@gmail.com

Locality offer lots of other support too: Locality

You can find the Keeping it Simple guide here

It says that local residents and businesses are now in a position to make planning policies that reflect their priorities, deliver tangible local benefits and have real weight in the planning system. Hear Hear!

A copy is available here