Neighbourhood Plan gets underway

On Tuesday evening, Audlem Parish Council's Planning Sub-Committee met to discuss the way forward in preparing a 'Residents' First' Neighbourhood Plan. Nine councillors were at the meeting which was open to the public.

Neighbourhood Plans first need to define the neighbourhood to be covered, whether it is one village or parish or a group of neighbouring villages/parishes.

There was a lengthy discussion as to what a Local Service Centre (LSC) is, as defined in Cheshire East's Local Plan and the planning implications for LSCs and surrounding villages, before it was agreed unanimously that the Neighbourhood Plan should cover the whole of Audlem Parish.

The discussion then turned to attracting a team to form a Steering Group consisting of parish councillors and other residents.

Cheshire East's guide indicates that a range of skills and experience are particularly useful and mentions the following: Town Planning; Design; IT; Communications; Legal; Project Management; Public Consultation; Administration and Information Management; Housing and Building Development. Doubtless, there are others which may help.

A small number of volunteers have already expressed an interest but, as published last week on AudlemOnline, the Parish Council would like to hear your views and whether you might like to get involved, as follows:

You are invited to use the form here to contact the Parish Council with your views. The form allows those who live, own land or run businesses within Audlem to:

• raise questions;
• suggest suitable areas for development within the area, remembering that you do not have to own the land to put it forward for discussion;
• comment on the process;
• offer (voluntary) help in what could be a time-consuming, but ultimately, very rewarding exercise. NB Enthusiasm and a willingness to help are as important as having any special talent!

A paper copy of this information has been placed in the Post Office, the newsagents' shop and other venues, along with blank forms for completion by those without access to the internet. The deadline date for sending in completed forms, electronically or on paper, is: 30th August 2014.

Once the Steering Group is established, the Parish Council sub-committee – it was agreed this will consist of members of the PC's Planning Sub-Committee plus Cllrs. David Higham and Dave Siddorns – will go 'into hibernation' as the Steering Group takes over.

Working Groups covering issues such as Site Allocation; Communications; Design; Policies will probably be formed by the Steering Committee while a record of all consultations, contacts etc will have to maintained.

It was agreed that the Village Design Statement, last updated in December 2011, will be a useful starting point and, as a Parish Plan will also be produced over the next year, and close co-operation will be necessary, two members of the group looking after the Parish Plan should be invited on to the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group.

The Parish Council will be involved in a wide range of activity over the coming weeks, including a statement to Cheshire East about the village's plans; applying for funding; contacting local groups; running a competition for younger members of the community and meeting members of the public to explain more.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.