Neighbourhood Plan
The Parish Council has initiated the process for developing a Neighbourhood plan for the village.
This plan has been suspended please see News Bulletin November 2021
A Neighbourhood Plan is a plan created by the residents and it lays out how the village sees its own future in planning terms. Neighbourhood Planning is part of central government’s, “Localisation Act 2011”. The main difference from the earlier “Village plan 2012” is that the new plan carries statutory weight and it must be considered when the SODC planners are making decisions. It cannot however go against the provisions of the Local Plan developed by SODC. Full details are available on the SODC website http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/services-and-advice/planning-and-building/planning-policy/neighbourhood-plans
A Neighbourhood Plan Planning Group of 11 members has been formed which meets monthly and reports to the Parish Council.
So far the Group has completed stage 1 (click here for details) which involved defining the boundary to be included as part of the Plan. It is possible to exclude areas from within or include areas outside of the parish boundary but the Parish Council decided to opt for the actual parish boundary for simplicity. The consultation period for stage one has now ended and at the time of writing we are in Stage 2 which consists of preparing the plan which is estimated to take a year, followed by a six week consultation period.
Stage 3 involves an independent check by SODC who may require changes until the document is finally accepted.
Stage 4 involves the whole community being consulted by a referendum, and if a majority of the community votes in favour then Stage 5 is reached and the plan acquires Legal force.
