A press release from Cherwell District Council.
This Friday marks the start of a six-week consultation exercise on the themes and issues that will inform Cherwell District Council’s Local Plan Review.
Local plans guide the development of new homes, workplaces, and infrastructure. The consultation starting this week marks the start of a three-year process, during which the council will review the policies in its existing adopted Local Plan. It will culminate in the adoption of a new Plan, currently timetabled for 2023.
At this early stage, the council is not proposing new planning policies. It is, however, presenting a number of issues and themes for discussion. They include: the types of housing that will be built in future, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the climate crisis, and promoting healthy lifestyles through the built environment.
These themes and issues are captured in a document called “Planning for Cherwell to 2040 – A Community Involvement Paper”, which will be available to view on the council website.
Cllr Colin Clarke, lead member for planning, said: “As the Local Planning Authority, it is vital that we continue to have sound and well-thought-out policies to inform decision making. This will be a three-year process and at this very early stage we want to have an open and wide-ranging conversation with local residents and stakeholders about their needs and aspirations.
“This piece of work will allow us to put strategies in place that cover the period up until 2040. It will make sure that in the coming years we continue to stay on the front foot and are able to keep pace with local conditions and the wider, changing world.”
The consultation opens on Friday 31 July and will close on Monday 14 September. People wanting to participate are advised that hard copy documents will not be available at the council’s usual deposit locations, because of coronavirus restrictions.
However, the documents will be readily available online and members of the planning policy team are available throughout the consultation to assist anyone who wants to respond.
During the six-week consultation, the council will be sharing discussion points from the community involvement paper on its social media platforms using the #CDCLocalPlanReview hashtag, to encourage people to respond to the consultation.
Anyone who has queries or difficulty in accessing the documents online should contact the planning policy team on 01295 227985 or planning.policy@cherwell-dc.gov.uk
From Friday, people will be able to access the consultation documents and have their say via: www.cherwell.gov.uk/planningpolicyconsultation
Last Updated 29 July 2020
