Another area in the Vale of White Horse will be drawing up a Neighbourhood Plan to help the opinions of residents affect planning decisions made locally.
The parish of Stanford in the Vale was designated as neighbourhood planning areas by Vale of White Horse District Council on 4 April 2014 following an application by Stanford in the Vale Parish Council.
The district council receives funding from the government for each designated Neighbourhood Planning area, and will offer Stanford in the Vale a grant of £10,000 to help them draw up their plans.
Neighbourhood Planning was introduced as part of the Localism Act in 2011. A Neighbourhood Plan takes into account the views of local people to help decide the policies and identifies the sites that help shape housing, employment and infrastructure developments in the area.
If successfully adopted, the Neighbourhood Plans would carry legal weight in deciding planning applications in the areas, alongside the district council’s Local Plan.
Other areas in the Vale that are already developing their Neighbourhood Plans include Faringdon, which was granted ‘front runner’ status by being one of the first designated areas in the country, Drayton, Great Coxwell, Longworth, Wantage and Charney Bassett.