Neighbourhood plan to go to referendum

Councillor praised for "dogged determination"

Voters in Tavistock are to go to the polls for a referendum that will help shape the future of the town.

It’s likely to take place on Thursday 1 May, to coincide with Devon County Council elections.

It is to agree a new neighbourhood plan (NP), put together by the town council which, if approved, will be considered when important planning decisions are made by West Devon Borough Council.

The plan, which runs until 2034, covers housing, business, community facilities, the environment, green spaces, transport and connectivity, heritage and tackling climate change.

Two public consultations have already taken place.

A planning inspector said the NP meets the conditions to allow it to proceed to referendum, subject to modifications, which have now been done.

The borough council’s ‘hub committee’ agreed to the referendum and praised town councillor and former borough councillor Ursula Mann (Ind, Tavistock North) for her “dogged determination” in getting it to this stage.

People will be asked whether they accept the plan or not.

But Cllr Jeff Moody (Ind, Tavistock North) is concerned the report is out of date because it contains no priority for additional housing sites at a time when Tavistock’s housing target has already been reached for the next 10 years.

The document was written before new planning guidance was introduced following the government’s drive to build 1.5 million homes across the UK during this parliament.

It is claimed this effectively doubles the number of homes local authorities have to build.

Tavistock’s neightbourhood plan was drafted under the old system, at a time when it had sufficient land for housing to last five years. Now it doesn’t.

Borough council leader Cllr Mandy Ewings (Ind, Tavistock South West) claimed  no local authorities currently have a five-year land supply.

“With what came in from the government, it threw everybody’s figures out the window,” she said.

The committee was told that Tavistock’s neighbourhood plan is “solid” and compliant, and that housing numbers could be modified when the overarching joint local plan is amended.

“When we get more clarity we can consider implications for NPs going forward,” said a council officer.

The council’s lead member for planning Cllr Caroline Mott (Con, Bridestowe) said: “It takes an incredible amount of work and commitment from the community and committee that takes them on. I can understand why communities are reluctant to take on one but it is a worthwhile process.

“People are passionate about where they live, and neighbourhood plans are a way for people to shape development in their areas for the future.”

An NP for Okehampton and its hamlets, which took eight years to develop, failed at the examination stage last summer because of a lack of consultation.

West Devon Borough Council agreed with an independent recommendation that a referendum shouldn’t be held about there because it didn’t meet the conditions.

It is now on hold until the local government reorganisation is complete. Devon’s eight district councils are expected to be abolished in the shake-up and larger unitary councils will take their place.