Since the end of 2022, the Parish Council has been
preparing a neighbourhood plan for Witcham with the help of volunteers and
professional support.
What is a Neighbourhood Plan?
A neighbourhood plan is a community-led document for
guiding decisions that need planning permission. Once complete it will become
part of the legal planning framework for the area, sitting alongside the East
Cambridgeshire Local Plan and used when planning applications are decided.
The Neighbourhood Plan
covers the following key themes:
•
Spatial Strategy
•
Housing
•
Natural Environment
•
Historic and Built Environment
•
Facilities and Services
•
Highways and Travel
Whether the Plan is approved will ultimately be decided
at a Parish Referendum when, if a majority of residents that vote agree with
the Plan, East Cambridgeshire District Council will be required to adopt it.
Pre-Submission
Consultation on Draft Neighbourhood Plan
We’ve now reached a major milestone and are consulting widely
on the Draft Plan until Monday 10 February 2025. You now have the
opportunity to say whether or not you support the content of the Plan or would
like to see some changes and so influence planning and development policy for Witcham for the coming years.
We have distributed a summary leaflet to
every household and known business in the Parish and the Plan itself can be
downloaded below.
Link to Neighbourhood Plan
If you don’t have access to the internet, paper copies
of the Plan will be available to borrow for a short time from the following
addresses:
17 The Slade; 11 Silver Street; and The Old School, 30A
High Street
We would welcome your comments. These can be submitted
online or by completing the form below and returning it as instructed on the
form. Comments must be received by midnight on Monday 10 February 2025
Online Comments Form
DownloadComments Form
We want your comments, even if you support
everything in the Plan!
Supporting Documents
In addition to the Plan itself, there are a number of
supporting documents referred to in the Plan. These can be found below:
Witcham DesignGuidance and Codes
WitchamAssessment of Important Views
Witcham Autumn2023 Survey: Results Booklet
LOOKING AHEAD
Once the consultation ends, all comments received will
be reviewed and the Plan will be amended as necessary. It will then be
submitted to East Cambridgeshire District Council who will carry out a second
round of consultation before the Plan is assessed by an Independent Examiner.
The Examiner will decide what changes are required to meet the national
neighbourhood planning requirements and recommend that the Plan is subject to a
Parish Referendum open to all on the Electoral Register. There is no minimum turnout
for the Referendum and a simple majority in favour of the Plan will mean that
it can be used by East Cambridgeshire District Council when making decisions on
planning applications.