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.