Denstone Neighbourhood Plan put to public vote
Residents in Denstone Parish, near Burton-upon-Trent, will have the chance to vote on whether or not they support the parish’s updated Neighbourhood Plan during a public vote on Thursday (4 December).
The updated Denstone Neighbourhood Plan sets out a vision for the parish up to the year 2031 and includes 11 planning policies to guide development.
It also provides conditional support for housing development within the Denstone settlement boundary and conditional support for employment development, the development of community facilities, Denstone College and renewable energy.
The plan includes policies which seek to ensure that any future development is appropriately designed and does not harm heritage assets or increase the risk of flooding.
It also includes policies which seek to ensure that development is appropriate to the natural environment and landscape, and designates a new Local Green Space.
The document has been developed by Denstone Parish Council and has been subject to extensive public consultation as well as examination by an independent planning inspector.
The plan must win the support of 50 per cent or more of the vote in the public referendum being held Thursday.
If supported by the public vote, the plan will then be adopted by East Staffordshire Borough Council (ESBC) and used when deciding planning applications.
The updated Plan would replace the existing Denstone Neighbourhood Plan which was adopted in 2017.
Cllr Shelagh McKiernan, cabinet member for Planning Policy at ESBC, said: “This is a significant planning document that will help determine, alongside the East Staffordshire Local Plan, whether various types of development proposals in Denstone are supported or not.
“It is important that the people of Denstone let us know whether or not they support the intentions and policies in the updated Neighbourhood Plan by casting their vote in the Neighbourhood Plan referendum on 4th December.”
Only residents living in the parish of Denstone will be eligible to vote in the referendum.
Voting on Thursday will take place at the Denstone Village Hall between 7am and 10 pm.
