Scraptoft Residents say YES to Neighbourhood Plan

Neighbourhood Plan Banner Cropped

Local residents in Scraptoft have given a big thumbs up to a planning blueprint for the Village which Harborough District Council must take on board when making planning decisions that affect Scraptoft. The outcome of the Neighbourhood Plan referendum which took place on Thursday 11th February was as follows:

YES 355

NO   22

Turnout 26.9%

The referendum is only the 3rd to take place in Harborough District since local communities were given the right to draw up Neighbourhood Plans in 2012. It has taken two years of hard work to reach this point and now local people have backed the Plan in large numbers by voting in favour of its adoption. This means the Plan will have full legal force.

Peter Elliott, Chair of the Parish Council who oversaw the drawing up of the Plan said, “The Plan will give local people more say in where development takes place in the future and sets out to protect important open land such as the Green Wedge on the edge of the City which is crucial to Scraptoft maintaining its village identity.”

The Independent Examiner who reviewed the Plan concluded that it “demonstrates the clear vision and aspiration of the community to protect and maintain the physical and improve amenities.”

Cllr Simon Galton, “Whilst a Neighbourhood Plan can’t stop development altogether it gives the community more say in how future planning applications are handled. With little weight being given to the District Council’s Core Strategy which is considered out of date, the Neighbourhood Plan will have considerable weight in planning decisions. I am delighted that local residents have given the Plan the thumbs up.”