Cotswold District Council is undertaking a formal six-week period of
public consultation on the Draft Submission Local Plan, which will run
from*Monday 27 June until Monday 8 August 2016*. The document has been
approved by Councillors for submission to an independent inspector,
subject to potential minor amendments. During the consultation period,
people who believe there are issues of legal compliance or soundness
with the Draft Submission Plan have the opportunity to submit their
written representations online or on an official form, which will be
available from the District Councils offices and on its website. The
inspector who will be appointed to review the Local Plan will look
closely at these comments and will want to know why the respondents
consider the Plan to be unsound, what changes are being sought, and why
those changes would help to ensure that the Plan is sound.
To assist the public during this consultation, the Council is sending a
newsletter to all households in the District. This will explain the
criteria for testing the soundness of the Draft Submission Plan and will
also explain how the key policies were drawn up in accordance with
national planning policy requirements.
There will also be two public drop-in events to assist with the
consultation process:
*Wednesday 6 July from 2pm to 6.30pm at Moreton Area Centre*, High
Street, Moreton-in-Marsh
*Thursday 7July from 2pm to 6.30pm at the Committee Rooms, Council
Offices*, Trinity Road, Cirencester
*The Submission Draft Local Plan will be made available for viewing on
the Council’s website from Monday 27 June 2016* at
http://consult.cotswold.gov.uk. Commencing on that same date, hard
copies will also be made available to view at our Council offices in
Cirencester and Moreton-in-Marsh, and at libraries across the District.
Any comments that people wish to make should be submitted online at
http://consult.cotswold.gov.uk <http://consult.cotswold.gov.uk> , or
emailed to localplan@cotswold.gov.uk <mailto:localplan@cotswold.gov.uk>
using the official form which is available at
www.cotswold.gov.uk/go/ForwardPlanning
<http://www.cotswold.gov.uk/go/ForwardPlanning>or on a hard copy form
which can be obtained from Council offices or libraries.
Please note there can be no flexibility in accepting any representations
received after the 8 August 2016 deadline, so we would advise people to
submit representations as early as possible and not leave it until the
last minute.
Cllr Nick Parsons, the Cotswold District Council Deputy Leader and
Cabinet Member for Forward Planning, comments:
Councillors agreed on the text of the Draft Submission Local Plan when
we met in May, and it is now being made available to the public for this
formal round of consultation before it is sent to the government for
examination. People should bear in mind that, when considering
technical studies and evidence that we have gathered over the last few
years including many comments from the public at various stages of the
process – we have had to seek compromises between national requirements
and local feelings. This means that some individuals and groups might
disagree in whole or in part with what is proposed, and they are
entitled to make their views known. We aim to send the Draft
Submission Plan to the government during the autumn and we are hoping
that it will be examined in public by an independent inspector early in
2017. Once adopted, the Local Plan will guide development across the
District up to 2031.
ENDS
Bob McNally
Press and Media Liaison Officer,
Cotswold District Council
Tel: 01285 623120
Website: www.cotswold.gov.uk <http://www.cotswold.gov.uk/>