Thame’s Neighbourhood Plan gets the go ahead for Referendum

AFTER months of consultations and negotiations, a referendum will take place in Thame, on May 2, to decide if the town will adopt a document that will affect local planning decisions.

It is one of the first Neighbourhood Plans to reach this stage in the country having been given the green light by an independent examiner.

In December last year, South Oxfordshire District Council appointed Nigel McGurk to assess the plan. During this process, the examiner held a local hearing which was the first of its kind in the country.

Mr McGurk has now issued his report in which he confirmed the plan is in line with European and national guidance, conforms to South Oxfordshire’s planning policies and contributes to the objective of sustainable development.

In the report, Mr McGurk stated that ‘the Thame Neighbourhood Plan, having undergone an exemplary consultation process, sets out a clear and deliverable vision for the neighbourhood area’. He added: “I am delighted to recommend to South Oxfordshire District Council that, subject to the minor modifications proposed, the Thame Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to a Referendum.”

Cllr Angie Paterson, cabinet member for planning at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “We join the examiner in congratulating Thame Town Council on this huge achievement. To be among the first in the country to reach this stage is an impressive feat. They’ve done a magnificent job and we would very much like to see this plan agreed and adopted. This is for the residents of Thame to decide and I hope the whole community will turn out to cast their votes.”

Cllr Nigel Champken-Woods Mayor of Thame Town Council, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Mr McGurk has given our plan the green light to go to referendum. We have worked extremely hard with the people of Thame to ensure the plan is sound as confirmed by the examiner and will benefit the town.”

Neighbourhood Planning was brought in as part of the Localism Act 2011. It allows communities to establish policies to shape future developments in their local areas. It will complement the policies in the district council?s Core Strategy which was adopted in December last year.

If the district council accepts the recommendations made by the examiner, every registered voter within the parish of Thame will be asked the following question at a referendum on 02 May 2013: “Do you want South Oxfordshire District Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Thame to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

Should most voters vote in support of the plan, the district council will bring it into force. It then carries legal weight in planning decisions.

You can access the full Examiner’s report HERE