01/12/11…District council welcomes new planning freedom for locals

SOUTH Oxfordshire District Council has welcomed a key change proposed by the Planning Inspector examining its Core Strategy, that Thame should be allowed to take full advantage of the new freedoms presented by the Government?s planning reforms.

Under the Government?s Localism reforms, responsibility for planning is shared between the District Council and those towns and parishes which produce a Neighbourhood Plan. The Neighbourhood Plan allows local residents a greater say in helping shape their communities and gives them greater freedom to decide for example on where additional development should go. Thame has been awarded frontrunner status by the Government, meaning that it is one of the early pioneers in the country in putting together a Neighbourhood Plan.

Thame?s Neighbourhood Plan will itself have an examination, mainly to make sure it is in general conformity with the Core Strategy. After that, once approved by a referendum of the town, the Thame Plan will be adopted by the District Council and form a part of the development plan. Future planning applications will be determined against the provisions both of the District Council?s Core Strategy and the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.

Angie Paterson, Cabinet Member for Planning said ?I am absolutely delighted that we are now seeing the benefits of the Government?s planning reforms coming through to the benefit of local communities. It is also extremely helpful to the District Council as it signals freeing the Council from some of the centrally imposed planning to which we have been subjected until now. In delegating the responsibility for finding sites for the new housing to the community, the Inspector has signalled the way forward. This is a positive step towards new ways of working and helps provide certainty for all as to how planning will work in a more localised and simple way for the future.”

SOURCE: Press release