A Neighbourhood Plan for Semington?

Many villages across Wiltshire have now developed a neighbourhood plan, or are in the process of doing so.  This is being encouraged by Wiltshire Council which sees neighbourhood plans as a key part of its overall local planning process.

Semington parish council thinks that there are good arguments for a neighbourhood plan to be developed for the Semington community.  There are two distinct reasons to do so: [i] it would allow the village to make clear the sort of changes that we would like to see over the next few years; and [ii] the process of doing so would itself bring benefits to the village.

A neighbourhood plan focuses on future housing needs, but it also involves much more, for example, needs in relation to green space, leisure, well-being, climate change, transport and communications.  It would be a guide to the parish council and other groups about the direction of future investment, and would allow us to state preferences about such matters that would carry weight in planning decisions, and hence provide a measure of protection against speculative development.

The parish council would be an important part of the development of a plan, but it cannot do it on its own.  Rather, the process has to be a partnership between the council and villagers.  We envisage that a working group of around 8 to 10 people would be needed.  This group would need to be representative of the breadth of our community, and contribute the skills that such a process requires.  When such a plan is developed, it has to be approved in a referendum of all voters in the village, and so the involvement of all villagers during development is hugely important.

We anticipate that the process might take two years.  We shall begin with a community meeting when that’s possible for all those interested, after which a decision will be taken as to whether to go ahead.  If you are interested in being part of such a group, please contact the parish council through this website.