Neighbourhood Plan referendum - please vote!

Wed 9 Jun 2021, 20:59

Thursday is the referendum on Charlbury’s Neighbourhood Plan.

One of those quirks of electoral legislation means that the Town Council has to keep schtum about the referendum, which is probably why you haven’t seen people campaigning about it. Happily I’ve stood down from the Town Council so can say whatever I like!

It’s a terrific piece of work – our one and only chance to get the character and vibrancy of Charlbury written into the planning rules. Basically, if the plan is approved in the referendum, then the Neighbourhood Plan document written by many Charlbury people over the past five years becomes part of the planning rules for any future developments in Charlbury. That means that new developments have to pay more heed to affordable housing; that there’s more protection for shops and other businesses in the town centre; that Charlbury’s historic character is recognised and conserved; that green spaces and play areas are preserved; and much more.

It also means that in the future, subject to the district council pulling its finger out on Community Infrastructure Levy (long story), a greater percentage of developer contributions will stay in Charlbury rather than being spent elsewhere in the district. 

You can read the full document at https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/charlbury (click on ‘Referendum’ and then ‘Charlbury Neighbourhood Plan Referendum Version’). If you don’t have time to read the full thing – it’s pretty in-depth – then the blue boxes headed “Policy” are the meat of it all. 

Lots of people, a few from the Town Council but mostly from the wider community, have been working really hard on this. Please do go out and vote for it tomorrow.

The polling station will be open in the Memorial Hall from 7am to 10pm – you will have hopefully received a polling card, though you don’t need to take it with you. Even if you didn’t receive a card, if you were able to vote at the recent local elections, you can vote in the referendum. The question on the ballot paper is “Do you want West Oxfordshire District Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Charlbury to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”.