Town Forum Press Release
WEYBRIDGE SOCIETY
WHICH WAY WEYBRIDGE?
RESIDENTS URGED TO HAVE THEIR SAYThe Weybridge Society is to hold a Town Forum. This public meeting will allow local residents to respond to major changes in the planning system which will help to shape the town over the next two decades.
The Forum will be held on July 20. Because of the importance of the issues and the interest expected, the Rector of St. James Church, the Reverend Brian Prothero, has agreed that the meeting can be held in the Church.
Under government proposals for a major reform of the planning system, Elmbridge Borough Council will later this month publish the Elmbridge Core Strategy Preferred Approaches and Final Option Consultation document. . This is the key document in a portfolio which form the Local Development Framework.
As the name implies the Core Strategy will cover almost every aspect of development including
• the additional number of homes to be built and where they should be located.
• green belt and conservation areas.
• the local infrastructure including roads, schools, health facilities, offices and shops.
Public consultation on the Core Strategy will start on June 26 and last for six weeks during which a summary will be sent to all households. The council will then consider the responses and produce a final document by the end of the year.
This will then be subject to a public inquiry before a Planning Inspector next summer. The Core Strategy and the other documents making up the Local Development Framework will be sent to the government at the end of 2010.
Barry Judd, Chairman of the Weybridge Society, commented:. “The Elmbridge Core Strategy is crucial. Do residents want Weybridge to be more like Walton on the one hand or Cobham on the other? That is what is going to be influenced by the Core Strategy. The Society’s Town Forum is an opportunity- perhaps the last- for local residents to have their say. We are grateful to the Rector for allowing us to hold the meeting in the church”.
For further information contact Peter Vey on 01932 854111 or at pbvey@ntlworld.com
8th Jun 2009
