Wansford Neighbourhood Plan – A community Initiative

About this Wansford Neighbourhood Plan Website

This website will build a repository of information, for the development of the Wansford Neighbourhood Plan, its consulation, the evidence, and the progress being made, and ultimately the plan itself. it is also a route for residents of the Parish of Wansford to add comments and ideas, input into the planning process and, if you like, to help with its development.

Where are we?

We are at an early stage of the development of the Neighbourhood Plan, and setting up the steering group and the scope of the plan. There is more information here (Link to status and updates).

What is a Neighbourhood Plan, and why is it important for our village

A Neighbourhood Plan (NP) is a planning policy document, created and owned by the residents of Wansford, for the parish of Wansford. It states how we want our village to develop. As a statutory document it influences future planning decisions in the context of Peterborough City Council plans (the PCC Local Plan), as well as neighbouring parishes and Local Authorities.

Once adopted, a Neighbourhood Plan becomes part of the suite of planning documents in the Peterborough City Council Local Plan. Our Neighbourhood plan will be used when making planning decisions, that affect Wansford.

Our Neighbourhood Plan is an opportunity to choose the direction and future of our village:

How we want the village to develop in the future and what it becomes.
Things that are currently broken, that need fixing (for example the bridge traffic).
Aspects that need addressing for the future, given the potential changes in our adjacent areas and the wider environment.

How do we develop our Neighbourhood Plan

A Neighbourhood Plan is a community-led initiative. It is not a Parish Council led initiative: it is community led. We, the community, manage the process and decide on its direction. Therefore, engagement with residents is vital. We, the community, must be consulted on the issues and the plan itself to produce the Plan and its policies. Ultimately, the community approves it through a referendum. Back in December, all homes in the village received an introductory letter regarding this initiative. This letter is part of the awareness and engagement process.

The Wansford Neighbourhood Plan applies to the Parish of Wansford. During its creation, adjacent parishes such as Sibson-cum-Stibbington, Yarwell and Thornhaugh, will be consulted.

It has to be approved by the village. The first step is where the villages input is obtained. We plan a questionairre,and other events, to gather the issues and ideas, from the village. Using this input, the Steering Group will then develop a draft Neighbourhood Plan with draft policies and plans top address the issues that the village has raised. This will be presented back to the villages through a variety of events, meetings, and reviewed and revised review so you can comment on, refine and develop the draft plan to make it better. When approved by the community, the draft Plan will be submitted to Peterborough City Council (PCC). Following due legal process (a “Planing Inspector reviews the document) PCC will then arrange a referendum of Wansford residents at which you can vote to formally approve it, or not. Once the Neighbourhood Plan passes the referendum, it becomes a statutory planning document.

You can find out more about Neighbourhood Plans, how they work, what they can do and the development process (Another link here)

(An overview of our expected road map to achieve all this is on this page). (mini image and link top the roadmap)

How you can help?

If you want to know more, or are curious how you could help… then, for an informal chat, simply contact Patricia Stuart-Mogg using the contact us page. Patricia is leading this initiative. An initial Steering Group has formed and you are invited to join it, or the working group.

If you have thoughts or issues about the village, for now or the future, please do make contact. We can include your observations in the consultation. Contact Phil Jones who is collating the issues for consultation: WNP.phil.jones@gmail.com (?????)

Browse the site