An exciting opportunity: Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council is developing a Neighbourhood Plan for our area – covering Borehamwood, Elstree village and all areas in between.
A Neighbourhood Plan is a new way of helping local communities to influence the planning and use of land in the area in which they live and work. They were launched as part of Localism Act in 2011 and are increasingly being used by local communities as part of the planning process.
Shaping development: The Neighbourhood Plan will contain planning policies which, once agreed by the community, will sit alongside the Hertsmere Borough Council Local Plan policies and will help to guide planning applications and how land is used in our area over the next 15 to 20 years.
It can cover all sorts of topics such as protecting valued areas of green space, improving local biodiversity, encouraging walking and cycling, supporting local businesses and the town and village centres, and mitigating climate change. We will also be seeking to influence what sort of housing is delivered locally, so that it is meeting the needs of our community.
Who is leading on the Plan?
We are at a fairly early stage in the process. So far, Hertsmere Borough Council have designated our Neighbourhood Area to coincide with the parish boundary. A Steering Group has been set up, comprising local volunteers from the community as well as Town Councilors.
The Steering Group is chaired by Cllr Clive Butchins and the Vice Chair is local resident, Ilana Gerschlick.
Other members of the steering group include Suzanne Alford, Cllr. Rebecca Challice, Ann Goddard, Andrew Grady, Andy Lewis, and Norman Shuker.
So far the Steering Group has met a few times to discuss what’s involved in the Plan and to start to put together a project plan. We are being guided by an external Planning Consultant, Alison Eardley, who has worked with Neighbourhood Planning groups for over a decade.
If you would like to join the Steering Group, please contact neighbourplan@elstreeborehamwood-tc.gov.uk.
How does the Plan get put together?
These are the main steps involved in developing the Neighbourhood Plan:
It is vital that the Plan reflects to views of the community as ultimately it will go to a public referendum.
Your opportunity to get involved.
The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group’s immediate priority will be to talk to as many members of the community and local organisations as possible, to start to understand what people like about our area and what could be improved.
To do this, we have launched a Community Survey to gather initial input. It can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/EBNP1 and we encourage you till fill it in!
We will also be launching a survey shortly aimed at local businesses and another one aimed at younger people in the area.
Contact Us for more information.
We are also keen to hear from you if you would like to get more actively involved in the Plan itself – perhaps you’d like to join the Steering Group, or perhaps you have a particular interest or skill that you think would be helpful. If so, please contact us on: neighbourplan@elstreeborehamwood-tc.gov.uk.