Braintree district: Villages planning for the future (From Braintree and Witham Times)
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Braintree district: Villages planning for the future
10:00am Saturday 8th September 2012 in News
Braintree district: Villages planning for the future
Villagers are leading the way in deciding how their area will be developed and what can be built.
Rayne and Feering Parish Councils are creating neighbourhood plans which will form the basis for determining planning applications in the villages.
The scheme was introduced by the Government last year as part of its Localism Act and will allow parish councils to set out general planning policies for development.
If Braintree Council decides the area needs growth, the neighbourhood plan cannot stop it but can influence how it is done.
Martyn Phillips, vice chairman of Rayne Parish Council, said: “One would hope it is a safeguard to preserve the village in the form that villagers wish it to be preserved."
See this week's Times for the full story.
