The six week consultation period for the community to comment on the Neighbourhood Plan ended on 14 March. We are delighted with the feedback received. We have had over 40 comments, almost all of which are supportive of the Plan and some included helpful suggestions.

We are now waiting for the statutory bodies (like the Department of Transport) to respond – they have until the end of March to do so.

The steering group will analyse the comments and make any changes to the Plan that we think appropriate. Assuming these changes do not affect the substance of the proposed policies, we will then submit the final Plan (plus two technical reports) to the Vale. Once the Vale has agreed the Plan, they will appoint an independent inspector to carry out a review.

If all of this goes well – and there could easily be hiccups along the way – we will complete the Plan in the summer or early autumn. The final stage of the process will be a village referendum. Everyone in the village who is on the electoral roll is entitled to vote and, if the Plan is approved by a simple majority of those voting, it will be incorporated into the Vale of White Horse planning policies.

Thank you again for all the goodwill and support that we have received from the village throughout the process.

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group