Supporting Documents
The Corsham Neighbourhood Plan Decision Statement and the examiner’s report are available to be downloaded here:
Thank you to everyone who went to the polls on 14 November 2019 to vote in the Corsham Neighbourhood Plan Referendum.
The question being asked was ‘Do you want Wiltshire Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Corsham to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?’ The turnout was 24.6%, with 2,428 electors voting.
The overwhelming majority of those who voted, voted ‘yes’ with just 162 voting ‘no’. The Plan has now been ‘made’ by Wiltshire Council and will be used when making decisions and recommendations on planning applications in the area.
Chairman of the Town Council and Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, Councillor Steve Abbott says, ‘It has taken us nearly five years to get to this stage and we are delighted that 93% of those who voted, voted in favour of the Corsham Neighbourhood Plan.’
Wiltshire Council’s Final Decision Statement can be found here
The ‘made’ version of the Corsham Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed here
Question – Do you want Wiltshire Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Corsham to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?
Number if votes:
Yes 2,263
No 162
This will depend on the level of detail we want to include.
It will be up to Corsham Town Council to pay for the preparation of a Neighbourhood Plan. Wiltshire Council will only pay for the independent examination and the referendum, as well as providing technical advice and practical support.
The indicative housing requirement for Corsham from 2006-2026 is 1220 dwellings (figures taken from the Wiltshire Core Strategy).
Although this may seem like a large figure, there have been many completions already and there are more committed developable sites.
Corsham has met the indicative minimum requirement for housing.
No – a Neighbourhood Plan can guide development to be more appropriate to local context and help decide where it goes within the area. A Neighbourhood Plan cannot stop development and government has made it clear that it is not a tool for residents to oppose proposals for new developments close to them. A Neighbourhood Plan can only include proposals for an equal (or greater) amount of growth than is set out in Wiltshire Council’s development plan, regional and national guidance.
Neighbourhood Planning does not mean that communities can plan how and what they like. There are still parameters set by national, regional and local planning policies and Neighbourhood Plans will have to meet a number of conditions:
When adopted, Neighbourhood Plans will be statutory planning documents. They will form part of the local development plan and will have significant weight when it comes to making decisions on planning applications.
We hope to complete the Neighbourhood Plan within two years. Neighbourhood Plans can cover 25 years but will need reviewing approximately every five years.
Welcome to the new Corsham Town Council website. We are in the process of updating pages and checking links, but if you cannot find the information you need, or come across a broken link, please let us know