Welcome to the website of the Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) for the parish of Newent. Please use the links here to find out more about what the NDP is, what we do, and how you can help make Newent a better place for everyone in the future.
Like it or not, major development is coming to Newent now and in the near future. We need a plan and we need a vision. Our Neighbourhood Development Plan is the best way to develop that vision for Newent’s future. Through this process, the community of Newent can help shape the future of the town and its surroundings while protecting the areas we treasure. To discover what an NDP is all about, click here.
The pandemic forced us to work in a different way. Our Steering Group met via Zoom but we have now resumed face-to-face meetings, most recently in the Chill-Out Cafe. The meetings take place on the third Wednesday at 7.30pm and if you would like to come along, you can simply turn up to listen. Check first via our email, in case we are meeting by Zoom or are taking a holiday break. To offer ideas, please contact us beforehand and we will make room on our agenda. Alternatively, email us to arrange for an informal chat.
We are making progress through our series of themed surveys which dig deeper than was possible in the first consultation questionnaire. The first survey had Transport as its theme, followed by the first half of an Environmental Survey, focusing upon Countryside, Habitats and Wildlife. The next was on Services and Amenities, then followed the second half of the Environmental survey, looking at Human Impacts.
Once it is decided by the Steering Group that a survey has had a sufficient range and number of responses, the online version is closed and the results collected and analysed. This does not mean that further views on the topic will not be accepted. There will be another major public consultation in due course to ensure that we have the best possible data on residents’ opinions.
Now we have launched the very important Housing survey, which will be followed by the Business and Employment survey. We have a stand behind the tills at the large Co-op in Newent for collection and return of hard copies of the surveys but most people find it more convenient to access them online.
From the evidence you give we will create the policies which make up the Neighbourhood Development Plan, so please take a few minutes to contribute your opinions and ideas by filling out the surveys. When we complete our NDP, it will give our community the best chance to have its say, in the area it knows best, about how Newent should develop.
We completed our first public consultation in October, 2019. You can read all about it here.
