As the momentous events and subsequent economic pressures of the past four years have affected many aspects of our lives, Newent’s Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group has been reviewing evidence collected so far and identifying areas of under-representation, intending to strengthen its understanding of the changing needs and priorities of the local community.  It has become clear that responses to the original Business Survey do not yet reflect the broad range of scales and types of economic activity in our area, and an updated version of the survey has now been produced.

Representatives from all kinds of local businesses, whether tiny or large, within town or rural, locally-based or part of a wider organisation, are asked to complete this survey in order to ensure that their views and aspirations can inform the emerging Newent Neighbourhood Development Plan.  The survey is now live at https://shorturl.at/unb1p

Neighbourhood planning gives communities direct power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and shape the development and growth of their local area. It provides a powerful set of tools for local people to plan for the types of development to meet their community’s needs and has statutory weight when planning applications are considered. The Newent Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group is made up of a cross-section of volunteers (local residents and business people) and refers back to Newent Town Council as its responsible body.

The Neighbourhood Plan needs to include the views of businesses in the Parish in order to provide a balance of evidence.  If you are involved in local business, the Steering Group invites you to share your expertise, experience and ideas by contributing to our Business Survey using the revised link https://shorturl.at/unb1p

As part of a series designed to collect local opinions on the forms that new developments will take, the latest survey looks at negative human impacts upon our local and wider environments, and how planning can lead to better outcomes.

Compared with previous generations, nearly all of us live technologically advanced, well-connected and comfortable lives, with a level of convenience and choice which would have been unthinkable only a hundred years ago.

Unfortunately, many of the activities that make this possible have caused unintended consequences which can be locally or globally harmful. Some of the negative effects that have already been raised by local residents include: increased flooding, traffic fumes and noise, littering (especially plastics), loss of mature trees, and soil erosion.

However, with increasing understanding of ways to combat these problems, coupled with new technologies and official support for environmental protection, we can use planning to make improvements to our town and the surrounding area, and ensure that new developments make a positive contribution to our built, agricultural and natural environments.

Although the formal survey is now closed, we still welcome contributions on the topic, which will also be addressed as part of our second major public consulation, to be held before the Plan is finalised,  if you have not yet done so and would like to share your views on how we can work towards a more sustainable environment for future generations, please contact us.

‘Members of the NDP Steering Group continue to work on the character assessments, capturing images of the various street scenes and buildings of the parish to accompany detailed descriptions of the architecture, topography, roads, green spaces and much more.

Some of these pictures will find their way into the completed plan when it is published and the text will provide evidence for policy writing, for instance when it comes to protecting our valued green spaces or suggesting a style of housing that will complement the vernacular or historic architecture that helps give the Newent neighbourhood its character.