On 16th July an 8 week consultation on the Bengeo Neighbourhood Area Plan began. Due to Covid, hard copies are not available for residents, but online documents can be found at the following websites:
The Bengeo Neighbourhood Area Plan
Neighbourhood Planning gives communities direct powers to shape the development and growth of their local area. The Localism Act 2011 introduced the right for communities to set planning policies that have statutory weight, which are used by their local authority to determine planning applications.
Through the policies they write into their Neighbourhood Plan, communities can influence planning decisions on issues like residential and commercial development, the protection of local green spaces and important buildings, and the provision and protection of community facilities. A Neighbourhood Plan should support the strategic development needs set out in the Local Plan and, once adopted, it has the same legal status.
The Bengeo Neighbourhood Area PlanĀ aims to guide the direction of future development in the Hertford Bengeo Ward up to 2033. The Neighbourhood Plan will form part of the statutory Development Plan, comprising the Local Plan (East Herts District Plan), the Minerals and Waste Local Plans for Hertfordshire, and any adopted Neighbourhood Plans. It is in accordance with the strategic policies of the East Herts District Plan, which was adopted on the 23 October 2018, and will be in force until 2033.
The comprehensive plan has been compiled by a working group of local residents and councillors who have been creating the plan since 2017.
Any comments on the plan can be made by 10th September either in hard copy to East Herts Council, or using the Neighbourhood Plan – online comment form.
More information can be found on the East Herts website.