Agenda item

Members were asked to give consideration to a report to fully ‘make’ (adopt) the Sudbrooke Neighbourhood Plan (NP) following a successful referendum.

Councillor Bob Waller, as Local Ward Member, introduced the report. He expressed thanks to the Group for their hard work, and to the Officers for the support they had offered. He acknowledged the time, effort and commitment needed to complete a Neighbourhood Plan.  He considered it a commendable achievement and had resulted in a plan the Group and village could be proud of.  In concluding, he paid tribute to former Councillor Curtis, who had been instrumental in getting the Group started on their way in producing such a worthwhile plan, which he commended to Council. 

Representatives from Sudbrooke Neighbourhood Planning Group were in attendance and prior to Members debating the matter, the Chairman invited them to make a short address to Council and present their successful Neighbourhood Plan.

Mr Peter Heath, Chairman of Sudbrooke Parish Council addressed the meeting and made the following statement: -

“It gives me great pleasure to present to the Council the completed Neighbourhood Plan for the Parish of Sudbrooke. The Plan has entailed a great deal of hard work by the Steering group set up to construct it.  The Parish Council initially called for volunteers to work on the Plan and were heartened by the response from both the Parish councillors and members of the community. We lost a champion of the village early on when Cllr Stuart Curtis sadly passed away and with him went a font of local knowledge. Our Steering group persevered with the task but suffered from a high drop out rate of members because of the time commitment required and amount of detail that had not been appreciated at first.

The provisions in this plan reflect the opinions of our village residents in looking forward to how we want our village to develop and be viewed by the wider community. With it we look forward to further additions to the village to enhance the quality of life for our residents. It will provide guidance for this council when determining planning applications and hopefully prevent development detrimental to future residents. It has also enabled a review of our village that reflects a history going back to the Domesday Book. The coverage of the natural environment will also benefit the community when assessing environmental changes over the coming decades.

We were greatly assisted and encouraged by Cllr Steve England whose experience and depth of knowledge provided a pathway for the production of the professional report you see before you. I should also like to mention the support given by Cllr Ian Fleetwood and Mr Luke Brown as a facilitators. I would also like to thank Mrs Barbara Bingham for her dedication and hard work, despite trying personal circumstances, without which I would not be here tonight. I commend this Plan to the Council.”

Councillor Heath then formally presented the Plan to the Chairman.

Members across the floor congratulated the Group on their remarkable achievement.

The Leader, as a member of the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee, confirmed to the representatives of Sudbrooke Parish Council, that through the current review of the Local Plan, there was no intention to change the settlement hierarchy of Sudbrooke, acknowledging that this had been a concern for the village.

This news was welcomed and following a round of applause, it was moved, seconded and duly

RESOLVED that the Sudbrooke Neighbourhood Plan be adopted and made.