Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan – finally, your opportunity to vote…..

Thursday 23 March is the date now set for the long-delayed referendum vote on the Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan.

Originally scheduled for August last year, legal reasons forced a ‘suspension’ but now, eight months further on it’s about to happen.

As noted in the run-up to the original referendum date, whether the Neighbourhood Plan goes ahead will be for the Marlborough area electorate to decide. Vote ‘yes’ and if enough residents do the same the plan gets approved. It will then move forward through to the final ratification stage but having been approved by the community it will effectively be finalised. Or to reject it, vote ‘no’. If that is the majority verdict then the town moves into unknown territory as there would be no plan for the area for the next decade and more.

The Plan acts as a degree of protection for the area, detailing housing requirements, infrastructural needs and many other aspects covering the period up to 2036. Cllr Mervyn Hall, who, as chair of the steering group (details here) has navigated the process of creating the Neighbourhood Plan since its inception in 2015 has listed nineteen separate areas of policy that the Plan covers, all of which are fundamental to the development and growth of Marlborough.

It’s not for us – marlborough.news – to recommend a vote in any direction for any election, but irrespective of the details comprising the plan itself, having a plan can only be better than having no plan. A situation that would take all effective control away from the community for whom the plan is there to protect.

The Plan covers not just Marlborough but also Manton and the the adjoining parishes of Savernake and Mildenhall. Preshute Parish last week had it’s Plan approved by the community.

To find out more about the Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan, what it actually covers and what it comprises there is a planned ‘Public engagement’ day where members of the Marlborough community can meet and question members of the steering group, and this will take place on Saturday 11 March at the Town Hall. It will commence with an informal ‘Q&A’ session between 10.30 and 12.30, followed by ‘MANP Explained’ – and further Q&A – between 13.30 and 14.30. If you can’t make that then there will be an online ‘Zoom’ session on Tuesday 21 March at 7pm. To sign up for that contact Richard Spencer-Williams, Town Clerk at townclerk@marlborough-tc.gov.uk.

To find out more about Neighbourhood Plans in Wiltshire, people should click here.

Read about the Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan here