Burnham and Highbridge councillors last night (Monday) took a step towards creating a new Neighbourhood Plan for the two towns – and residents are being encouraged to get involved.
The formal ‘plan’ would provide residents with new powers under the 2011 Localism Act to decide the future shape of the two towns, from choosing where new homes and shops are built, to having a say on housing and business types and the appearance of new buildings.
A heated debate on proposals to begin work on the Neighbourhood Plan was held during last night’s February Town Council meeting.
However, councillors decided to form a group of residents as a ‘steering group’ before making a final decision in March on whether to fully start the work.
Cllr Phil Harvey told the meeting that £20,000 of government ‘Pathfinder’ funding has been given to Burnham and Highbridge to start work on the Plan, however he warned that unless the project is not started soon the cash may be moved to other areas of Sedgemoor instead.
“We need to let Sedgemoor know Burnham and Highbridge’s intention to take the work forward or the whole amount will be removed and it will be an opportunity wasted. The funding is time-limited,” he said.
The Neighbourhood Plan is part of the 2011 Localism Act to enable people to make their views known regarding the future of their areas and to have these opinions taken into account when future planning decisions are taken by councils. The work would involve consultation of the public to assess opinion on key development issues.
Cllr Neville Jones questioned the urgency of the work, saying the Plan should be delayed: “If there’s a great rush of volunteers who want to start work on it then fine but if they don’t materialise, I say hold it back until the new council is elected after the local elections in 2015. This could be looked at again by the new council in 14 months’ time. There’s no rush – other towns are not queuing up for the funding.”
Cllr Harvey, who leads the Lib Dems on the Town Council, claimed it was “disappointing the Plan has become a political issue, with Conservative councillors not showing any support” – a point that was disputed by Tory members.
He outlined six recommendations to take the Plan forward. These were that the Plan should cover the whole of the two parishes, that no money be used from the council’s budget this year, that the extrta funding is limited to £12k each year over two years, that a steering group be formed, and that communications with Sedgemoor District Council start to secure the £20k Pathfinder cash.
Cllr Peter Burridge Clayton said the Plan “is not a political issue and that the Conservatives are not all against it”. He added: “I feel we should engage with the community and see whether they are interested in taking this forward, but I do not fully support the recommendations. Let’s see what the support is by the time of our March meeting and then decide whether to take this forward.”
Cllr Ken Smout said the Plan “comes down to a matter of cost versus value” and he urged caution. “We can’t stand still – we need to progress but to take on the full project needs controls and caution. We need to take time.”
But Cllr Helen Groves – who has long been in favour of work on the plan getting underway – told the meeting: “The Plan would be a huge step forward, providing residents with the power to influence the type of development going ahead in Burnham and Highbridge for years to come.”
“We should be taking this forward tonight or it looks as though we don’t trust the residents of our towns and we risk losing the £20,000 funding.”
Cllr Pauline Pollard added that it was not clear how the £20,000 of funding would be spent. Cllr Groves said it would be earmarked for consultation, surveys, publicity events and securing specialist expertise to help compile the Plan.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Groves said she was “very disappointed” at the decision. “I’m really concerned that we are not giving this a fair opportunity. We need residents in the two towns who are interested in shaping our towns’ future to come forward and show an interest before the funding is lost.”
One resident at Monday’s meeting, Sarah Milner Simonds, added: “All the people who live in Burnham and Highbridge have to do is tell the Town Council that we’re interested in what happens to where we live and we get £20,000 from Sedgemoor.”
Readers interested in joining the Neighbourhood Plan steering group can send their name and contact details to the Town Clerk at Townclerk@burnham-highbridge.org
