Blyth Neighbourhood Plan: Have your say on future of the town

The drop-in session is being held at the Keel Row shopping centre in Blyth.

Blyth Town Council has started work on its neighbourhood plan and is hosting a drop-in session this Saturday for the public.

Neighbourhood Plans are prepared by town and parish councils and set out planning policies for the development and use of land. They can allocate land for development as well as areas for protection.

The first stage in the preparation of a neighbourhood plan is to identify matters for the plan to address.

To that end, the town council has put together a consultation document to help gather views from the local community and other stakeholders which is available online.

There will also be a drop-in event on Saturday between 10am and 2pm at in the Blyth Community Hub, in the Keel Row shopping centre.

This will allow people to find out more about the plan and have a say in its preparation.

Mayor Warren Taylor said: "Exciting times are ahead for Blyth, and we want the public to have as much say as possible.

"This neighbourhood plan helps achieve this. It is a product of the local community’s views and is not something imposed on them by the council.

"We hope residents will take this opportunity to help shape the future of our town.”

Residents are invited to provide comments in the following ways:

• Using the online response form available on the neighbourhood planning page;

• Downloading and completing the response form, also available on the neighbourhood planning page;

• Sending comments by email to [email protected];

• Sending comments in writing to Blyth Town Council, Arms Evertyne House, Quay Road, Blyth, Northumberland, NE24 2AS.

Comments must be made by the July 20.

Once the town council has considered the feedback, a small steering group will be established to guide the preparation of the plan. The town council will determine the membership of the steering group once the scope of the plan has been agreed.

Further work will then be undertaken to develop the evidence to support policies and allocations in the plan.

Depending on the issues that the plan is looking to address there may be a need to undertake further early engagement before consultation on a draft neighbourhood plan.

For more information and relevant forms, visit https://www.blythtowncouncil.org.uk/neighbourhoodplan