Neighbourhood plan will be adopted, says Council

Following on from a landslide referendum which took place last year, High Peak Borough Council has announced the Whaley Bridge Neighbourhood Plan will be adopted.

Since 2018 campaigners in Whaley Bridge have been calling for a neighbourhood plan which would give residents a say on the future of the town in everything from where new build houses should be and what community facilities there should be.

In December 2023, after years of planning and consultations, Whaley Bridge and Furness Vale residents went to the polls to decide whether the neighbourhood plan - which will last until 2032 - should be brought in.

Votes cast for yes were 694 and votes cast for no were 59, meaning the plan will be adopted going forward.

Last month High Peak Borough Council met to discuss the plan.

A council spokesperson said: “Whaley Bridge Neighbourhood Plan now forms part of the statutory development plan and will be used by High Peak Borough Council alongside the High Peak Local Plan, for determining applications for development within that part of Whaley Bridge and Furness Vale Neighbourhood Area that is outside of  the national park.”

Campaign group Vision4Whaley, who led the referendum, said the neighbourhood plan will affect anyone in Whaley Bridge, and offers residents an opportunity to define a level of detail which is specific to their own area.

It looks not just at housing but green spaces as well as amenities, heritage and history.

Now it has been approved the detail in the neighbourhood plan will sit alongside High Peak Borough Council’s local plan and allows residents to have a measure of local control over development which occurs there.

Councillor Godfrey Claff, executive Councillor for planning at High Peak Borough Council, said: “We know people care about where they live and how their communities and neighbourhoods could develop in the future.

“This referendum in Whaley Bridge was a chance for local residents to have their say and to help shape the future of their town.”

A spokesperson for the neighbourhood group said: “As the neighbourhood plan has been made the volunteer group has now disbanded.”

Lucy Ball, Buxton Advertiser, 15 February 2024