Voters across Penrith have this week been receiving voting papers for a referendum taking place in Penrith on Thursday 28th November 2024.
With the referendum decided on 50% of the majority for or against of votes cast.
The arrival of referendum voting paperwork in the post this weeks has seen some residents asking “what it’s all about?”.
The referendum will ask approximately 13350 voters a single question “Do you want Westmorland and Furness Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Penrith to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?” Voters will be asked to pick either Yes or No on the 28th November 2024.
A Neighbourhood Development Plan is a document that is intended to helps shape the area covered by the plan. If accepted at a referendum it becomes a document that planning officers must take into account when considering planning applications in the area covered.
A Neighbourhood Development Plan cannot stop development nor can it include policies which conflict with the Local Plan (a Westmorland & Furness Council document) or the National Planning Policy Framework (government policy).
The town council claims that having a Neighbourhood Development Plan is important as local authorities who have adopted Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) must allocate the neighbourhood portion generated by new developments to spend on infrastructure or anything else that that addresses the demands of new development in an area. This can include things like play areas, open space, arts and culture.
Westmorland and Furness has not adopted CIL across the whole of its area however it is adopted in the old South Lakeland DC area but Westmorland and Furness Council have confirmed that a CiL covering Penrith and other areas of Eden will not be introduced until the new local plan for Westmorland and Furness is in place with 2027/28 the expected earliest time this will be implemented.
Penrith Town Council is holding three drop in events for residents to answer specific questions about the Neighbourhood Development Plan throughout November.
The town council drop in events are on:
Wednesday 6 November, Penrith Library 1pm – 3pm
Tuesday 19 November, Town Council Offices Friargate 5.00pm – 7.30pm
Monday 25 November, Town Council Offices Friargate 10am – 1pm
Information on Neighbourhood Plan and the referendum can be found on the Westmorland and Furness Council website at: https://www.eden.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planning-policy/neighbourhood-planning/penrith-neighbourhood-planning-area/
The campaign for the Neighbourhood Plan referendum has also seen a campaign for a No vote launched by Evolve Penrith who have said the plan is out of date having taken seven years to produce and come to the referendum stage with many parts of the plan out of touch with Penrith of today and lacking any plan for the future for the town.
Neighbourhood Plans across the UK since they were first introduced by the localism act in 2011 have seen plans adopted in some areas and rejected in others by residents and businesses who have also been given the right to vote in some areas but will not get a vote in the Penrith referendum.
The town council has said that residents and businesses were involved all the way through the creation of the plan
The town council established a group included some town councillors along with representatives of local organisations to develop the document.
That included representatives from:
Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS), Penrith Action for Community Transition (PACT), Both secondary schools in Penrith, Newton Rigg as part of Askham Bryan College – although Newton Rigg is outside the area covered in the Penrith Neighbourhood Plan.
Penrith Chamber of Trade, Penrith BID, Cumbria Youth Alliance, Churches Together and Arts organisations (such as Eden Arts and EVAN).
At the time the council carried out the preparation of the plan documents it has said “Penrith Industrial BID was not in existence so was not involved”. Penrith Industrial Estates BID was established on 1 October 2018 following a successful ballot of businesses in April 2018 for a 5 year term and last year began a second five year term on the 1st October 2023 following a successful ballot of businesses in March 2023.
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