Years of graft for the neighbourhood plan draft

Two years of hard work have finally paid off for a township community group as the first draft of the neighbourhoood plan is released to the public.
Standish - pic courtesy of GoogleStandish - pic courtesy of Google
Standish - pic courtesy of Google

Standish Neighbourhood Plan is the first non-business neighbourhood plan draft to be completed in Greater Manchester.

The 80-page document, which is now under consultation for six weeks, has been worked on by members of the Standish community to influence the village’s development until 2030.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A spokesperson for Standish Voice, the group which has developed the plan alongside Wigan Council, said: “If this is adpoted it will give our community a real say in changes across Standish.

Neighbourhood Plans have legal weight and must be taken into consideration when bodies such as Wigan Council make planning decisions.

“We hope some of the proposals will also be used when the council decides how to spend developer and government funds which are due to Standish as part of the huge housebuilding programme that is taking place in the village.”

Highlights of the draft plan include policies to influence the amount of new housing, improve the village centre, create a new park in the village centre, control the number of hot food takeaways in the area and protect historic pubs as well as many more policies.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The spokesperson added: “Standish Voice consulted widely about many aspects of life in the village and from this, a vision for the future and objectives on how to achieve it were created.

“Comments from Standish people on them, as well as from further consultations, helped to shape the policies outlined in the draft Standish Neighbourhood Plan.”

Drop-in sessions are being held Saturday, October 7 at 10am to 1pm; Saturday, October 21 at 10am to 1pm; and Saturday, November 4 at 10am to 1pm at Standish Library on Cross Street.

More information can be found as well as the full draft at the website www.standishvoice.co.uk