At our Parish Council meeting in January, we discussed the Role of the Parish Council and our plan to engage with our community in many ways. We also discussed the Parish Council’s budget for next year; we have kept the Parish precept, the amount each village household pays, at the same rate for next year.
Thank you to all our residents who became on the spot ‘travel reporters’ during the recent floods, your up-to-date reports help all of us who need to travel around and out of the village. Thank you also to people who offered to run errands for residents.
Neighbourhood Plan Progress
Many may be wondering what is the status of this project which started back in early 2021. We knew it wouldn’t be a quick and straightforward process – we expected it could take about 5 years. In the event we submitted the Plan to Somerset Council on 1st September last year.
Since then the Council ran its own consultation running up to last December and then it was passed on to the official Examiner, who is currently reviewing that it is valid and complies with the rules for such Plans. When this process is complete, it will be subject to a referendum in the Parish which will be a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
The development of the Plan has been a meaningful process, with hurdles along the way; in particular the need to consult on and later fight the flawed A358 dualling proposal and to redraft our green space protection policy following the ‘resolution to approve’ a development on that site in February last year.
Finally, just a reminder of the timeline reflecting community engagement during this period. The initial survey was in May 2022, and a year later an in-person consultation event took place at the annual Parish Meeting. This confirmed the ‘aims and objectives’ of the plan. In May 2024 there was another consultation event, reviewing the draft policies and an early version of the Plan. A final official consultation was done at the end of 2024. We would like to thank those who have participated along the way.
Look out for further updates as developments occur. In the meantime you can see the full plan and supporting documents at https://hatchbeauchamp.com/neighbourhood-plan/