DCC has launched the consultation on the ‘Preferred Options’ stage of the County Durham Plan. The consultation is kicking off with an engagement event at Newton Aycliffe Youth & Community Centre, 3:30-6:30pm, Monday 25th June. Officers and information will be there to explain what the Plan is proposing, and there will be opportunities to ask questions and have your say.
WHAT IS THE COUNTY DURHAM PLAN?
The County Durham Plan is not a routemap for growth, but a schedule for land management. It aims to influence – when development is proposed – where it should take place, and what kind of development it should be.
The Plan therefore lays down rules concerning issues such as employment land, housing, town centres, the rural economy, environment & habitat, transport, and minerals. It cannot conjure up bus services, shopping centres and the like but – when growth does take place.
The Plan (alongside our Great Aycliffe Neighbourhood Plan) aims to make sure that it is the right growth in the right places … so that future developments benefit us and our community.
HOW MIGHT I RESPOND?
There is no need to try to read the (1,400 pages of the) Plan and respond by Monday! Over the next six weeks, the County Planners will be introducing you to various aspects of the Plan, and you will be able to see what they are proposing and whether you agree.
The Council will receive comments on the Preferred Options until 3 August. I would encourage people to go to Monday’s event, and to follow this issue and respond to the consultation.
It is essential that Newton Aycliffe subjects the Plan to intense constructive scrutiny, and that we highlight the bits we like as much as the bits we don’t. The Plan will frame the County’s development up to 2035, so it is of critical importance that we get it right.
You can find the Preferred Options document online here: http://bit.ly/CDP18PO
