After a number of years of work, Middridge Parish Council have completed a Neighbourhood Plan for the Parish and are now embarking on a formal 6 week period of public consultation to invite comments and feedback upon it from local residents, statutory bodies and other stakeholders in the community.
The leaflet sets out further information about the Neighbourhood Plan, including a brief background to it and a short summary of its contents, together with details of the consultation process, how to get involved and what will happen next.
The 6 week consultation period will run from 5th February to 17th March 2024.
Background to the Neighbourhood Plan
Middridge Parish Council first began the process of preparing a Neighbourhood Plan back in 2014. Since then, a Working Group has helped develop and shape the Plan, supported by a Planning Consultant and officers from Durham County Council.
The completed Plan gives voice and fulfilment to the aspirations of the local community, identified through previous consultation and feedback. This focuses upon the things that people most value about Middridge, namely its essential ‘rural village’ character and the attributes which contribute to this. These are captured in the Plan’s overall Vision and the Policies which seek to implement it.
Together, these will provide a local level community-led context for the future management of development and land use in the Parish for the period 2023-2038.
The Plan’s Vision
‘To safeguard the valued rural setting of Middridge village and maintain its separateness from neighbouring settlements, whilst also protecting and enhancing the valued open spaces and built assets which contribute to the village’s character and the wellbeing of the community’.
The Plan’s Policies
Policy MNP1: PROTECTED RURAL SETTING
This Policy identifies and safeguards an area of countryside extending out from Middridge as a ‘Protected Rural Setting’ (PRS). This recognises the essential role it plays in defining the historic character and identity of the village as a self-contained rural settlement, separate from Newton Aycliffe and Shildon.
About the Consultation
The Pre-Submission Draft of the Middridge Parish Neighbourhood Plan will be the subject of public consultation, running from Monday 5th February to Sunday 17th March 2024 inclusive. During this period, written feedback on the Plan will be welcome. It can be submitted, stating your name/address or organisation by email to:
middridgepc@gmail.com
or by post to:
Alan Jordan (Neighbourhood Plan Working Group Secretary),
51 South Side, Middridge, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham DL5 7JD.
Viewing the Neighbourhood Plan
The complete Plan can be viewed at – https://www.middridge.org.uk/local-plan – For those without internet access, paper copies of the Plan can be made available on request by contacting Alan Jordan on 01325-315639 or at the address above.
A Pre-Submission consultation event will also take place from
10.00 to 14.00 in Middridge Village Hall on Saturday 24th February 2024. All are welcome to attend to find out more and ask any questions.
What happens next
At the end of the consultation period, all feedback will be carefully considered and used to produce a ‘Submission’ version of the Plan. This will be subject to a final round of consultation led by Durham County Council, followed by an independent examination to check the Plan meets statutory requirements. After this, it will proceed to a referendum to ensure it is supported by residents of the Parish before becoming a statutory part of the County Council’s planning policy framework.