Hard work brings Coton Park Neighbourhood Plan closer

Today's meeting of Rugby's Cabinet has two items relating to Neighbourhood plans.

Currently the only area of Rugby working on a neighbourhood plan is Coton Park. Their neighbourhood plan has been developed by Coton Forward Neighbourhood Forum. They first started thinking about a neighbourhood plan in 2011 and they are not at the end of the process yet. Persistence is definitely required.

If you could get a neighbourhood plan agreed for your area it would affect the way Rugby's planning committee took their decisions. The Coton plan sets aside land for leisure and tries to tackle three unsatisfactory roundabouts in the area. It looks likely that the Coton Plan will be approved by the Cabinet this evening but then it faces an even bigger hurdle. To be adopted a neighbourhood plan has to receive the votes of over half the people living in the area. The last time this area had a local election the votes cast for all parties did not come to much more than a third of the people living in the area. So if Coton is to have a neighbourhood plan it will require more hard work from Coton Forward.

Not surprisingly in view of the time it takes and the level of dedication required the Council's staff conclude that it is unlikely that there will be a big take up of neighbourhood plans elsewhere in the borough.