ADDINGHAM Parish Council has now published a first draft of its Neighbourhood Plan for formal consultation.

The consultation runs until August 24 and comments are invited from everyone in the local area.

The Neighbourhood Plan contains policies to protect and enhance the valued qualities of the village, its environment and the landscape. It can be viewed on the Council’s website – www.addingham-pc.gov.uk – and, in hard copy form, at various locations around the village.

Once any amendments have been made to the Plan to pick up consultation feedback, the Council will submit it formally to the local planning authority and will then aim to take the Plan to a referendum of all those eligible to vote in May 2019. If voters approve the Plan, its policies will have to be taken into account by the planning authority when determining planning applications.

Chairman of the Council, Catherine Coates, said: “I want to thank everyone in the village who has helped with our Neighbourhood Plan so far, and particularly all the volunteers on our Neighbourhood Plan Forum. With their help, we have now reached a crucial stage in developing the Plan. This is the point when we want to hear formally from everyone in the village - this is so important so we can be sure that we’re going in the right direction and putting policies in place that Addingham people want.”