PEOPLE in Calstock Parish will be going to the polls later this month to decide whether to back the Calstock Parish Neighbourhood Development Plan which will help determine where houses will be built in the decade to come.

Polling stations will be open on Thursday, January 20, in all the villages which make up the parish — St Ann’s Chapel, Albaston, Drakewalls, Calstock, Gunnislake, Harrowbarrow, Metherell, Latchley and Chilsworthy. Every resident aged 18 and over will have a vote.

If the majority of those voting on the day say ‘yes’, then the Neighbourhood Plan will be adopted as an important part of the planning policy for the parish.

The Plan has been eight years in the making by a Neighbourhood Plan Group consisting of local residents and parish councillors. During that time there has been extensive public consultation. When asked via questionnaire if residents supported the plan, 96% of the people who responded said yes.

Chairman of the Neighbourhood Plan Group Alastair Tinto, speaking in a personal capacity as the head of the ‘VOTE YES for the Calstock Parish Plan’ campaign, is urging people to back the Plan, the emphasis of which is on homes for local people in the right place.

The Plan supports new housing in the existing villages through infill and rounding off to allow for continued growth. However, it restricts development outside the villages to protect the countryside. Outside, but adjacent, to the village boundaries, the Plan encourages the development of small-scale, affordable housing at affordable rents for local people. These are called ‘exception sites’. Cornwall Council will ensure these affordable homes will be offered to people with a housing need and who have a local connection to the parish.

Gill Court, a member of the VOTE YES campaign said: “We are urging people to vote ‘Yes’ because this is a very positive Plan. Firstly, it backs homes to be built in the right place. Secondly, it really encourages affordable housing at affordable rent for local people which are the great need in our parish. And thirdly, this Plan protects our unique countryside.

“In the last 10 years there have been over 400 new homes built in the parish. They have mainly been market housing.

“These have been built with very little supporting infrastructure. The sewage system is struggling to cope, flooding has become an issue, and we have got major traffic problems with the existing road system. We need better control of development. which is what the Plan does.”

Mr Tinto said: “The Plan balances the need to allow for growth especially by encouraging affordable housing whilst at the same time preserving our wonderful environment. That is why the Vote Yes campaign is asking people to support the Plan.”

Find out more on the Neighbourhood Plan website at plan4calstockparish.uk