THE Bude-Stratton Neighbourhood Development Plan has now been formally submitted to Cornwall Council, town mayor Cllr Lea Deely announced last Thursday to the full council in the Parkhouse Centre.

After three and a half years of hard-work, Cllr Deely, who is chair of the steering group, was pleased that it had finally reached the stage of submission and expressed thanks to all the people who had worked with her over that period.

She said: “Cornwall Council will now check that it conforms to legal guidelines and the emerging Cornwall Local Plan. When they are satisfied that it does so, they will call for an examiner to inspect it. If the plan is accepted at this stage it will go to public referendum and all registered electors in Bude-Stratton will be entitled to vote for or against the plan.

“The formal submission is a great step forward since our plan will now be given added weight in consideration of planning applications. There have been many instances where ‘emerging’ plans have been used and cited as good reasons to either approve or reject planning applications in cases which have been referred to appeal.

“Many thanks are due to the hundreds of residents who completed surveys and all the local volunteers and organisations who took part in the formulation of the plan and to our consultants, Lemon Gazelle, without whom this would not have come to fruition.”

Liberal Democrat Cornwall Councillor for Bude David Parsons, who was also present at the meeting, congratulated Cllr Deely on getting the Neighbourhood Plan done and said that it would make a huge difference in standing against developers who are currently ‘looking at Bude and licking their lips’.

Cllr Paul Tilzey said he wanted it recorded that the town council express its thanks to Cllr Deely for all her hard work, which was met with a ‘hear, hear’ from all those at the table.