Dear Editor,
Voters regularly complain that the government never listens to them, despite the fact that many of them are now being offered a golden opportunity to shape the future of their communities through a Neighbourhood Plan.
Addressing everything from housing development to public transport, it gives residents a genuine say in the direction they want their locality to take. Admittedly it is not a silver bullet that will stop unwanted development; but if a Neighbourhood Plan is in place then developers are obliged to take its contents into account when devising housing schemes and can be challenged if they are so ill-advised as to ignore it.
Some villages in Herefordshire have already eagerly grasped this opportunity; others however, are not quite so far advanced.
So if parish councillors, representatives of local action groups and other stake-holders start talking to you about a Neighbourhood Plan over the next few months – as they are likely to do in the Lea for example, then take the time to listen, and hopefully get involved.
And remember that places with a robust Neighbourhood Plan firmly in place will be in a far better position to combat unwanted development than those that just couldn't be bothered.
Steve Banner, Lea