Transition Town Letchworth’s September meeting asked the question ‘Does Letchworth Need a Neighbourhood Plan?’ A neighbourhood plan provides a vision and policies for future development of the area and has to be developed by people who live and work in the area. During the meeting the attendees explored what was involved in producing a plan and discussed what could and could not be influenced by a plan. By the end of the meeting there was a majority of attendees who thought that Letchworth would benefit from having a Neighbourhood Plan. We ended the meeting with a quick brainstorming exercise on the issues that might be covered by a Neighbourhood Plan. The ideas that came up were: parking, linked up cycle routes, environmental issues, poor night time bus services, housing quality, access to the station, allotment usage, preservation of green spaces and the green belt, and access to leisure facilities and outdoor spaces including the greenway.
With a population of over 33,000 its really important that Letchworth’s Neighbourhood Plan is developed by a group of people who represent the different areas and demographics of the town. So in the coming months we will be networking with groups across the town to spread the word about Neighbourhood Planning and by the end of this we hope to have found at least 21 enthused individuals to form a Neighbourhood Forum. We are also hoping that we will have built up a community of interested residents and businesses to come to events and help on particular task forces, so that we can build the best possible plan for Letchworth. So if you are interested, but have limited time, we still want you to get involved.
If you are interested then please email us at: letchworthneighbourhoodplan@gmail.com