[P]enrith Town Council have finished the informal consultation process which collected views as part of the Neighbourhood Plan process. A number of questions were asked on the themes of Housing, Leisure, Wellbeing and Greenspaces, Getting Around (including transport, pedestrianisation, Parking and Signage), Town Centre and Heritage and Business and Tourism.
Cllr Fiona Johnson, Chair of the Neighbourhood Plan Group says; “We received loads of useful and interesting comments and the Neighbourhood Plan Group have been considering them carefully in order to see which ones can be incorporated into the Neighbourhood Development Plan. It must be remembered that a Neighbourhood Plan is not about stopping development but influencing what we would like to happen in the town.”
At the current time the Neighbourhood Plan Group which includes Penrith Town Councillors together with representatives of the Chamber of Trade, Penrith BiD, PACT, CAFs, Eden Arts, Cumbria Youth Alliance, Churches Together and QEGS is meeting regularly with the Town Council’s appointed Planning Consultant, Michael Wellock, to consider draft policies for inclusion in the Neighbourhood Plan to complement and enhance the National Planning Policy Framework and Eden’s Local Plan which is still to be adopted.
Once the draft Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared a further formal 6 week consultation period will be undertaken with people who live, work or do business in Penrith to comment on the proposals.
Cllr Johnson also said: “Some ideas and suggestions don’t fit into Neighbourhood Planning such as the provision of parking, leisure and retail opportunities. The Town Council will be looking to progress them with partners to achieve the best outcomes on behalf of the town’s residents, workers and visitors to ensure we do the best we can to make Penrith an enjoyable place to live and visit.”
