Dear Residents and Businesses of Blacon,
Please give a few minutes of your time today to influence future planning decisions in Blacon by responding to this survey. The questions have been created by local residents volunteering for the Blacon Neighbourhood Plan working group, and is based on feedback from local residents at public meeting and through community surveys.
About Blacon Neighbourhood Alliance Neighbourhood Forum: Blacon Neighbourhood Alliance Neighbourhood Forum (“the Forum”) is the community group designated by Cheshire West & Chester Council (CWaC) planning authority on 22nd August 2023 as the ‘qualifying body’ for the Blacon Neighbourhood Plan. The Forum has formed the Blacon Neighbourhood Plan working group to manage the project on a day to day basis.
What is a Neighbourhood Plan? A Neighbourhood Plan is a legal planning document that guides future development. It will allow the community to help direct the extent, type, location and design of future development as well as setting out what needs to be protected. It is community led – we, the community, research it, write it and vote to accept it.
If adopted, after a local referendum, Cheshire West & Chester Council will use the Neighbourhood Plan, along with its Borough-wide Local Plan, and the National Planning Policy to determine planning applications for Blacon Neighbourhood Area. The policies must focus on land use issues i.e. how land is used, what will be permitted to be built and what will be protected. Therefore, it cannot address non-land use planning issues such as: speeding, highways, bus timetables, accessing health appointments and litter on streets. However, these are still important issues that can be addressed via your local Ward Councilors.
The Blacon Neighbourhood Plan working group has commissioned Cheshire Community Action (a local charity with expertise in supporting communities to influence development) to carry out the survey independently – paid for with a government grant.
How could a neighbourhood plan help improve Blacon?
Protect and enhance green spaces: A Neighbourhood Plan will increase protection of green spaces across Blacon as well giving us the power to add new areas of protection. This will ensure the most important spaces are not lost to development so they can continue to be enjoyed by the community by designating them as Local Green Space.
Protect local shops and services: The Parade and Western Avenue shops are important areas for local day-to-day shopping. Although there are limitations on what a Neighbourhood Plan can do to protect the two local centres, The Forum is keen to encourage their owners and tenants to continue to invest in them.
Protect existing community facilities: Although the Forum has identified a need for a new Community Hub / Centre and Indoor Sports Facility. It knows that the community has access to a number of buildings in Blacon for social purposes, like the schools, churches and sports buildings. A Neighbourhood Plan can prevent them being unnecessarily lost to other uses and not replaced.
Gain planning permission for a new Community Hub and new Indoor Sports Facility: The group has identified a need for a ‘Community Hub / Centre’ and a new ‘Indoor Sports Facility’ and is in the early stages of exploring the use of a Neighbourhood Development Order or Community Right to Build Order, which are mechanisms (similar to a neighbourhood plan) that the community can use to gain planning permission for developments. But to do this it must be community led and supported at a referendum vote by local residents.
