Residents of the parish voted in favour of approval of the Membury neighbourhood plan at a referendum on 12 March 2020, with 81% in support

Residents of Membury parish took their opportunity to vote on the future of their area by voting in a referendum on the proposed Membury Neighbourhood Plan at a referendum on 12 March 2020.

Turnout for the event was high, with over 33% of residents choosing to attend, voting in favour of the plan by 81%.

The question posed at the referendum, and to which voters said yes, was:

Do you want East Devon District Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Membury to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?

The Neighbourhood Plan sets out policies for the future of the parish to help inform decisions about development and planning applications.

A steering group made up of members of the parish council, local amenity groups and individuals from the wider community have worked hard since April 2014 to produce the Membury Neighbourhood Plan.

The final step in the process will be for the Plan to be taken to a meeting of East Devon’s Cabinet to be formally ‘made’. This will happen at the next available opportunity, but is expected to be beyond the usual eight week timescale, due to the current circumstances.

However, we would like to assure the community that the Plan now already effectively carries its full weight in planning decisions due to the successful referendum.

The Membury Neighbourhood Plan can be reviewed on line.

Councillor Bruce De Saram, lead member for Neighbourhood Planning, said:

This Plan has then been four years in the making. Many people have contributed and deserve special thanks. Firstly I would like to congratulate Alex Tasker, Steering Group Chairman. Furthermore we must not forget the parishioners who have regularly actively supported and contributed to the formation of the plan. Next, I must mention the Steering Group. In particular I would like to mention the late Beryl Griffin. The other full-time members were Mark Burrough, Samantha Dare, Jason Hawkes, Heather Pearse, Jeremy Wallace, John Watkins and Nick Yool. The plan was supported for part of the time by Bryan Drew and Mike Bell. Well done to you all.