Well, the community has spoken ...
The referendum is behind us and the vote count has been completed, a process at which your website editor was an official observer. The turnout was 51.3 per cent
The opportunity to accept Haddenham's Neighbourhood Plan has produced the following result:
YES = 1712 (86%)
NO = 273 (14%)
Thus, the community has voted to accept the Neighbourhood Plan, asking AVDC to take it into account when considering planning applications for Haddenham.
In the view of your website editor, this is a fantastic outcome. He has been a keen supporter and proponent of the YES vote for the Neighbourhood Plan, and is absolutely delighted that the well honed "divide and rule" tactics of a commercial developer have failed to convince a significant section of Haddenham residents that the Neighbourhood Plan was unsound.
Subject to potential legal challenges by commercial developers (let's hope this doesn't happen!) and final approval by the Government Inspector, the Plan will now give local residents some measure of influence over the future development of the village.
This is because our Neighbourhood Plan will help shape the number, style and location of new housing in Haddenham as well as guiding future community projects. In the absence of such a Plan, these decisions would have been left in the hands of AVDC, Bucks CC Planners and wider scale policies without significant input from the village community beyond ad hoc HPC comments.
In the fullness of time, let us hope that all Haddenham residents will see the benefits, irrespective of the way in which individuals voted.
