Neighbourhood Plan for village

Otham Parish Council is pressing ahead with plans to draw up its own Neighbourhood Plan.

As a first stage, Otham has applied to Maidstone Borough Council to designate the parish as a ‘Neighbourhood Area.’

This is in preparation for the production of the document containing plans for future development of the village.

Once adopted, a Neighbourhood Plan becomes part of the development blueprint for a village and carries weight when decisions are made on planning applications.

Maidstone’s Local Plan is suggesting 17,660 homes be built by 2031 and an examination of the strategy by a government planning inspector, plus all consulta- tion on it, has now finished.

A copy of Otham’s application, including a map of the proposed area boundary and a supporting statement, can be viewed on the Maidstone Borough Council website at tinyurl.com/othamneighpl

Any comments should be sent by email to neighbourhoodplanning@maidstone.gov.uk by 5pm on Friday, July 28.