People get first say over town’s future
RESIDENTS and business owners in the Bacup and Stacksteads area got to have their say on factors to be considered in the formation of a local neighbourhood plan.
Bacup and Stacksteads Neighbourhood (Planning) Forum, BSNF, held its first public consultation event, online via Zoom in order to comply with the current
Covid restrictions.
Members of BSNF committee, residents and business owners were present.
Jo Gregory, from town planners Urban Imprint who are advising the group, explained that they were in the early stages of preparing a neighbourhood plan and what was important was that it needed to be led by people that live and work in the area.
Rossendale council has an emerging local plan that covers the whole of the borough - the neighbourhood plan will be specific to the
Bacup areas.
She said: “Neighbourhood plans are statutory and so planning applications must adhere to them.
“Neighbourhood plans can include more detail than the borough council’s document and will be more specific to issues that are locally important.”
The first workshop got the attendees to discuss facts about the areas, strengths and assets, threats, ideas and opportunities, negatives and who should be involved in creatand
Stacksteads ing the plan.
Issues cited were problems with public transport links, both bus provision and rail, infrastructure issues with congested roads, and architecturally valuable town centre properties in need of investment to secure their future use.
Attendees praised the number of community groups working hard to for both Bacup and Stacksteads, the beauty of the area and the potential of Lee Quarry as a major tourism draw.
More workshops are planned before the forum prepares its paper on the key issues next month. Then it will go out to formal consultation before the forum draws up a final plan to be presented to Rossendale council.
The neighbourhood plan will then be subject a referendum when it can only be approved and adopted if the majority vote in favour of it.
The meeting also looked at what should happen to four key areas - the market and the former Barclays Bank, the fountain and Irwell Terrace, Stubbylee and Moorlands Parks and Waterbarn Church and cricket ground.
Chair of the forum Phill Rawlins said: “I found the meeting very insightful and I think a lot more conversations need to be had about a lot of matters.
Anyone with an interest in helping to shape the future of Bacup and Stacksteads can visit www.bsnf. org.uk, email info@bsnf. org.uk or call 01706 301706.