Last chance to have your say and join hundreds of residents already responding to the local plan consultation
Over 350 Cotswold residents and organisations have taken the opportunity to let us know what they think of our proposals to tackle climate change through our Local Plan. There is one week left for residents and organisations to share their views on the ‘Your Cotswold, Your Plan’ ‘Issues and Options’ consultation, which closes on Sunday 20th March 2022.
The consultation seeks views from the public to enable the Council to partially update its local plan to make it ‘green to the core’ ensuring that climate change is considered in all aspects of the future development of Cotswold District.
Cllr Rachel Coxcoon, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Forward Planning said, “I am really pleased that residents have taken the time to let us know what they think about our plans to tackle climate change through our Local Plan. With just one week to go I hope that we will see that number increase, so that we have a very clear view of how our proposals have been received by residents.
“We are particularly interested in the views of younger residents. Our online engagement platform, Commonplace, contains a condensed version of the survey questions in an easy to understand format to capture the views of our young residents. It is the future that we wish to protect so young people’s views are really important so that we can get it right for them.
“Tackling the Climate Emergency is an issue we are deeply committed to addressing. This means we are making a partial update to the plan to make sure that we are thinking sustainably for the next, and future, generations. We have to make sure that what we build today doesn’t contribute to the emissions that are driving climate change, and is also fit for the future; a hotter world with more extreme weather events.
“We know that residents are frustrated that hundreds of new homes were built under the current Local Plan without basic sustainability measures such as solar panels, bike storage, high levels of insulation and excellent biodiversity credentials. The current Local Plan does not allow us to demand these features of developers, and government building regulations are also inadequate. This Local Plan update aims to give us the evidence base we need to demand much higher standards. Part of that evidence will come from the technical studies we have commissioned, but equally important is that we get the views of residents on what sustainability features are most important to them.”
The partial update of the Local Plan focuses on eighteen themes including design, biodiversity and infrastructure development. Each theme is explored with a topic paper on the Commonplace platform and the views of the public invited.
We have developed our vision for a carbon zero future in this short animated film. The film looks back from 2040 at the changes to house building, transport, work and energy generation to move us to a sustainable way of living: https://youtu.be/MrCCrJ6Tt1o
Residents can take part in the consultation by visiting https://issuesandoptions.commonplace.is. Alternatively, hard copies of the document are available to view at both Council Offices: Trinity Road, Cirencester and Moreton-in-Marsh as well as all District Libraries or by contacting the Council’s customer services team on 01285 623000 or by emailing customer.services@cotswold.gov.uk.