Felsted residents get their say on future of village

Felsted residents are being given the chance to detemine how they want their village to look over the next 20 years.

A steering group has been established to lead the development of a Neighbourhood Plan for the parish, including all thirteen greens.

Not only will members look at the best places for developments, they will also look at the amenities needed to ensure the growth is sustainable.

Even though the group has been set up, members have made it clear that the views of villagers is an important part of the process.

Parish clerk Diane Smith, who is secretary of the steering group, said: “It is definitely an exciting time. With the new government legislation that has come in we can actually have a say and we need to take this opportunity.

“The Neighbourhood Plan is the view of the whole village. We will probably send our surveys to every house but we are also looking to set up a Green Leaders scheme. We want representatives from each of the 13 greens to have an input.”

The establishment of the steering group comes a year after Felsted’s Parish Plan was adopted by Uttlesford District Council (UDC).

However, the Neighbourhood Plan will look much further into the future of the village and the greens. It will not have the power to stop developments but it will be taken into consideration with regards to where the houses should go and how they should look. The group hope it will be completed by 2016.

If anybody would like to become a Green Leader or would like to voice their views they can contact Mrs Smith on 01371 823071.