Following the Lydney NDP referendum on Thursday the 18th of February 2016, we can confirm that there was 17% turnout (about 1,530 people) to vote and of those voters: Yes vote - 1,022 (86.24%) No vote - 163 (13.75%) The Yes's have it. The Lydney NDP is now a statutory document in its own right.
On Thursday the 18th of February 2016 Lydney residents will vote whether they wish to adopt a Community Lydney Plan rather than a Forest of Dean District Council Plan in the Lydney Referendum. Lydney residents will receive a poll card from the District Council detailing the voting arrangements. 50% or more Yes votes will agree this fundamental change and see the adoption of a Lydney Community Plan for Lydney. The Lydney NDP - Approved Version October 2015 would then be adopted as the first community plan. To read the Lydney NDP click HERE
The Forest of Dean District Council has recently passed the Lydney NDP and are now currently setting the date for the Referendum, which we anticipate will be in February. Once we know the date we will publicise it in the newspapers, website and via posters in the town.
The 'Lydney Station Travel Plan - Final Draft' has been published after many months of consultation and meetings. The publication is a result of many bodies working in partnership, including Lydney Town Council, Forest of Dean District Council, Arriva Trains, Network Rail, and the Dean Forest Railway. You can view the full Plan HERE Some of the actions that the Plan identifies include: New cycle parking shelters at the train station Over grown foot paths to and from the station will be cutback and maintained Doubling the number of parking spaces in the car park Bus time table improvements and better info at the station on bus times Improve Public Rights of Way, cycle paths, signage and info to and from the station Restoring the underpass link
The Lydney NDP has been passed by the Independent Examiner who reported the Plan was exceptional and said: "The community and the Town Council have spent considerable time and energy in identifying the issues and objectives that they wish to be included in their Plan. This gets to the heart of the localism agenda." Lydney NDP, amended to include with independent examiners suggestions, will now be submitted by the NDP Chairman to FoDDC in person. The Lydney Plan now needs to go before the FoDDC Cabinet/Full Council meeting before proceeding to a referendum, where Lydney will vote whether to accept the Plan. See the Independent Examiners Report HERE
An Independent Examiner has been appointed to review the Lydney NDP. 'Lydney Neighbourhood Development Plan - Examiners Version 2' was submitted to the District Council on May the 29th 2015 and Forest of Dean District Council conducted their own consultation on the revised Plan and invite people to make comments. Following this they have appointed an independent assessor, Andrew Ashcroft, to examine the plan and make sure the Plan meets the criteria set down in Schedule 4B of The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as amended by The Localism Act 2011 The Independent assessor will either: Pass the Plan Pass the Plan with modifications Refuse the Plan At this stage the Lydney NDP will go to a Public Vote in Lydney.
Exciting times in Lydney as plans are being developed how to make Lydney a thriving, bustling market town once again, and news that two funding bids have since been awarded to Lydney to support this aim. Recent changes in the way we shop, our local and national economy and a whole host of other factors have resulted in us believing Lydney needed a boost. It is important that we consider how our town could work more efficiently – how traffic flows, how people shop, where we park our vehicles and how this will help in making the town an inviting destination for locals and tourists alike, increasing foot fall for our businesses and ensuring visitors to our town want to stay in Lydney and invest in our shops. By also preserving our heritage and green spaces we aim to continue to ensure Lydney remains special. To make the aforementioned a reality we started consulting in 2013 with the town extensively to develop the Lydney Neighbourhood Development Plan (or NDP Plan as it is known), which gives Lydney the opportunity to decide how it wants to change in the future. Now through Lydney Town Council and the Forest of Dean District Council working together, Wendy Jackson, Regeneration Manager at the Forest of Dean District Council, has secured specialist support to further such changes. Both funding streams, the Coastal Community Fund and the Community Economic Development fund, will benefit Lydney; providing support so that the town, through consultation and feedback, can further develop its action plan which it aims to complete in early 2016. A series of consultation events and town meetings have been arranged throughout the summer, you can also become involved on-line or by visiting [...]
Lydney Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) has been submitted to Forest of Dean District Council on May the 29th 2015 achieving a major milestone on the way to the Lydney Public Vote on the Plan. The NDP, which was started at a public town meeting in 2012 is a Plan for Lydney by Lydney people and during the 11-week public consultation in 2013 over 165 people sent in comments for the NDP. The NDP changed as a result of the consultation and has since been subject to environmental considerations and statutory consultation. The Plan, now revised into the 'Lydney Plan - Examiners Version 2', has been delivered to the Forest of Dean District Council whom will check the Plan to make sure it meets the legal requirements identified in The Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012. FoDDC will then publicise the Plan and invite people to make comments. At the same an independent assessor will be employed to examine the plan and make sure the Plan meets the criteria set down in Schedule 4B of The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as amended by The Localism Act 2011 The Independent assessor will either: Pass the Plan Pass the Plan with modifications Refuse the Plan At this stage the Lydney NDP will go to a Public Vote in Lydney.
The way transport funding is allocated for local major schemes has fundamentally changed since the Gloucestershire Local Transport Board (GLTB) was first established in 2013. Funding for local major schemes, including the GLTB funding, is now allocated to the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) through Gloucestershire's Local Growth Deal. Government has asked all LEPs to produce an Assurance Framework to govern their arrangements for sound financial management and decision making. This Assurance Framework has now been finalised and replaces the existing GLTB Assurance Framework. It is available on the LEP webpage: GFirst LEP Assurance Framework This new Assurance Framework will govern the work of the GLTB and the LEP Board will take the final funding decision on all Growth Fund schemes. The GLTB will continue to lead on the business case approval process and will - at the end of that process - make a recommendation to the LEP Board to sign off the funding agreement. The business case stages required for smaller schemes have been reduced to two, allowing all schemes with a total value of less than £5 Million to merge the Outline and Full Business Cases (please see the new business case guidance on the LEP webpage (GFirst LEP Assurance Framework) for detailed information).
Take the Bathurst Park Survey and tell us your views. The survey takes 5 minutes and can be found here: Bathurst Park Survey