Referendum on the horizon for Swaffham

A referendum determining the future planning developments of Swaffham is to be held next month.

The Swaffham Neighbourhood Plan referendum will be held on Thursday, May 2.

It concerns the use and development of land up to 2036, which will be used by Breckland District Council when it comes into action.

The question being asked in the upcoming referendum is: “Do you want Breckland Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Swaffham to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

If the plan gets more than half the support from the vote, then Breckland will make the Neighbourhood Plan.

The third version of the report, published by the town council ahead of the referendum, states the Plan “is not a means of stopping development”.

Instead, the idea is to ensure development takes place “in an appropriate way for the area”.

During a six-week period in the summer of 2018, local residents and businesses had the opportunity to comment on the draft Plan.

These were collated ahead of the publication of the report for the Plan, which has been through a process of independent examination.

It has been commissioned and part-funded by the town council, alongside grants from Breckland and the government.