Not too late to shape the future of Ledbury

Herefordshire Council has confirmed that Ledbury residents who just miss the deadline for completed questionnaires on the important Shaping Our Place consultation – will still have their views taken into account.

The deadline for the end of the eight-week consultation on the future of Herefordshire is Friday 12 March. Thousands of residents across the county have already responded in what is likely to be Herefordshire Council’s most successful consultation ever – but many more will have left it to the last minute to submit their views. Any completed questionnaires that arrive after the weekend or during next week will still be valid.

The consultation says around 900 new homes could be allocated in Ledbury with options to build some of those on existing employment land to the north of the railway viaducts, and on the existing private cricket and football ground, which could be relocated near to the rugby ground on the Ross Road.

New walking and cycling links to the old railway line and riverside could create a circular green network, and there is a need for a new formal park in Ledbury. Importantly, more employment land needs to be allocated to bring more jobs to the market town, and with some of the highest house prices in the county and the region, there is a greater need for a range of house types and more affordable housing.

Several villages in the area could see development designed to increase affordable housing and sustain essential services, including schools, and new shops, along with rural transport improvements. The options are also to encourage the creation of new jobs, particularly creative industries and environmental technologies to boost the economic viability of villages.

“Herefordshire Council needs the residents of Ledbury and surrounding villages to share their views now in what will be one of the most important consultations ever to take place in the county”, said Councillor Jarvis, cabinet member for environment and strategic housing. “It really is be up to local people to tell us what they think and help grow the right future for the county and the market towns”.

“We don’t want to deny anyone their contribution if it arrives just after the deadline, so any questionnaires arriving after the weekend, or until the end of next week, will still count”.

The Shaping Our Place 2026 consultation documents have been showcased at a road show and at public events and meetings in Ledbury. Around 40 public meetings, events or workshops have taken place in the city, the market towns, villages, parishes, schools and businesses across the county.

There are three ways that people can still get involved:

1. Pick up a consultation paper and questionnaire from your local council info centre - there is one in Ledbury and in every market town, or;
2. Log onto the council’s website www.herefordshire.gov.uk and complete a questionnaire online, or;
3. Fill in a simplified version of the questionnaire in the current issue of Herefordshire Matters, which is distributed to every household in the county, and pop it in the post with the freepost address.

Views will be analysed and proposed policies developed and presented back to the council’s cabinet later in 2010 and publicised, before being submitted to the Secretary of State, who will arrange for a public examination and inspector’s report with final adoption anticipated in 2011.

In parallel, the council is also running a consultation on the Local Transport Plan, which also end on 12 March. It will be adopted by April 2011 and will drive the county’s transport strategy for the next 15 years. The review of the transport strategy is intended to align transport policy with the wider needs of the county and will help coordinate support for growth. The Local Transport Plan consultation enables local people to let the council know what their priorities for transport are for the county, whether it is greater public transport investment, more cycle routes, better highway maintenance or further road safety improvements.