Important update - referendum passed on 13 June 2024

Please note that a referendum on the Mepal Neighbourhood Plan took place on 13 June 2024. Of those voting, the plan was overwhelmingly supported. For full details of the referendum result, please see the Mepal Neighbourhood Plan Referendum Results page.

For full details on the plan and its background, please continue reading below.

Background

Over the past two years, Mepal Parish Council has been preparing a Neighbourhood Plan for its area. For details on those earlier stages, please view the Mepal Parish Council website (external link).

On 13 October 2023, Mepal Parish Council formally submitted its Neighbourhood Plan to East Cambridgeshire District Council for independent examination, which included a final round of public consultation.

East Cambridgeshire District Council invited comments on the submitted Mepal Neighbourhood Plan from Thursday 2 November 2023 to Friday 15 December 2023. The full set of representations received during the consultation stage are available in the Mepal Neighbourhood Plan Regulation 16 Representations Received Report (PDF).

Examination and Referendum stage

An independent Examiner was appointed in January 2024 to examine the Plan and to recommend whether the Plan should proceed to a referendum. The Examiner was Andrew Ashcroft MRTPI. The Examiner concluded his examination on 5 March 2024 and issued his Report setting out his conclusions. All of the documents associated with the examination stage are posted in the Examination Documents table towards the end of this webpage.

In short, the Examiner recommended that the Neighbourhood Plan should proceed to a local referendum in Mepal. An updated version of the Plan, which incorporates all of the Examiner's recommendations, is entitled Mepal Neighbourhood Plan Referendum Version (PDF).

A referendum took place on 13 June 2024. Further details on the referendum are available at the Mepal Neighbourhood Planning Referendum webpage. The result of the referendum can be found at Mepal Neighbourhood Plan Referendum Results page.

Next Steps

Having passed the referendum, the Plan will now be used when planning applications are being considered. On 25 July 2024, a meeting of our Full Council is scheduled to formally acknowledge the result of the referendum and make the plan part of the development plan for the district.

Other information

Requests to be notified of the council's decision under regulation 19 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012, which relates to the making of the neighbourhood plan on 25 July 2024, may be submitted via email to planningpolicy@eastcambs.gov.uk.

We will process the information you provide in a manner that is compatible with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Council’s Privacy Notice.