The Big Picture

The public consultation

The public consultation on how the Borough should develop over the next 15 years started on 15 February and runs until 12 April 2010.

The full document is over 150 pages long as it doesn't just cover Rushcliffe, it looks at the whole of the Greater Nottingham area. Also, it is not just about where new houses should be built. It also covers topics such as climate change, transport priorities, design, employment opportunities and the role of town centres. If you want to look at the whole document you can access it at www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/planningpolicy .

However, we know that people are mostly interested in new housing so we have drawn up nine key questions that you can answer via this Big Picture website.

We want to hear your views and the bigger response we get the better we will be able to develop our plans for the future.

One point I want to really stress is that as a Council we are not at all happy about the number of new houses that the Government says should be built in Rushcliffe between now and 2026.

If we refuse to co-operate in the process, the decisions could be taken out of our hands and we could be landed with a very big bill. Although this is a difficult and controversial issue for us, I believe that decision making should always be at the local level whenever possible.

When you give us your views, if possible, we would really like to know the reasons why you hold them. This will be far more useful to us when we are putting together our response to the consultation.

Finally, I would like you to give us your views on what new developments should look and feel like if they do go ahead.

I know this is a controversial request for anyone who is totally opposed to the new houses being built. However, even if we are successful in getting the numbers reduced, it is likely that some houses will have to be built.

We have had problems previously when houses were built without the necessary infrastructure or community facilities being in place. This time we want to spell out in as much detail as possible what new communities need to make them places where people want to live. To do this we need your input so please get involved in our consultation exercise.

There are exhibitions being held across the Borough during the consultation and details can be found on this Big Picture website.

Thank you

Cllr Dave Bell is the Cabinet Portfolio holder for Sustainability

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