THE village of Stogumber will become the first parish in West Somerset to have a referendum to vote on a Neighbourhood Plan.

However according to councillors, there are frustrations within the parish council about the limitations of the document and how much influence it will have on planning in the area.

Speaking at West Somerset Council’s Local Development Panel on Tuesday, council leader Anthony Trollope-Bellew said: “An awful lot of hard work went into this document by Stogumber Parish Council chairman, but I think there is an element of ‘if we had known what the outcome would be, we would not have started in the first place’.”

He added: “I think going forward it would be beneficial to have a council officer outline exactly what is required to make a neighbourhood plan and what it can and cannot do before a parish council begins.”

Stogumber Parish Council had wanted to try and encourage development around some of the smaller hamlets, but because this was in contradiction of national policy an independent examiner said this should be removed from the document.

A neighbourhood plan is a document produced by a parish which highlights priorities for development within the document. It cannot influence the number of houses required by the District Council’s Local Plan for the area, but can have some influence on how this is implemented.

Council officer Ann Rhodes explained that a referendum would be held within the next 54 days, and should 50 per cent of voters in the parish say they are in favour, the Neighbourhood Plan will be adopted by West Somerset Council. 

The referendum will try where possible to use the same polling stations as the election and there will be a leaflet going through every door explaining where people can view the Neighbourhood Plan and how to vote in the referendum.

Cllr Dave Westcott said: “I am very impressed with Stogumber Parish Council’s work, they have emphasised how important village amenities such as church and village shop are, and I think this can only be a positive thing for the area.”

Cllr Susan Goss echoed this sentiment: “Clearly a lot of hard work has gone into producing this document and I am impressed with what they have achieved.”