Members of the Easingwold Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group attended a meeting with John Howell OBE, MP for Henley, last week. The visit was organised by local man Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton. Mr. Howell was invited to the town because of his respected knowledge about the issues and his role as the Government Neighbourhood Planning Champion.
The Steering Group was encouraged to continue in their work. It was agreed that they would firstly ascertain a preliminary annual housing requirement figure for Easingwold from Hambleton District Council and then devise a criteria by which allocations brought forward to the council e.g. for starter homes, would be considered by the group.
This would be followed by a public meeting to present the options and the costs for continuing with the Neighbourhood Plan which, if agreed, would then be followed by referendum next year.
There was also consensus that developers must be included at an early stage to make sure sites are deliverable alongside community requirements
After the meeting Mr Hollinrake thanked all those who attended for their input.
“I am grateful to Mr. Howell for taking the time to come to Easingwold. I found it a very productive meeting and hope that we can now move the Neighbourhood Plan forward. We need to make sure that Easingwold takes only a fair share of development allocated by the District Council and gets appropriate investment in our doctors and dental surgeries, schools, roads and sewerage systems, and have made these points directly to the Executive Director at Hambleton. I think that if the actions discussed are carried through, with the whole community being informed and involved, then residents will support a plan that ensures any future housing developments take place in the right locations around the town.”