Neighbourhood Planning Referendum 13 October

 

The Roman Road Bow Neighbourhood Planning Referendum is taking place on Thursday 13 October. If you are a MEOTRA resident and have registered to vote, then you should have received a polling card by now. 

This referendum asks the simple question: “Do you want the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Roman Road Bow to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

The Roman Road Bow Neighbourhood Planning Area

The idea of the plan was first put forward in 2016 by the Roman Road Trust and it has taken tonnes of effort to get the plan together and to go through all the necessary government hoops.

You can find out more on the council website including viewing the neighbourhood plan and the notice of referendum.

In simple terms, a Neighbourhood Plan is a document that sets out planning policies for the neighbourhood area (in our case Bow). The plan’s policies are used to decide whether to approve planning applications in the area. It’s written by the local community, the people who know and love the area, rather than the Local Planning Authority, and it is a powerful tool to ensure the community gets the right types of development, in the right place.

MEOTRA have been involved with formulating the plan since the outset and have regularly posted about it. The key is that it helps give the people of Bow a greater voice in planning applications.

The main themes of the plan are:

1. A thriving high street and local economy
2. Green streets that encourage walking and cycling
3. Beautiful public spaces
4. New life for our local heritage
5. High quality affordable housing
6. A resilient and well-networked community infrastructure

The full plan can be read here. It is 48 pages long, but it is well laid out and full of lots of photos and graphics and so is not as imposing as it sounds.

Should you vote in favour and support it? Well we couldn't possibly comment. Have a read for yourself over a cup of coffee or something stronger if you prefer.

This morning's Roman Road London's The Slice had a well written article on the Bow Plan too that is worth a read.

Pointing out a community asset (The Palm Tree!)