In the news. Councillor Alf Bush, chairman of our Lytchett Matravers Parish Council, has slammed the local authority responsible for planning application decisions.
In the article in the Dorset Echo, Cllr Bush said there is an “increasing perception” from the parish council and residents that the local view is of no importance to officers, with increasing feelings of “dismay and frustration” over Dorset Council’s planning performance.
Cllr Bush sent a letter to Cllr David Walsh, Dorset Council portfolio holder for planning in December 2021, raising a number of issues centred around the “strategic policy approach”, and made the point that the Parish Council should be allowed to be proactive on proposals for Lytchett Matravers rather than reactive.
The key concerns fall into four main areas: green belt, climate emergency, infrastructure, and the role of parish council and community planning and the by-passing thereof.
Lytchett Matravers adopted its neighbourhood plan in 2017. This is a grassroots policy document which provides a vision for our community and must be considered when assessing applications. We are also in the process of refreshing this with Neighbourhood Plan #2, to reflect the changing needs of the village and address the experiences of recent years, which you can read about here.
Follow the link below to read the full Dorset Echo article:
You can also read the letter to David Walsh here (as a PDF).