AN APPLICATION to designate Crudwell as a Neighbourhood Area has been unanimously accepted by Malmesbury Area Board.

Crudwell Parish Council applied to become their own Neighbourhood Area so they could write their own Neighbourhood Plan, a legal document which could help the council prevent unwanted development in the village.

The government first presented communities with the chance to protect certain site from planning by forming Neighbourhood Areas and voting on their own Neighbourhood plans in 2012.

Crudwell Parish Council Chairman Jonathan Furlonger explained that the council has been working on its plan since early 2013 and that 30 per cent of Crudwell residents had already responded to a survey about it.

He added: “Our next steps are to write the plan, a concise document setting out the community’s preferences, and then to hold a referendum where residents vote on whether to adopt the Plan.

“Most parishes in Wiltshire are now preparing their own Plans. Malmesbury has just held a successful referendum, and Crudwell is hoping to follow on within the next two years.”

Now that the application has been accepted residents can have their say by submitting comments via email to neighbourhood.planning@wiltshire.gov.uk or by writing to Wiltshire Council at: Spatial Planning, Economy and Regeneration, Wiltshire Council, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8JN.

Malmesbury’s referendum was passed on November 27 last year and was the first successful Neighbourhood Plan vote in Wiltshire.

That plan was the result of around three years of consultation and planning headed by Malmesbury resident and town councillor Simon Killane, which cost a total of £28,000 and was overwhelmingly accepted by the community.

Votes cast during the Malmesbury referendum totalled 1,961 with 1,768 voting in favour, 190 against and a total of three spoiled ballots.

The total turnout was 32.4 per cent, compared to 65.1 per cent at the last general election and a whopping 84.6 per cent for the Scottish referendum.