Response to draft Local Plan

Whitburn Neighbourhood Forum has submitted their response to the draft Local Plan. You can read this here.

The response discusses our concerns on the way the community has been made aware of the plan. We also point out the conflicts between the draft Local Plan and the Neighbourhood Plan for Whitburn, which is currently in development. The Forum then refers to the results of community consultation on the draft Local Plan, including the survey that was conducted. 

The response then goes into detail on a variety of topics, including housing, infrastructure, natural environment and landscape / green belt. We have also included our views on the supporting documents that were submitted with the draft Local Plan. These supporting documents that are meant to provide the evidence to the Plan contain inconsistencies and are inadequate. They do not provide a comprehensive or objective assessment of plan impacts.

The Forum therefore objects to the draft Plan, as it will have severe impacts on the village of Whitburn and its setting, as well as on the local community. We
recommend that evidence to support the Plan is improved, that impact assessments are carried out accurately and that site allocations and quantum of development in Whitburn are significantly reduced.