RESIDENTS of Penzance and the surrounding villages are being asked to vote on a ‘milestone in the life of our community’ in a referendum on Thursday, July 31.

Over 10 years in the making, the Penzance Neighbourhood Plan has been developed and written by the communities of Penzance, Newlyn, Mousehole, Heamoor, Gulval, Paul and Eastern Green following extensive surveys and consultations to establish what really matters for the Parish.

On Polling Day, local residents will be asked “Do you want Cornwall Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Penzance Parish to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

A Neighbourhood Plan is a set of planning policies devised by local communities, for their local area.

If the Penzance Neighbourhood Plan is approved with a majority of votes for “Yes”, Cornwall Council will have to use the Plan in determining planning applications within Penzance Parish alongside the Local Plan, other Cornwall Council planning policies and guidance, and national planning policy.

At more than 200 pages long, the Penzance Neighbourhood Plan was largely produced by local volunteers, including representatives from all the individual communities within the Penzance Parish.

This ‘Community Link Group’ organised questionnaires and drop-ins, and used the feedback to develop policies that reflect what local people want.

One of these policies identifies over 80 green spaces in the parish to be protected from development. Most of these are designated as ‘Local Green Spaces’, the highest degree of protection under national planning policy. 

The Plan also includes a ‘Principal Residence’ policy, similar to one introduced in St Ives, which means that new-build homes in certain areas will be legally restricted to occupancy as a principal residence only.

This will apply to second home “hot spots” in the area, including Mousehole, Paul, Tredavoe, parts of Newlyn centre, and areas around Penzance prom and harbour.

Other policies within the Plan protect biodiversity corridors and secure ‘green buffers’ to protect the separate identities of villages in the Parish and stop them being joined together by new developments.

Mayor of Penzance Stephen Reynolds - one of the volunteers involved in developing the Neighbourhood Plan - describes it as the biggest parish-wide community project in the history of Penzance:

“The Neighbourhood Plan is a milestone in the life of our community. If we approve it in the referendum, every planning application in the Penzance Parish will be judged against policies developed by local people, for local people.

“It’s a massive achievement – built on hundreds of hours of volunteer time, and on feedback from hundreds of local residents. I’m particularly pleased that the Plan will protect so many of the green spaces that we value, and that help to keep our communities healthy and happy.

“The referendum is a rare opportunity for people to use the ballot box to do something positive for the place where they live. So, please exercise your vote on 31st July.”

The Penzance Neighbourhood Plan can be read in full along with the community consultation results at www.pznp.co.uk.