A referendum on Redbourn Neighbourhood Plan is being held on Thursday 4th May 2023 alongside the local elections.

The question that the referendum has to ask is:

"Do you want St Albans District Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Redbourn to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?"

Residents registered to vote will have the chance to say 'yes' or 'no' to the plan.

If there is a majority 'yes' vote, then our neighbourhood plan is 'made' or adopted. It becomes a statutory plan carrying equal weight to the St Albans Local Plan and will be used in making decisions on planning applications in Redbourn by St Albans District Council up until 2038.

You will see by looking at the document that we currently don't have housing sites in our Neighbourhood Plan. This is because all potential development areas are on the Green Belt. However much could change over the next 15 years as demand for housing grows.

Redbourn Neighbourhood Plan aims to preserve all that we love about Redbourn, protecting our green spaces, promoting positive changes to ensure our vibrant community continues to thrive and influencing the location, design and density of any potential new developments in the future.

Please take your time to read this webpage. Redbourn Neighbourhood Plan gives our community a louder voice in determining what happens in our village and parish.

Full documentation about the plan is available for you to read by clicking on the links further down the page.

Don't forget that you now need to show photo ID in order to vote at polling stations. Click here to check your ID is valid and/or apply for free voter ID.

You can also vote in the referendum if you have opted for a postal vote. If you you are voting by post you will receive 3 separate postal voting packs. The Neighbourhood Plan for Redbourn ballot will be on yellow paper, parish council elections on green paper and St Albans City and District Council elections on a white ballot paper

More info on local elections can be found here:

A Neighbourhood Plan is a community-led document, a powerful tool with statutory powers which shape and influence future growth and development in an area.

The planning policies it contains are used to decide whether or not to approve planning applications in your neighbourhood.

It is written by the local community, people who know and love the area, rather than the Local planning Authority. It is a way for local people to have a say over where they want new homes, shops and offices to be built, protect green spaces and influence design. This means that if developments do get built, they are of a high quality and deliver residents the infrastructure and community resources they know they need for the benefit of their community.

Redbourn Neighbourhood Plan provides a vision for the future of Redbourn village which will help deliver our community's aspirations and needs for the plan period up until 2038.

The Plan has been produced by Redbourn Parish Council with the support and involvement of local residents and businesses. The Working Party has consulted and listened to the community and local organisations on a wide range of issues that will influence the well-being, sustainability and long-term preservation of our rural community.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the views and policies contained in this document reflect those of the majority of Redbourn residents

Redbourn Parish Council would like to thank the members of the Working Party and pay tribute to their work since designation in November 2013.

The Parish Council is also grateful for the help and the engagement of many others in the village without which it would not have been possible to produce this Neighbourhood Plan.

Redbourn Neighbourhood Plan has been developed by volunteers from the village to benefit our community in the following ways:

• Ensure any future developments is well designed and sympathetic to local character;
• Promote high quality, sustainable eco-friendly design, that respects the environment qualities and landscape setting of the village;
• Conserve and enhance the natural environment;
• Improve Redbourn's community facilities, services, and local environment and to address issues beyond the scope of the Neighbourhood Plan;
• Protect the important local green spaces;
• Conserve and enhance the local heritage assets;
• Improve conditions and promote cycling and walking and better public transport facilities;
• Retain and strengthen the High Street.

The Neighbourhood Plan seeks to address, as far as is possible, the challenges that face the community of Redbourn.

These have been identified through consultation events with the community and, in summary, are:

• Housing – providing a wider range of housing, particularly smaller units as well as affordable and social rent, to address the needs of first-time buyers and older downsizers.
• Environment - protecting the historic and natural environment of Redbourn, in particular Redbourn Common.
• Giving people the choice of travelling by means other than the car - in particular, improving movement for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users.
• Vitality of Redbourn village - seeking to retain and improve the vitality of the village, particularly in terms of its shops and services.
• Community activities - the need to provide for more community activities that will encourage particularly young people and families to stay in Redbourn.
• Commercial activity - recognising the potential to grow small-scale businesses through the provision of business space and support.

We have used the objectives of the Neighbourhood Plan as identified through engagement with the community to develop policies and projects to help address challenges that face the community of Redbourn.

The objectives are as follows:

• Objective 1: Retain Redbourn's role as a village with a strong heritage located in a high quality and accessible countryside setting.
• Objective 2: To provide for the changing housing needs of the community, particularly the growing need for affordable houses for rent and smaller properties by first-time buyers and older 'downsizers'.
• Objective 3: Make Redbourn a hub for start-up business and commercial enterprise.
• Objective 4: Provide new community facilities and recreation space to address the needs of the growing population.
• Objective 5: Increase walking and cycling movements through improved footpath and cycle path provision.

Issues discussed and decisions made at Neighbourhood Plan meetings are recorded in agenda's and minutes which can be found in our document management system (DMS).

You can set the filter to select documents of interest.

To find out more about what the Neighbourhood Plan working party is responsible for click on the terms of reference document below