Residents are being given the chance to give their views on the latest Hove Station Neighbourhood Plan.
The draft has been prepared by the Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum and submitted to the council along with supporting documents and evidence. The council is now required to publish them for consultation before they’re submitted to an independent examiner.
The consultation begins on Thursday 20 May and ends on Thursday 15 July.
Neighbourhood planning is a way for local people to take a lead in planning the future of their area. It can be led by a parish council or by a neighbourhood forum set up for the purpose. Neighbourhood forums are open to anyone who lives or works in the area they cover.
Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum was formally designated by the council in 2014 and is the first local group in the city to reach the stage of submitting its neighbourhood plan to the council.
The Forum undertook a public consultation on the plan in 2019 and has since made some amendments in response to comments by the council and others.
The Neighbourhood Plan sets an overall aim “to facilitate the regeneration of the Hove Station Neighbourhood Area in a way which realises its potential by creating a vibrant and inclusive community, focused on a new Hove Station Quarter, as a great place to live, work and relax”.
It includes positive policies to ensure that planned regeneration in the Hove Station area delivers improved local facilities and creates a greener and more attractive environment for residents and visitors.
The policies complement those in the City Plan and the draft Hove Station Area Masterplan which the council published for consultation at the end of last year.
When this current consultation is completed, the council will submit the draft plan and all consultation responses received to the examiner who will consider if the plan meets all the necessary statutory requirements.
Based on the examiner’s report, the council will then decide whether to put the neighbourhood plan to a local referendum.
If approved at referendum, the neighbourhood plan will be formally ‘made’, and the policies used to help decide the outcome of planning applications in the area.
Councillor Marianna Ebel, Deputy Chair of Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture Committee said “This really is a unique opportunity for people to comment on a vision which has been led by the local community.
“I’m so pleased the hard work of the Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum is coming to fruition and would urge as many people as possible to respond and give their views during the consultation period.
“We should all be able to have our say on the future of our communities. Those that live and work in them often have the best knowledge of how they should grow and prosper.”
You can read more about the Hove Station Neighbourhood Plan on our webpage where you can also find information on the background to the Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum, its members, details on previous consultations and other documents.
