A majority vote YES for adopting the Neighbourhood Plan.

Tewkesbury Borough Council will provide free parking on three dates over the winter to support local Christmas events and small businesses in the borough.
 
Free parking will be available in council-run car parks in Tewkesbury town centre for the Christmas lights switch-on on Sunday, 20 November.
 
The council is also working with local business networks to support Small Business Saturday, a national initiative that encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities. It will take place on Saturday, 3 December and free parking will be provided in Tewkesbury and Winchcombe council-run car parks on that day.
 
Winchcombe shoppers can also take advantage of a day’s free parking on Christmas Eve (Saturday, 24 December) to help local businesses with trade and shoppers with their last-minute search for the perfect gifts.
 
Tewkesbury Borough Council’s lead member for economic development and promotion, Rob Bird said: “Our free parking days give practical support to help small businesses and town centres in the borough to prosper. Small Business Saturday and the Christmas events deliver an important economic boost for local retailers and other businesses, and our aim is to encourage more people to visit Tewkesbury and Winchcombe on these special days."
 
For more information, visit www.smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com
 
ENDS
 
For more information, please contact:
 
Lisa Davies
Communications Officer
Tewkesbury Borough Council
 

We need your help!  This is your opportunity to tell Winchcombe Town Council what you would like to see included as part of your new park.  We have prepared a Vision to show you some possibilities!  These are our ideas – please help us to develop a design for the park by sharing yours!


Please take some time to look at the vision below or visit the Library where the boards and questionnaires are available from now until Saturday 25th November 2016.  

Questionnaire here - please feel free to comment via this online survey? 

Amey will be undertaking carriageway resurfacing works at the above location.
The work is programmed to take place between 22nd – 25th November.

On 24th November, you are being asked to vote on whether, or not, to adopt the Winchcombe and Sudeley Neighbourhood Plan. It will be used as a document by Winchcombe Town Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council, Gloucestershire County Council and other government bodies in defining the wishes of the town when it comes to the ongoing development of Winchcombe. If approved by residents of Winchcombe and Sudeley, the plan is due to have a life of approx. 10 years before needing major updating.
 
The plan has had a lengthy and somewhat fractious incubation into what you are being asked to vote on. There is no change in our view on the incredibly poor ‘real’ public consultation that left many residents feeling very let down; but that is now in the past and we move forward. 
You may recollect the document that you were sent for comment detailing the original draft Neighbourhood Plan and it is important to note that very significant parts of that original plan have been rewritten and deleted as a result of recommendations made by the Examiner on the plan in May 2016.
In fact, of the 42 Policies in the original draft Neighbourhood Plan, The Examiner recommended wholesale deletion of 16 Policies (38%); 8 Policies (19%) were recommended for substantial amendment, 12 Policies (29%) were recommended for minor amendment.
 
Please take some time to reacquaint yourself with what is now in our Neighbourhood Plan and consider how the policy amendments have made it different from the last one.
 
Below is the link:
http://www.tewkesbury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2395
 
Or visit Winchcombe Library or Winchcombe Town Council Offices for a printed version to read.

We consider that the most significant change was the removal of the whole section dealing with the development of the AONB site at Almsbury Farm and the suggestions for the retirement village. This was recommended for entire deletion by the Examiner and is no longer in the plan.
You may also recall the site known as West of Winchcombe was removed prior to submission to the Examiner.
Therefore two of our core objections: the proposed developments within Winchcombe’s AONB; at Almsbury Farm and West of Winchcombe are not referenced in the document.
 
The Friends Of Winchcombe Committee are neutral on how you should vote. In the current presentation, the Plan, whilst far from perfect, would not be against the FOW ethos and membership direction.  In our view it is not detrimental to Winchcombe in terms of its application by TBC or any Authority regarding planning applications within the AONB.  We are ultimately still very much affected by Tewkesbury Borough Council and their interpretation of planning applications for sites in Winchcombe, in gaining protection for Winchcombe and the AONB.
 
We suggest that once you’ve reacquainted yourself with the final document, you will have reached your own conclusion on its merit and vote accordingly.

The Committee.