RESIDENTS in Christchurch shared their views to help ‘shape the future’ of the town at a consultation meeting on Saturday, November 5. 

Christchurch Town Council hosted two public events to share the progress of their draft neighbourhood plan.

Members of the public could see the policy document at an exhibition in the town centre on Saturday and again today, Monday, November 7, to give feedback on the draft.

READ MORE: Plans for Christchurch to be shared at public exhibition

Councillors Dr Robert Luscombe and Vivienne Charrett attended the Saturday consultation to discuss the plan with members of the public and hear their views.

The consultation asked for resident’s opinions on green spaces, cycle and walkways, heritage sites and facilities for young people in Christchurch.

Councillor Vivienne Charrett said: “We’ve had about 30 people through so far and it’s the first day of doing this.

“The neighbourhood plan has been going for a couple of years now, it’s a consultation on what the people of Christchurch want Christchurch to be for the next 10 or 20 years.

“We want to know what they want it to be like, what they want to improve, what they want to conserve, what are the things that they really don’t want to happen, so the more people that take part, the better.

“Last time we did the consultation we got 800 surveys which is really good and we want to do at least that much this time.

“When you get to the end of the process you have a referendum on the neighbourhood plan and if more than 50 per cent of the people vote for it then it goes into planning law and when BCP judge any planning applications, they have to take this into account as much as their own views, which is very useful.

“It’s a long process but were trying to get as many people involved as possible. There’s also an online survey that people have already filled in and there will be hard copies in the library.”

Cllr Dr Robert Luscombe said: “All of this is about creating a neighbourhood plan that reflects the history, heritage and character of Christchurch going forward but also ensuring it feels owned by the residents, it’s critical that we get residents views.”

Resident Peter Fenning said: “The consultation looks at how things should be built, do we need more cycle routes, more walking areas? We’ve got a very ancient series of buildings here from as far back as the Saxon era and they need protection.

"There’s a constant to and fro between wanting to bring new things in and people who would like to keep things as they are. So the consultation allows people to give their views on the Christchurch area and what they would like to keep or change.”