People living in Whittlesey and four surrounding villages are being asked to help decide how the area will develop in the future at a special workshop.

Residents in the town plus villages of Eastrea, Coates, Turves and Pondersbridge, are having a say over the development that takes place in their area.

The workshop involves drawing up their own planning policies that will be used to decide whether to approve or refuse planning applications locally.

The document is being written by members of the local community who know and love the area, rather than the local planning authority.

Neighbourhood plans are a powerful tool which are already affecting planning decisions all over the country.

A spokesman for Whittlesey Town Council, said: “We’re making great progress and engaging with the community every step of the way.

“The Neighbourhood Plan process is being led by members of the Town Council with support from URBED, a Manchester based Urban Design company.

“Back in March 2017 a questionnaire was delivered to every household to gather the thoughts of this community – we got some fantastic responses and ideas about important issues facing the parish.

“The next stage was to hold a community workshop, which we ran last November at the Whittlesey Christian Church.

“The purpose of the workshop was to build on results of the survey to develop a vision for the future of this area and to set some objectives for what the neighbourhood plan should be trying to achieve with its policies.

“Aspirations can be turned into valid policies by looking at them differently. For example a desire for improved public transport could turn into a policy requiring new development to be close to bus stops.”

• The workshop is on Saturday February 24 from 11am and 1pm at Whittlesey Christian Church. URBED will be on hand to help.

• Full details of the workshop are on the Town Council website and the Neighbourhood Plan Twitter feed @WhittleseyNP.

• To get involved visit www.whittleseytc.com or follow the news on the Twitter page @WhittleseyNP. Alternatively, contact Whittlesey Town Council at Grosvenor House, Grosvenor Road, Whittlesey, PE7 1AQ.