Residents in Blackrod must be registered to vote if they want to have a say on their local Neighbourhood Plan.
March 26 has now been confirmed as the date for the referendum.
Voters will be asked: ‘do you want Bolton Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Blackrod to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?’
People need be registered to vote by March 10. Register to vote online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
The deadline for applying for a postal vote is March 11.
Anyone can check they are registered to vote by contacting Bolton Council on 01204 331248/338784/333843.
Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm at Blackrod Church School, Vicarage Road; Blackrod Community Centre (Rivington Room) and Blackrod Youth Club, Manchester Road.
Bolton Council’s returning officer, Chief Executive Tony Oakman, said: “Registering to vote is a simple process. We want to make sure everyone who wants to cast their vote is able to do so.”
The plan is available to view online, at the One Stop Shop in Bolton Town Hall or at the Town Council office at Blackrod Library.
Following the examination of the plan by an independent examiner, councillors agreed in January to proceed to a vote, giving residents the final say.
Blackrod is the first place in the borough to reach this stage – Horwich and Over Hulton are still formulating their own plans.
If the plan is supported by the local referendum, with more than half of those voting in favour, it will be used to make decisions on future planning applications.
The 2011 Localism Act introduced a right for communities to produce neighbourhood plan, enabling them develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and shape the development and growth of their local area.
The Town Council prepared and consulted on a draft Neighbourhood Plan, which they submitted to Bolton Council in June 2019.
Bolton Council consulted on the submitted plan and received representations before it was submitted to an independent examiner.
The examiner proposed some modifications, which have been incorporated into the final plan.
Policies in Blackrod’s Draft Neighbourhood Plan include:-
- A requirement for 215 homes between 2018 and 2033, a figure that reflects an apportionment of Bolton’s overall local housing need
- An additional housing site on land at Vicarage Road West, specifically for older people; the land is identified as protected open land in the Bolton Local Plan
- The identification of local green spaces, which give greater protection to open spaces than in the Local Plan
- The identification of a ‘local list’ of buildings of heritage interest, with an associated policy