Referenda - three Neighbourhood Plans up for the vote

On Thursday September 1, residents of each village will decide whether they would like the Neighbourhood Plan produced by their parish council to be used to determine planning applications in their area.

Neighbourhood Plans give people the opportunity to influence the future development of their local area.

Albourne, Balcombe and Bolney parish councils have each finalised a Neighbourhood Plan for their area.

Residents in each village will now be asked to vote on their specific plan and, if more than 50 per cent of people support the plan, it will be used by Mid Sussex District Council to decide local planning applications in that area.

Recent home movers should check that they have updated their details on the electoral register and will be eligible to vote. Only residents in Albourne, Balcombe and Bolney are eligible to vote in these Neighbourhood Plan referenda.

The deadline for new registration applications is Monday August 15 and the deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on Tuesday August 16.

New applications to appoint someone to vote by proxy must be made by 5pm on Tuesday August 23 and applications for an emergency proxy vote must be received by 5pm on Thursday September 1.

Anyone with questions about registration or the electoral process is asked to contact the Mid Sussex District Council electoral services team on (01444) 477003 or email elections@midsussex.gov.uk

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