A referendum relating to the adoption of the Carnforth Neighbourhood Plan will be held on Thursday 26th January 2023 in Carnforth and Crag Bank Electoral Wards.
Voters will be asked the question: ‘Do you want Lancaster City Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Carnforth to help decide planning applications in the Neighbourhood Area?’
To vote in this referendum, residents of Carnforth and Crag Bank must be registered to vote and be 18 or over on the day of the poll. The last date to apply for a postal vote is Wednesday 11th January 2023 at 5:00pm.
To check you are on the Electoral Register and eligible to vote or to register please contact Lancaster City Council Electoral Services by telephone on 01524 582905 or by email to: elections@lancaster.gov.uk
The polling stations will be Carnforth Civic Hall, North Road, Carnforth LA5 9LJ and Crag Bank Village Hall, Jesson Way, Carnforth LA5 9EG. These will be open from 07:00 until 2200 on the day of the referendum with counting taking place on the same day after the polling stations have been closed.
A number of documents (referred to as ‘specified documents’ in the Regulations) have been produced in order to help with the voting process.
These specified documents can be viewed on Lancaster City Council’s website at: https://www.lancaster.gov.uk/planning/planning-policy/neighbourhood-planning or downloaded from Carnforth Town Council here: Carnforth NDP – Hi Resolution.pdf
Alternatively, a printed version of the specified documents are available to view at the following locations:
- Lancaster City Council Offices at Morecambe Town Hall, Marine Road East, Morecambe (Opening hours: Monday – Friday 9am to 1pm, excluding Bank Holidays)
- Lancaster City Council Offices at Lancaster Town Hall, Dalton Square, Lancaster LA1 1PJ (Opening hours: Monday – Friday 9am to 1pm, excluding Bank Holidays)
- Carnforth Library 65A Lancaster Road, Carnforth LA5 9DZ (Opening hours are Tuesday 9am to 7pm; Wednesday 9am to 1pm, Thursday and Friday 9am to 5pm; Saturday 9am to 1pm
- At the scheduled Carnforth Town Council Meetings on Wednesday 21st December 2022 and Wednesday 18th January 2023 at Carnforth Council Offices, 46 – 48 Market Street, Carnforth, LA5 9LB
Results of the Carnforth Neighbourhood Planning Referendum of the Neighbourhood Plan will be published in due course.
The Carnforth Neighbourhood Plan was independently examined between August and October 2022 and the Examiner recommended that, subject to some proposed modifications, the Plan should proceed to referendum.
A neighbourhood plan comes into force as part of the statutory development plan once it has been approved at referendum. Neighbourhood planning is a key component of the Government’s Localism Act. It devolves greater powers to councils and neighbourhoods, giving local people rights to shape the development of the communities in which they live by taking a more active role in the development of planning policy at a local level.
