Draft policies have been informed by the evidence we have gathered to date – this includes planning documents such as the Cornwall Local Plan (which Newquay NP must be ‘in conformity’ with) and other key documentation; as well as the views and feedback we have received from you.

Consultation are going to be held throughout June – July and are to get your views and thoughts on the policies we have formed so far – so we know whether we have interpreted your vision and objectives for Newquay correctly; and what needs to be looked at further, or changed. They will be held at several locations around Newquay Parish in order to reach as many of you as possible.

Saturday 3rd June 2017 – Trenance Cottages 10am-4pm

Tuesday 13th June 2017 – Watergate Bay Hotel 10.30am-4pm

Saturday 24th June 2017 – Sports Centre 10am-4pm

Thursday 6th July 2017 – Great Western Hotel 4.30pm-8pm

Saturday 8th July 2017 – Newquay Centre 10.30am-3.30pm

Wednesday 12th July 2017 – Pentire Hotel 4.30pm-8pm

Saturday 22nd July 2017 – St Columb Minor Institute 12.30pm-4.30pm

Come and have your say in Newquay’s NDP ..

We are approaching the final lap on our Newquay Neighbourhood Plan..

Despite the crop of elections, we are still on target for submission of our plan in July. But we still need your help!

• We are calling for photos of your favourite views and vistas that the NNP policies need to specifically protect from unsuitable development – click here to find out more.
• Watch this space for a series of consultation events throughout June and July that will be held across the Town and Parish. Please drop by where you will be able to see the draft policies and backup evidence, and most importantly tell us what you think! Click here to find out whats happening.

The latest survey is ready for you!

Following on from the Fish Festival, the in-depth surveys are going to start getting delivered to every household in Newquay. It would be greatly appreciated if you could take the time to fill this out and get it back to us, as this will be crucial to any further development of the Neighbourhood plan policies.

The Town Council are working on delivering a Newquay Neighbourhood Plan (the NNP) for Newquay, which will be the legal planning policies that govern land use in the parish. Currently residents have little ability to influence planning decisions yet this is an issue that people feel strongly about and is emotive. This a unique opportunity for communities to shape what happens in their area, and plan for their future – their views and participation will have an effect shaping the economic, social and environmental future of their town.
The aspiration of this project is to harness local volunteer power and really get out there and engage and consult with as many of our residents as possible. The results of this will inform our policies meaning the NNP is a truly community developed plan.
We are progressing well, we are on schedule to develop and submit our Plan by the end of the Year to be voted upon in a formal Referendum in the Spring of 2017. We have a dedicated and talented team of local volunteers – Newquay is blessed with residents whose qualifications and depth of professionalism are really adding to the plan. And the Young People in our local Schools, the ones who will have to live longest with the decisions we make now, have already hugely contributed and are already planning to do more.
We have been successful in obtaining grants, a total of £8,000 this year in addition to £7,000 last year; that allows us to buy-in the extra independent and unbiased support to provide the necessary expertise and training to support our volunteers. And to ensure the policies that we include can face up to the strong legal challenge that we will inevitably face from some developers who will feel these limit what they want to do.
Most of all we need to progress an effective communications and consultation strategy. Because the biggest challenge we face is involving every resident and business in our parish that stretches from the River Gannel to Watergate Bay and Tregurrian. In a subject which on the face of it can seem dry and uninvolving – that is until a block of flats (or even just a single house) is proposed for a favourite beauty spot; or a purple building appears sticking out like a sore thumb for miles around. Or even a brand new good looking development appears whose cladding, metal work etc fade away and rust in a few years of our seaside weather. Or fixings that cannot stand up to a breath of wind.
That involvement is essential – we need to be sure that what we say is what the community wants – and most important to provide the evidence that what we do is genuinely community supported. It is crucial that the community are continually informed and engaged in the NNP process and that people that work and live in the area (irrespective of their circumstances) all have the opportunity to be involved and be part of this process. This is not about us telling them what we want, it is the community telling us and having a mechanism for making it a reality.

But we have to accept that we have not yet achieved that level of community support we would like. And not yet convinced that this time is different; this time there is a real opportunity for every individual to have their voice heard and to make a difference. We have hundreds of residents who have responded to the work on the plan so far – but for a town of this size, we need thousands.
So expect to hear more from us, more stories in the press, more direct mail (with the opportunity for prepaid response), more events over the coming months.
And finally a plea, keep an eye out for the questionnaires that are being issued or for the workshops we schedule on our main policy themes to which anyone interested is invited. We have a website at www.Newquayplan.org where all our research, all our questionnaires, all our announcements re available. Do get in touch – We need you to contribute.

March 2016.