Update: Councillor’s vote to abandon the Neighbourhood Plan. At January’s meeting of Full Council in a narrow 7-6 vote, Councillors decide to stop work, and instead use the evidence gathered by volunteers to refresh Top of the Weald – A Vision for Crowborough.
The Neighbourhood Plan was supposed to give residents greater influence in shaping future development in Crowborough, as well as ensuring the Town Council gets a greater share of money from developers to pay for new community facilities.
But now the Chairman has resigned, and with general apathy among residents, the Town Council is left pondering whether it is worth spending more money completing the Plan.
At the Steering Group meeting on 7th October, Chairman volunteer Charles Tankard walked-in at the last moment and asked the two Town Councillors present whether the Town Council had confidence in the plan? He then flung his resignation letter across the table and walked-out.
In the past Councillors on the Planning and Development Committee have expressed concern about the lack of public participation in the four working groups.
Most of the £30,000 set aside by the Town Council has already been spent on consultancy fees and paying for a housing needs survey to be conducted.
The Town Council is now planning to call a crisis meeting with the last few remaining volunteers to decide what to do.
