RESIDENTS in the parish of Calstock are being urged to come forward to have their say on shaping the future of the area. Calstock Parish Council, which covers Calstock, Delaware, Gunnislake, Harrow-barrow and Chils-worthy, is in the process of creating a Neighbourhood Plan — a community-led framework for guiding future development, regeneration and conservation of the area. It may deal with a wide range of social, economic and environmental issues, or it may focus on one or two issues only. A neighbourhood plan gives the community more power in planning local development, with a say on where new homes, shops and offices should be built, a say on what those new buildings should look like, grant planning permission for new buildings the community wants to see, protecting open spaces and identifying projects the community would like to bring forward. It is not a device to stop development but to exercise some local control on where and how it happens. The decision to create a neighbourhood plan follows the Government's reduc-tion in planning policies across Cornwall to simplify the planning process. A neighbourhood plan will allow the parish council to develop its own planning policies reflecting the priorities of local people, but it must conform with the Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework. The council is in the process of preparing the plan and is encouraging members of the community to fill out a scoping questionnaire. The questionnaire aims to seek public opinion as to what items of planning should be included in the Calstock Parish Neighbourhood Plan. Parish councillor Jane Moore said: 'A neighbourhood plan allows local people to say where new houses and businesses should be built and what they should look like. 'The neighbourhood plan for Calstock Parish is being produced by the community-led neighbourhood plan board, chaired by David Harding. The board is consulting with the community on what issues should be included in the plan through a question-naire delivered at community events, through schools, newsletters, local groups and online. 'Everyone with a connection to the parish is encouraged to give us their views. Once we have the community's views on the scope of the plan, the board will move to the next phase — to develop the plan in consultation with local people.' Clerk to the council Sue Lemon said it was important to get involvement from the community while creating the neighbourhood plan — which is in its early stages. She said: 'It's about getting the development which the local people of the parish want and where they want it and they can have their say in that process. Creating the plan can take up to two years, so we are aiming at having it completed by 2016.' When completed, the plan is submitted to the local authority and subjected to an independent exam-ination, which ensures the proper legal process has been followed and that the plan meets the basic conditions. It is then subject to a local referendum and if it receives the majority of the votes cast, it becomes part of the statutory development plan for the area. Once a neighbourhood plan is approved, local authorities or planning inspectors will have to make decisions on the basis of the plan and any other material considerations when considering planning applications or appeals, effectively giving the local community more influence and control over the development of their area. • To complete the questionnaire or for more information about the neighbourhood plan, visit the website nplans.calstockparishcouncil.org.uk or pick up a leaflet at the Tamar Valley Centre in Drakewalls.