THE Tavistock community could have more of a say over future developments in the town, as the town council is set to look into creating a neighbourhood plan.

The Government is reforming the planning system in a bid to make it more locally driven. A neighbourhood plan aims to give people greater ownership of plans and policies and more of a say in the development of their local area.?Once adopted it will form part of the overall local development plan and will be used to consider all planning applications in that area.

The plan would allow the community to have a say in where new homes, shops and offices should be built, what new buildings should look like and grant planning permission for the new buildings they want to see go ahead.

Tavistock Town Council felt it should consider creating a neighbourhood plan, in conjunction with other interested community bodies.

At a meeting of the full council recently, councillors agreed to look into what funding is available to help with the creation of a plan.

The neighbourhood plan is usually led by the town council but in partnership with the community — residents and businesses — and must meet certain criteria, such as being in general conformity with strategic policies for the local development plan.

The plan would then be voted on in a local referendum, where it would need to gain a majority of votes in the town to come into force.