THE conclusion of nearly four years of work by North Tawton’s Neighbourhood Plan Group will be unveiled to residents at an event on Saturday, December 10 in North Tawton Town Hall from 10am until noon.

The Neighbourhood Plan, which is in draft form, will be printed and made available to all households in the town next year. But, as a first stage, the policies on conservation and development of the town, which are at the heart of it, will be given an airing.

During the event comments from members of the public are invited.

Two years ago a questionnaire by the group went out to every household in the town asking for views on what was important to North Tawton residents — what aspects of town life they valued, what they wanted to preserve, what would make life better and what were any areas of concern.

A 40% response has kept the group busy compiling the results and formulating proposals to address the issues people raised.

When complete, and following an examination process, North Tawton’s Neighbourhood Plan will be adopted by West Devon and become part of its development plan.

At that stage, it must be referred to when future planning and development proposals are being considered by West Devon District Council in conjunction with any other agencies. It has a life span of 20 years and will be valid until 2034.

Chair of the Neighbourhood Plan Group Jean Trewhitt said: ‘This has been a really important process and we have consulted local people all along the way. We hope everyone is going to be pleased with the policies that have emerged — on the building of new houses, for example, and on retaining the commercial heart of the town, on thorny issues such as transport and parking and on how we preserve our lovely natural environment in a properly sustainable way.

‘We are hoping for a good turnout on Saturday, December 10 at the town hall. We’ll be there from 10am until noon and will offer some festive refreshments to those who come along.’