THERE has never been a better time for all generations to have their say on the future of Callington and Kelly Bray so residents are being asked to watch out for the neighbourhood plan questionnaire which is arriving on their doormats this week.

Everything from housing to health, tourism, schools and green spaces is covered and Callington Town Council is appealing to households to sit down together over the summer holidays and really decide how they would like to see Callington develop in the future.

'It's about the quality of life of residents living in Callington and that means the children, parents and grandparents,' said town councillor Rick Lumley. 'We had a town plan in 2005 but this is the first neighbourhood plan and it will have teeth!

'If towns do not have a credible and sensible plan like this in place it is much easier for developers to come in and build what they like; but it's not just about the built environment, it is about how we can make Callington a great place to live in now and in the future, 20 or 30 years ahead. That is why it is so important to get the young people involved.'

The council had a stall at Callington Primary School recently where they engaged children with the built environment through Lego and used the Postman Pat idea to tell them important documents would be arriving by post.

'This is our chance to really put a stamp on what we want the town to look like so please take the time to fill in the questionnaire with your families,' he urged residents.

'The suggestions do have to be realistic though, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, ice rink and cinema are just not feasible for a town this size.'

The questionnaire is being delivered to around 3,000 households and councillors hope that the size of the document will not put people off reading through it and filling it out.

With a change in government legislation, and through the creation of a neighbourhood plan, the community is able to have more power in terms of what happens in their area.

The plan gives the community more capacity in planning local development, with a say on where new homes, shops and offices should be built and a say on what those new buildings should look like, grant planning permission for new buildings the community wants to see, protect open spaces and identify projects the community would like to bring forward.

Town clerk Helen Dowdall said: 'Please take the time to fill it in, your future depends on it.

'We appreciate it is a robust and lengthy document but we hope people will invest an hour of their time now to safeguard the town for future generations.

'In the document we have tried to cover everything. We are tackling it head on with a meaty document and would really appreciate any comments or ideas that people have about it. There is also a chance to win a hamper.

'Responses from the questionnaires will formulate our planning policies, which will go to referendum for a decision.'