The inaugural meeting of the Sutton Courtenay Forum took place earlier today bringing together representatives of the Sutton Courtenay community and the District and County councils. The forum seeks to strengthen links between the community and the councils and to give greater influence to residents over the future of the village. The adoption of the Vale of White Horse Local Plan provides greater certainty for villages such as Sutton Courtenay over future development by giving the Council more powers to refuse planning applications outside of the local plan. The Neighbourhood Plan coming forward there is the opportunity for the Parish Council to control a much larger proportion of infrastructure funding. Meeting regularly the Forum is intended as a problem solving group to address the concerns of local residents, particularly trying to resolve some of the concerns over transport and infrastructure.
Anne Morgan-Smith from Sutton Courtenay Action commented: "We are encouraged by this initiative which recognises the unique situation of Sutton Courtenay and welcome the opportunity to discuss the challenges our village is facing. The village has been subjected to a wide range of industrial and housing development with wholly inadequate improvement to amenities and infrastructure. We hope that through the Forum we can begin to address some of these challenges."
Cllr Matthew Barber, Leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council added: "I recognise the genuine concerns within Sutton Courtenay of the cumulative impact of development over a long period of time and from today's meeting it is already clear that we can work closely to resolve many of them. I would never suggest we can find a solution for every issue but I have no doubt that the transparent and open dialogue we have now established will be a great benefit to the local community."