Vast majority of residents support Stoke Mandeville neighbourhood plan, according to new survey

The vast majority of residents in Stoke Mandeville approve of the village's new neighbourhood plan, a new survey shows.

Over the summer, Stoke Mandeville Parish Council urged residents to participate in its plan for the village, which will set out 20 years' worth of concepts.

When tallying the overall responses of those who completed the survey, the parish council revealed an 86% approval rating.

Out of the 85%, 75% of the Stoke Mandeville community gave the plans a resounding 'two thumbs up' approval.

Having received positive feedback from community members the parish council plans to finalise the project.

Once ready, the neighbourhood plan will be externally examined and voted on in a referendum.

The neighbourhood plan covers future planning decisions on development, conservation and over areas of local governance.

A parish council spokesperson explained that the neighbourhood plan was developed in response to plans announced to create major development sites in the village.

As Stoke Mandeville has been earmarked for major development by both the government and Bucks Council.

A Stoke Mandeville Parish Council spokesperson said: "It will ensure that the community has made a positive, proactive, and meaningful contribution to how decisions about strategic development, roads and rail projects are made within the parish.

"Its policies have been drawn up with specific relevance to the parish and the objectives of the local community. Most importantly, they are designed to minimize any unplanned speculative development."

Every question on the survey was answered by at least 109 residents, the biggest response came to biodiversity and policy section.

In total, 143 people responded to the environmental query, with 87% responding positively.

The lowest responses came to questions regarding the Western Boundary policy and the final question asking for an overall summary of the plan.

The most well-received aspect of the plan was the conversation ideas surrounding the Stoke Brook Corridor.

Despite 86% being in agreement, the 14% dissention regarding the neighbourhood plan overall, was actually the worst received part of the survey.

The parish council encourages residents to keep up to date with the plan by checking its social media accounts for updates.