WELLINGTON Town Council is to plough ahead once again to try and finally get a Neighbourhood Plan for the area drawn up.

Previous attempts to produce a plan have failed but there will now be a real drive to push forward with the Neighbourhood Plan as it would provide guidance for future development of the area.

A Neighbourhood Plan working party met for the first time on August 21 where councillors heard from Taunton Deane Borough Council’s planning and environment policy officer Ann Rhodes about the process.

Town clerk Greg Dyke said: “Previous attempts to prepare a Neighbourhood Plan had fizzled out. This meeting was therefore an opportunity to consider whether there was any benefit in re-starting the development of a plan for Wellington.”

Councillors were told that setting up a Neighbourhood Plan was a good way to get the whole Wellington community involved with consultations.

“Not necessarily just relating to planning but to issues that were important to the community,” said Mr Dyke.

“In order to maintain enthusiasm and momentum the development of a plan would need to involve local people and not just councillors.

“The plan could focus on particular areas to be meaningful and add value.”

The working party recommended to the full town council that the development of a Neighbourhood Plan for Wellington be re-started.

Councillors agreed at the town council meeting last week that they should go ahead with getting the ball rolling as a matter of importance.

Cllr Will Brown said: “A Neighbourhood Plan is absolutely vital.”

And Cllr John Thorne added: “We have all seen what happens when we rely on Taunton Deane Borough Council planning policy – so it’s good that we should come up with our own policies.”

Cllr Mark Lithgow said: “We should have had a Neighbourhood Plan in place a long time ago.

“We will need to spend money on this. It’s not just a good idea, it is essential we have this in place.”

It is expected that the council will look to get professional help in getting the Neighbourhood Plan process up and running.