Councillor warns Cookham Neighbourhood Plan will contain 'hard to swallow changes'

Villagers could be asked to accept some ‘hard to swallow changes’ to a plan aimed at protecting their home’s ‘unique character’ and ‘vibrant community’ a councillor has warned.

Residents of Cookham will soon be asked to vote on their village’s neighbourhood plan, which will influence planning and development decisions that affect the area.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) expects to receive the final version of the plan from an independent examiner ‘imminently’.

But the chair of Cookham Parish Council says he is ‘disappointed’ by some of the changes he expects the examiner to make – but will have to ‘bite the bullet’ and accept them.

Parish council chair Bill Perry said: “I should say with regret in some ways that we were disappointed by some of the modifications which the examiner appears likely to recommend in his final report but one has to bite the bullet sometimes and be grown up about these things.

“The fact of the matter is that on the whole the examiner has approved the plan."

Mr Perry said that although some of the anticipated changes had ‘disappointed particularly some of the pressure groups’ in Cookham, the final version would keep ‘enough of what the consensus of what the public wants’.

He added: “It is plainly in our view going to be for the benefit of the community and the planning applications which will be forthcoming in Cookham.”

RBWM councillor Mark Howard, who is also Cookham parish council vice chair, also said the final version would include ‘some hard to swallow changes’.

But he added: “We believe enough of it remains to continue with the process.”

Mr Perry and councillor Howard were speaking to RBWM council leaders at a cabinet committee meeting on Wednesday, May 21.

Cabinet councillors voted unanimously to allow RBWM’s director of planning to accept any changes the examiner then hold a referendum on the final draft.

Councillor Adam Bermange, the cabinet member responsible for planning, said the referendum would mean ‘every resident in Cookham will have the opportunity to vote on whether this plan should guide future decision making in the area’.

He said the views of Cookham residents had fed into how the plan was drawn up.

Councillor Bermange said: “The plan has been shaped by local voices through extensive consultation, exhibitions and feedback sessions.

“I really believe therefore that it reflects what really matters most to the community in Cookham.”

Mr Perry said the examiner had described the consultation as ‘exemplary’.

He added ‘major community groups’ – including the Cookham Society, Wild Cookham, Save Cookham and Cookhams Footprint – had all had an input.

Councillor Bermange said that he expected the examiner to deliver his final draft to RBWM ‘imminently’ and that the council would aim to hold the referendum before the summer holidays.