Published in Adel Bells Parish Magazine

Press Release – we are up and running with a bang

There were more than fireworks going off in Adel on 5th November. It also marked the inaugural meeting of the Adel Neighbourhood Forum. Nick Brown, Co-Chairman welcomed the 15 Members to the launch and said “The purpose of the Forum is to give a renewed sense of ownership to the Adel Community on land development issues; also to ensure that local people have a strong influence over the future use, location, character and mix of future developments”. He added that the vision would be to ensure a sustainable future for Adel. A key factor was to define a clear identity for the area which would be for the benefit of the inhabitants and would also foster a spirit of pride in the local community.

Amanda Schonfeld said that community involvement was vital and she outlined the consultation process with the main parties including residents, businesses, community organisations and developers. In addition there will be seven focus groups with specific sectors such as education and transport.

Sarah Rushton set out the technical issues involved including the National Planning Policy Framework and the Localism Act.  She said that there would be a close dialogue with Leeds City Planning Department and that a Neighbourhood Plan will be produced which will be the subject of a community referendum. She envisaged a time scale of 18-24 months.

Ian Bond, Co- Chairman said “The definition of the boundary for the Forum has now gone out to consultation by Leeds City Council. The next steps will be to agree the formal constitution, set up the focus groups and start the public consultation through a “Visioning Process” whereby individuals are given their opportunity to say how they see the structure of Adel in say 15-20 years time”. He thanked members for their contributions to date and said much work will need to be completed before the next Forum meeting on 4th February 2013.

Persons with an interest in Adel or for further information please contact;

Ian Bond on
bondster@btopenworld.com or

Nick Brown on
nick.brown@2B-architecture.com

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