PORTLAND residents have been given the opportunity to have their say on the draft proposal for the isle’s neighbourhood plan.

Portland Town Council are leading the consultation process for the Portland Neighbourhood Plan and are inviting residents to come and look at the proposal before it is put before Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.

A neighbourhood plan aims to give residents more say in the future use of land and buildings in their area, such as where new homes, shops or offices might be built or identifying and protecting important green spaces.

In 2013, Councillors approved the designation of the entire parish area of Portland as the neighbourhood plan area, however, the process of moving the plan forward has been slowed.

Andy Matthews of Portland Community Partnership said: “It has been a long time coming we have to wait for things to happen.

“The original Local Plan did not look at Portland in any great detail.

“The impetus of the Local Plan review and additional funding support via the Department of Communities and Local Government and Locality has improved the scope of our evidence base and we are now ready to progress the plan through the next stage.”

He added: “This is the first consultation before we go into a more formal stage which involves the local planning authority.”

The plan is mainly policy based and sets out the potential direction for land use over the next 15 years building on aims and objectives including environment, business and employment, housing, transport, shopping and services, community recreation and sustainable tourism.

Mr Matthews said: “This is an opportunity for the community to have a their say on whether they are happy with the direction the plan is going.

“We would like anyone who has any major concerns to come to us, so we can look at their concerns and try to respond to them rather than leave it to the last minute.

“There will be people available to talk through the details of the plan at the consultations and to answer any queries residents may have about the plan.

“It is important to the way the island goes forward and to local government reform in Dorset with the town councils having greater responsibility when working with the proposed unitary authorities.”

“We know it is an awkward time of the year to get people out to have their say, so we have added a couple of extra dates to the consultation period in December and January.”

For more information on the Portland Neighbourhood Plan visit www.portlandplan.org.uk