Can you help? We'd love a few minutes of your time...

You may have heard a little about what we've been up to. A steering group of local volunteers, with some help from the Town Council, has been developing a Neighbourhood Plan for Ware.

Since the autumn of 2019, we have gone through two preliminary public consultation phases and taken on board the suggestions and comments people made. We have now produced (with the help of a professional adviser) a 100-page Draft Plan… and that Plan has just been given a welcome stamp of approval by Ware Town Council.

To take this to the next stage, we now need your help.

We're asking you to tell us what you think about what we've done so far.

Does the Plan focus on the right things? Are its priorities right? Does its balance of emphasis make sense?

We're circulating paper copy questionnaires... and you can also access one online at web url to be inserted here. We've produced an overview and bite-sized summaries of the Plan's key sections.

We'd be eternally grateful if you could take a few minutes to read these... and give us your feedback.

Having a Neighbourhood Plan in place is important not just for you... but for your friends, your family and all future residents of our town.

The people of Ware have been hugely supportive so far, not least in the roadshow events we held last autumn – for instance as part of the Eco aWare event held at Ware Priory.

Can we count on more of the same? We very much hope so.

Jan Stock Signature Here

wareneighbourhoodplan.com

A line or two of explanatory copy here...

"The focus here is to ensure that there’s a range of general housing designed to meet the needs of people in Ware as they age and their requirements change... The emphasis should be on smaller housing situated close to shops and services, principally in Ware town centre."

bite-sized extract here

"Our policies seek to ensure that new developments in Ware are well-designed. They should also be in keeping with, and where possible enhance, the existing character of the town... The historic assets that contribute to Ware’s character are an irreplaceable resource and should be conserved..."

bite-sized extract here

"At the heart of the draft Plan, there’s a recognition that it must help position Ware as a thriving 21st century market town centre by supporting a sustainable mix of uses, which will encourage footfall throughout the day and into the evening... Mixed-use development proposals will normally be supported..."

bite-sized extract here

"The plan’s environment policies seek to ensure that the multiple benefits of Ware’s green and blue spaces – including their importance in combating pressure on wildlife, habitats, biodiversity and geodiversity and in off-setting the effects of air pollution – are recognised and enhanced..."

bite-sized extract here

"Our transport policies seek to enhance walking and cycling along the routes most likely to effect a shift away from the private car for short journeys in and around Ware... Proposals to improve the flow of traffic and pedestrian safety on key roads in the Neighbourhood Plan area will be strongly supported..."

bite-sized extract here

NEWS AND UPDATES

30 November 20121

Web update

"Development of Ware's Neighbourhood Plan enters an exciting new phase..."

pdf available here

20 April 20121

Web update

"We’re on schedule to conduct a second public consultation in the late summer of this year... and we’ve published a Progress Report"

pdf available here

30 November 2021

Web update

"Development of Ware's Neighbourhood Plan enters an exciting new phase..."

pdf here

Mains

A Pasta Hack That Will Transport You to Rome

Make this yours. Click here to edit the text and include any relevant information.

pdf available here

20 April 2021

Web update

"We’re still on schedule to conduct a second public consultation in the late summer of this year... and we’ve published a Progress Report

pdf here

Healthy

Creative Salad Ideas for the Veggie Lover

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pdf available here

Latest... We're setting out our stall at the Big Event in Ware on the 7th of November... hope to see you there...

WARE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

Thank you all for your support this year! We made great progress in 2021 – let's hope for even more from 2022

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

A Neighbourhood Plan is written by the local community. That means the people who know and love the area can decide on the type of development they want in the places they want it...

"A Neighbourhood Plan is written by the local community. That means the people who know and love the area can decide on the type of development they want in the places they want it..."

Page still under construction. We're hoping to develop this section of the site as a photo gallery - focusing not (just) on the beautifully crafted images you see on local Facebook groups like "Photos of Hertford and Ware" but on pictures that illustrate the sorts of things that our Neighbourhood Plan might want to legislate against... or preserve.

Day by day, you must see lots of things in town that give you pause for thought. Why not take a picture when you do? Or maybe you already have lots of images like this on your phone.

Either way, we'd love to see them. As the old cliche has it, a picture paints a thousand words - but it's absolutely true. This might be the most powerful way to get your point across.

You could post them to our Facebook page or our Twitter feed.

Or you could even email us directly: info@waretowncouncil.gov.uk

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Timeline - the story so far

Second-stage "skeleton draft"

of Plan created.

20 April 2020

Launch of website. Public consultation announced.

19 March 2020

Analysis of questionnaire responses begins.

17 April 2020

First stage of drafting process completed.

8 September 2020

23 March 2020

Questionnaire delivery to Ware's 13000+ homes and businesses. Online survey opens.

4 June 2020

Drafts of policy statements begun.

19 January 2021

Alison Eardley and Chris Bowden appointed as consultants.

Ware should be kept as an identifiable attractive town, which enjoys the peace associated with being part of the countryside, while still contributing to the wider geographical community

The Neighbourhood Plan Vision of Ware to 2033: derived from the views you have expressed in our public consultations

"Ware should be kept as an identifiable attractive town, which enjoys the peace associated with being part of the countryside, while still contributing to the wider geographical community..."

Ware should be kept as an identifiable attractive town, which enjoys the peace associated with being part of the countryside, while still contributing to the wider geographical community