A local referendum on the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan will take place on Thursday 6 May – alongside the County, Parish, and Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria Police elections.
 

Those eligible to vote by post in the referendum will receive a separate postal vote pack or, if voting in person, a paper when they attend their polling station on 6 May to vote in the elections.
 

All residents of the civil parish of Hexham who are registered to vote will be able to have a say on the Neighbourhood Plan for Hexham.  
 

Voters will be asked to respond ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the question: ‘Do you want Northumberland County Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Hexham to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?’
 

If a majority of residents who vote in the referendum are in favour of the plan it will be used to make decisions on planning applications in the parish in the future.  
 

Hexham Town Council has led the process of developing the neighbourhood plan.  It established a steering group to engage with the community to produce the plan, which addresses issues local people have identified as important in their area.
 

A neighbourhood plan referendum is run in the same way as a local election, with all those eligible to vote receiving a voting paper, and the options for postal and proxy voting have been available to those who are registered.    
 

The poll will take place from 7am until 10pm on Thursday 6 May 2021, and if voting in person people will find details of which polling station to attend on their polling card.
  

The Hexham Neighbourhood Plan and accompanying documents can be viewed on the County Council’s website at: www.northumberland.gov.uk/ourplan