Overwhelming majority votes for Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan at referendum
Overwhelming majority votes for Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan at referendum
93.0% of the 376 people voting supported the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan. 'Turnout' of 19.2% was good for neighbourhood planning in London.
Knightsbridge residents overwhelmingly approved the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan (the ‘Plan’) in the referendum held on Thursday 18 October 2018 (the ‘Referendum’).
The Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Forum (the ‘Forum’) is the first of 17 neighbourhood forum’s in the City of Westminster to reach this stage.
Tasnim Shawkat, Westminster City Council’s Director of Law, on behalf of Stuart Love, the Counting Officer, announced the results at Westminster’s City Hall after the vote count at about 11pm on 18 October.
Westminster City Council (‘Westminster’) certified that there were 351 votes in favour of the Plan and 25 votes against. None of the votes were rejected. This meant that 93.0% of those voting have voted in favour of the Plan and 7.0% against. The 'turnout' was 19.21% of 1,957 people which is good for neighbourhood planning in London. Registered voters living in the Plan area were eligible to vote in the Referendum.
Quotes
Simon Birkett, Chair of the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Forum, said on behalf of the Forum:
“The Forum wishes to thank all those who voted in the Referendum and many others who helped us to achieve this very positive result over more than three years. We are also enormously grateful to Westminster City Council’s electoral services and planning officers, not least since we submitted our Plan last November, for supporting the neighbourhood forum to reach this stage.
"Our lead advisers, Chris Bowden at Navigus Planning and Kate Harrison at Harrison Grant Solicitors, have been instrumental in helping the Forum to achieve this milestone.
"The Forum is excited by the planning revolution underway at Westminster. We hope that the Council’s 'fresh look' at what planning policy can do to support Westminster’s neighbourhoods will include throwing its full weight behind our objectives, planning policies and best practice guidance in its new City Plan to be launched next month. Doing so will add further impetus to our ambitious neighbourhood plan.”
“Last but not least we hope that our success working with Westminster City Council to find ‘win-win’ solutions in planning policy and guidance encourages others in Westminster and more widely to progress their neighbourhood plans.”
Emily Candler, Vice Chair of the Forum and Executive Director of the Exhibition Road Cultural Group, said:
“The cultural quarter, founded from the legacy of the Great Exhibition, is today a globally important centre of learning and innovation in the arts and science. The Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan recognises the importance of enabling the academic and cultural organisations here to thrive and develop to ensure this continues to be a great place to visit, study, work and live for generations to come. Producing the Plan has been a truly community effort and we have been pleased to work with neighbours and local businesses to shape the future development of Knightsbridge.”
Kostas Sfaltos, a Business Director on the Forum's Board and General Manager, Bulgari Hotel, London, said:
“Knightsbridge is recognised internationally as the most exciting and desired destination for our London visitors. I believe that the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan will be vital to preserve and improve the special character of our remarkable neighbourhood.”
Next steps
The Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan must be ‘made’ by Westminster within eight weeks of the Referendum. A neighbourhood plan comes into force as part of the statutory development plan once it has been approved at referendum.* Highlights of the Plan are available here.
As part of Westminster’s statutory development plan, the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan will be used alongside the Council’s own planning documents and the Mayor’s London Plan in determining planning applications in the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Area.
ENDS.
* The government has published guidance explaining the neighbourhood planning system introduced by the Localism Act, including key stages and considerations required.
Ms Jill Kingaby BSc (Econ) MSc MRTPI of Intelligent Plans and Examinations was the Examiner.
