Everyone should have received a leaflet explaining why we need to have a neighbourhood development plan and why the planning team needs your support.  If you haven’t, please call 860378 or use the ‘Contact us’ button on the village website at www.chillaton.net or better still, read the leaflet on the new MACKPlan website at www.mackplan.org.uk 
 
Just last week, the need to have a neighbourhood plan became even more apparent, as West Devon Borough Council began discussions with parish councils about the allocation of targets for new housing. In our parish, that is likely to mean 20 – 30 new homes being built over the next 15 years, mainly in Milton Abbot. We will now be able to identify the sites to be developed, determine what local housing needs will be met and influence the design of what’s built.  We will have a really significant impact on this issue that cannot be ignored; something that would have been impossible without MACKPlan, our neighbourhood plan.
 
To get that right, we need local people to get involved. So, if you can, please come to the initial meeting next Thursday at 7.30pm at Milton Abbot village hall when the MACKPlan process, which will not be run by the Parish Council, will be launched.
 
Even if you don’t want to join the MACKPlan team, your support is vital.  As are your views, especially if you think we should be doing things differently.
 
Please think about joining the MACKPlan team, even if you’re only going to attend the first briefing session on the 21st October and make your mind up then. Nobody will have to make any specific commitment about their contribution to the work of the team and the whole process will be flexible and informal.  Do please give it a try!