is staging a referendum on 9th November in which locals will be asked whether or not they back a neighbourhood development plan that the parish council has drawn up for the area.
While the neighbourhood plan cannot put a blanket block on further development - and must complement, rather than contradict, existing Preston, Wyre and Central Lancashire planning policy - it can exert significant influence and would have to be factored in when planning applications were being decided.
“Barton has had a disproportionately high ratio [of new housing] in comparison to the size of the village and the infrastructure that supports it. Cllr Parker also stressed that the plan - which has been six years in the making and includes sections on green infrastructure, drainage and supporting businesses - “isn't just about either encouraging or discouraging housing”.