MILTON Abbot Grouped Parish Council and Kelly Parish are launching a neighbourhood development plan to give residents a say in shaping the future of their areas.

A neighbourhood plan gives the community more power in planning local development, with a say on where new homes, shops and offices should be built, a say on what those new buildings should look like, grant planning permission for new buildings the community wants to see, protecting open spaces and identifying projects the community would like to bring forward.

It is not a device to stop development but to exercise some local control on where and how it happens.

As the parishes do not have just one community in the area, it has taken the name MACKplan — the initials of Milton Abbot, Chillaton and Kelly.

A meeting to discuss the launch of the MACKplan will be held tonight (Thursday) at 7.30pm in Milton Abbot Village Hall.

Howard Asbridge, chair of MACKplan, said: 'Neighbourhood plans must be taken into account when planning decisions are made.

'They're a great opportunity for local residents to have a real influence over what development takes place in their area, where it will go and what it will look like.

'We have a Government grant to pay for training and support as the MACKplan team gets going and the borough council will be providing help and advice too.

'There will be all sorts of ways to get involved, so if you want to know more please come along to the meeting.'

There is a dedicated website at http://www.mackplan.org.uk">www.mackplan.org.uk where residents can find out more and sign up to receive regular email updates on the progress of MACKplan.