THE Okehampton neighbourhood plan and community renewable energy scheme were among the big talking points at this year's Okehampton Hamlets annual parish assembly.

The Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council holds the assembly each year to actively engage with the people of the parish, inviting them to listen to the latest workings of the council and find out more about what is going on in and around the area.

The meeting on April 14 gave the public the chance to ask questions in a less formal setting than the regular council meetings and councillors the chance to reflect on the past 12 months.

West Devon Borough Council strategic planning office Rebecca Black and Dartmoor National Park communities officer Jo Rumble spoke about the neighbourhood planning project being undertaken jointly by the hamlets parish council and Okehampton Town Council.

Such plans establish general planning policies for the development and use of land in a neighbourhood, like where new homes and work space should be built, and what they should look like.

The plan can be detailed or general depending on the desires of local people. Neighbourhood plans allow local people to get the right type of development for their community but the plans must still meet the needs of the wider area.

The Okehampton plan is to include the entireties of both parishes.

Rebecca Black said that the neighbourhood plan must still support the strategic needs of West Devon but it can shape the type of development the community would be happy with.

She said: 'This is the first time parish planning has real weight in the planning process and has statutory weight in planning process.

'Most of the development going on in Okehampton is actually going on in the Okehampton Hamlets parish so it makes sense for the two councils to work together. I'm sure in the past many people were frustrated by the Core Strategy. The neighbourhood plan gives the community the chance to add Okehampton-specific details to planning consideration. It needs to be a community effort for it to work. West Devon and Dartmoor National Park can guide but it is written at local level and needs community involvement.'

Andrew Shadrake from Devon Association for Renewable Energy (DARE) gave a talk about the potential community renewable energy schemes being explored by the parish and town councils. A potential scheme may provide revenue that could fund community initiatives.

DARE are to carry out a study to assess the potential renewable energy resources in the area, with a possible focus being hydropower and solar PV panels. They will talk to landowners and others to see what potential sites might be used for such projects and also work with the community to see if they are interested in forming an energy co-operative to own any renewable installations, using any profit for the benefit of Okehampton and the hamlets.

Parish council chairman Derek Webber said: 'It is a new venture to be joining with the town for the neighbourhood plan and community energy scheme.

'It is bringing the two councils together and when it's done hopefully it will be what the people want and we get people coming forward to get involved during the process.

'It is important to keep Okehampton together as a whole over the years ahead.'