VILLAGERS are looking forward to a promising future for their community after residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of a unique plan.

Residents in Upper and Nether Poppleton, on the west side of York, turned out on Wednesday to show their support in a referendum which saw a 36 per cent turnout, with 91 per cent of those voting to adopt a neighbourhood plan.

The proposal will help determine the way new homes, businesses, play areas and open spaces are developed in the Poppletons over the next 20 years.

Edie Jones, chairwoman of the Neighbourhood Planning Committee, said: “It’s an amazing result and the turnout of 36 per cent is as good as many elections.

“There was a terrible storm and that would have stopped people coming out, but they came out in volumes.

“It’s a ringing endorsement of the plans and a ringing endorsement of the community that people want their villages protected.

“It has quite literally taken hundreds of hours to make sure everything is done legally and how it should be done.

“People want to live in and around York because of the villages.

“They have the community spirit and it’s something in the future that people will still want from their community.”

The Poppleton plan could set a precedent as it is just one of 14 neighbourhood plans that are being developed across the city, but is the first to be put to a public vote.

Three years of work have gone into producing the plan, which has involved a team of dedicated volunteers questioning residents about how they want their villages to be developed, and ensuring documents are legally sound.

The other areas in the process of developing neighbourhood plans are Copmanthorpe, Dunnington, Fulford, Murton, Rufforth and Knapton, Huntington, Heslington, Earswick, Strensall with Towthorpe, Skelton, Haxby and Wigginton, Elvington and Micklegate.

To find out how the neighbourhood plan in your area is progressing, visit www.york.gov.uk/info/20051/planning_policy/686/neighbourhood_planning