RESIDENTS are set to get a chance to vote on a long-awaited plan outlining how Burnham should take shape.

Burnham’s neighbourhood plan, which has been in the pipeline since 2013, went out for a six week public consultation in November.

Independent examiner Andrew Ashcroft’s proposed changes will now go before the council’s planning and licensing committee on Wednesday to be approved before the plan goes out for referendum on July 13.

The neighbourhood plan sets out how issues such as housing, infrastructure, flooding, parking and schooling should be approached.

Proposals include a new amenity space for the north of the town, expansion of education facilities, re-assessing the size and setting of the station car park and improvements to roads and bus routes.

A report, which will go before the council, revealed 21 individuals or organisations had responded to the public consultation.

In the report, chief executive Fiona Marshall, said: “Some of these recommendations involve simple additions or minor amendments to the general wording within the neighbourhood plan document.

“However, there are a number of recommended modifications to policies that are quite extensive, including the amalgamation and deletion of some policies.”

The plan, four years in the making, also outlines the importance of protecting assets such as the cinema, the clock tower, the town’s weekly and Sunday markets and the art trail.

Ms Marshall’s report added: “The Burnham-on-Crouch Neighbourhood Plan has been in gestation for four years. Its preparation has taken considerable dedication and perseverance from the local community.”

The plan will be discussed at the planning and licensing committee on Wednesday.