VILLAGERS living in Porton, Idmiston and Gomeldon have voted overwhelmingly to support their neighbourhood plan.

The parish of Idmiston held a referendum on Thursday with 677 votes in favour of it and 132 against.

The result means that the plan can now become a legal document, acting as a protection from “over, or inappropriate”, development.

A spokesman for the neighbourhood plan steering group said: “There was a turnout of 47.34 per cent and with the supporters managing 84 per cent of the vote, it is a firm endorsement for the plan’s vision for the parish.

“The plan was the culmination of a process that has taken many years of hard work and dedication by a group of volunteers who have carried out a wide consultation among all three villages to ascertain the wishes and requirements of the residents.

“They all deserve a very big ‘thank you’ for giving up so much of their time for this community, including the early starts and late finishes, counting cars for the traffic survey and collation of the information gathered from numerous surveys, to say nothing of the delivery of questionnaires and flyers to every house in the parish.

“Now that the plan is in place it will be harder for large scale or inappropriate housing projects to gain approval without excluding sensible and sustainable development. “This will give parishioners real power in deciding the future development of their villages and their wishes will be considered on a wide variety of different matters.”

The plan has already been formally adopted by both Idmiston Parish Council and Wiltshire Council.

The parish of Idmiston is the second parish in south Wiltshire to hold a formal referendum on its Neighbourhood Plan.

In November, Downton residents voted in favour of its plan with 869 people voted to support it and 38 against.