LEDBURY'S Neighbourhood Plan working party, made up of volunteers, was dissolved at last week's full Ledbury Town Council meeting.

It was dissolved "with immediate effect".

Now the task of bringing the plan to fruition will lie with the town council's consultants, Foxley Tagg, under the management of the full town council.

The successful proposal, by former town mayor, Rob Yeoman, was that Foxley Tagg could "freely draw on the people they consider best suited to the remaining tasks".

This was agreed with a vote, with ten in favour of the proposal, two against and one abstention.

But the vote has caused disquiet in some quarters that individuals with valuable knowledge, experience and skills may have been set aside.

There is also concern that what was a community-led initiative, based on the good will and hard work of volunteers, will now be led by professional consultants.

In a letter to Ian James, the chairman of the now dissolved Neighbourhood Plan Working Party, member Richard Hadley said: "The Mayor with her colleagues has ‘dissolved’ the very group of individuals who have the knowledge, experience and skills to enable the project to go forward in timely fashion; so much commitment and valuable expertise has been thrown away, a tragic waste. Everything now has to be rebuilt largely from the beginning."

Mr Hadley added: "How long will this consultant-led programme now take to deliver? How much will it cost? What mechanism within the town council can be established to oversee the consultants’ work? On what basis will consultants decide who is deemed ‘suitable’ to participate in the process? More generally, in what sense can Ledbury’s Neighbourhood Plan be described as community-led, the guiding principle of the legislative framework for neighbourhood planning itself? These are the questions that ten councillors, plus one who abstained, blithely ignored when they cast their vote."

Concerns have also been raised by local people who have not been involved in the process.

Bromsberrow resident, Jan Long, a member of Ledbury Rotary, asked: "How will such a project meet the government’s requirements that it is ‘community led’ if the management set-up is as has been proposed?

"What will it cost local ratepayers if the council is replacing so many local volunteers with expensive out-of-county consultants?

"How can these consultants know enough about what is right for Ledbury to provide the people with a plan they all like and agree upon?"

But the town council says that local input and consultation will still be important.

A town council statement, issued on Monday reads: "The management structure of the Ledbury Neighbourhood Plan has changed as a result of a vote taken at last Thursday’s full Town Council meeting. The Neighbourhood Plan will now be managed through the Full Council and will be facilitated by the consultants Foxley Tagg Planning, who were originally contracted by the Town Council in 2014 in order to help develop a robust plan for Ledbury."

The statement adds: "The consultants, who are experts in their field, will continue to work in partnership with councillors and public alike. As part of the Neighbourhood Plan, public consultations involving the local community of Ledbury will take place in the spring of 2016 to enable the community to express their views on the future of the town and the work already undertaken."

"The Town Council would particularly like to thank everyone for their valuable contributions and very many hours of hard work put in so far. It is hoped that they will all continue to work with the Town Council and the Consultant to bring the plan to fruition. However, new volunteers are very welcome and anyone who would like to get involved should contact the Town Council Offices on 01531 632306."