THE people of Headington will go to the polls in an historic referendum tomorrow.

Residents across the area will be asked if they support the Headington Neighbourhood Plan, which sets out future development in Headington.

If agreed, the document will be used by Oxford City Council to help decide planning applications.

Residents within the council area of Headington will be asked to vote either yes or no for the question: “Do you want Oxford City Council to use the Headington Neighbourhood Plan to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

Chairman at Headington Neighbourhood Plan Mike Ratcliffe said of the upcoming vote: “We think that the plan will make a difference to the way that the local authorities have to treat Headington.

“We’ve worked for four years to gather the views of those who live, work and study in our part of Oxford, and people are looking for joined-up solution to the issues we’ve identified.

“A neighbourhood plan can’t answer all of those - it won’t give us complete autonomy over planning, it has to fit within local and national policies, but it does mean that people’s views will have to be considered.

“A ‘Yes’ vote means a plan that has to be considered, and a set of actions that hundreds of people have thought about to help to make Headington even better.

“We think our patch has a lot going for it, and we’re keen to preserve the balance that makes this a great place.”

In total, 11 polling stations will be open across the area between 7am and 10pm.

Results are expected to be declared shortly afterwards, with the outcome known by the early hours Friday.