BOLTON near Appleby has been given the power to determine how development should be controlled in the parish.

Eden District Council has approved formal designation of the village as a 'neighbourhood area'.

Peter Smith, chairman of Bolton Parish Council, said: “We have now secured the power, as a parish council, to put in place a development plan or development orders to control how development takes place in our parish.

"It is a big step up. It provide us with the kind of statutory planning power that district councils have had for some time, but at a local level. The process of designation was straightforward. The next issue for us to address is how and when we will exercise these powers to the benefit of our local community."

Bolton is the third neighbourhood area to be designated in Eden.