 News
Update
Many thanks to those villagers, Parish and Borough Councillors and the RCCE
representative who joined members of the West Bergholt Parish Plan Steering
group for a workshop last November, to discuss how the good ideas and priority
actions for the village identified in the plan can be turned into reality.
The Steering Group are drawing up its programme of activity for the coming year,
and will be using the good ideas and suggestions which arose at the workshop. A
report on the workshop will be included in the March 2009 edition of the Village
Bulletin. As a result of the Workshop the number of Steering Group members has
increased to nine. Many thanks go Claire Cunningham, a founder member, who has
decided to stand down from the Steering Group. Welcome to Christian Young,
Murray Harlow and John Ford for joining the group.
In order to make the Parish Plan an attractive document for everyone to read,
and to help with engaging other organisations such as the Borough and County
Council, a second edition with photographs from around the village environs has
been created, and can be accessed by clicking the box to the left of this page.
For those of you who would like to access the summary of the plan which
accompanied September’s Bulletin this is also available under the same area of
the website. Progress on the plan will be monitored by the Steering Group and it
is our intention to produce quarterly updates in the Bulletin and on these web
pages. Watch this space!
To read the latest News Letter please check the Bulletin page on this site
here.
After over two years of research, consultation and drafting the second issue
of the West Bergholt Parish Plan has been issued. The online version of this
second issue can be found here.
Our Parish Plan is a holistic document bringing together the views, needs and
opinions of the whole community, covering the social, economic and environmental
issues of relevance to you and your local community. The plan is in the process
of being adopted by the Parish Council and will subsequently be used in
representing your interests as residents. Following adoption it is planned
to start work on the various action plans within the wider parish plan from the
autumn onwards. The Parish Plan Steering Group will be calling on
residents to support the plan by holding an open meeting in October when, it is
thought that, a number of working groups will be set up to take forward elements
of the plan. Many people in the village have already come forward to offer
their help but, if you would like to register your interest, please use the
feedback form below to express your interest. A summary of the plan will
be included within the next Village Bulletin due to be published in September.
This FAQ section aims to answer your most burning questions about our plan:
In due course, the completed plan will be shown here as well.
1. What exactly is a Parish Plan and who is putting it
together?
A Parish Plan is a government sponsored initiative which encourages villages
to write a plan of their aspirations for their community covering a variety of
topics. Parish plans don’t have a statutory footing but they have been
successful in many communities in raising issues and influencing those who
provide services such as councils
A group of villagers have formed a steering group to produce a parish plan
and liaise with the Parish Council as well as the rural community council for
Essex.
A summary set of slides is available which explains the inception, progress
and current situation of the West Bergholt Parish Plan it can be downloaded
here.
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2. What is the government expecting parishes to do?
The Government’s November 2000 Rural White Paper stated that Parish Plans
should “identify key facilities and services, set out the problems that need to
be tackled and demonstrate how distinctive character and features can be
preserved”. A Parish Plan provides one way to set out a vision for the future of
a Parish.
In order to be most successful a Parish Plan should be adopted by the Parish
Council which will then inform the further work and actions of the council.
After consultation with the villagers it identifies areas of concern,
problems and opportunities and suggests actions needed to achieve that vision.
Local views shape the Parish Plan and it reflects how the community sees itself
and how it wants to develop.
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3. How does the plan fit into other plans for the Colchester
area?
The Plan is not compulsory but it informs those who produce statutory plans
such as Colchester Borough Council which produces Development Plans showing
where new hoses and jobs will be encouraged.
Parish plans also inform other public bodies whether working in isolation or
in partnership such as those engaged in producing Community Strategies or more
specific proposals for a whole range of services from transport to health.
Parish plans form part of a new area of planning which aims to be
“grassroots” in nature fostering localism as the basis for making decisions
based on smaller units of government than has hitherto been used for decision
making.
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4. What aspects of village life are going into the plan and
what will it actually result in?
The Plan is developing eight areas:
- Social and Community Life
- Environment
- Public Amenities
- Shops and Facilities
- Housing and Planning
- Transport
- Community Safety and Crime
- Representation and Council Services
The Plan will have a number of ideas to take forward and some specific
actions. These ideas may be taken on board by the Parish Council, other service
providers or by people in the village itself. Ideas coming forward
include:
- Traffic calming for roads such as New Church Road or Chappel Road
- Somewhere for young people to meet
- More information about bus services
- Provision of cycle routes
- Improved Broadband coverage
- More information about village clubs and societies
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5. How have you gone about finding out what is important to
people in the village?
A number of surveys have been conducted, You may have come across these
through the Village Bulletin which surveyed households in September 2006.
Surveys were also conducted in schools, businesses, village organisations and at
local drop in events at the Village Hall and Village Fayre.
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6. Can I see the results of the consultations?
Yes. Copies of the survey forms, questionnaire results and reports are available
for download as follows:
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7. Do you have a timetable for preparing the Plan and what are
the key stages?
Yes. Our timetable and listing of key activities are shown
here.
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8. How does the Steering Group work and can I get involved
with the plan?
The Steering Group consists of 5 village people and meets monthly.
We welcome the involvement of those who want to play a practical role in
developing and publishing the plan. Please contact the Chairman (Chris
Stevenson: chrisstevenson@beeb.net) or the Secretary (Catherine Bailey:
catherine@bailey72.co.uk if you want to get involved.
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9. Where can I find out more about Parish Plans?
Information from Defra:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/communities/parish-planning.htm
Information from the RCCE:
http://www.essexrcc.org.uk/community_led_planning-welcome.asp
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10. I want to make a suggestion, how do I do this?
We welcome suggestions on a number of topics in particular against specific
action areas as listed here:
- Social and Community Life - General
attractions about life in the village; range of community clubs and
societies; availability of recreational activities and range of events and
pastimes for all ages.
- Environment - Quality of open
spaces; rights of way and access to the countryside. Problems with noise,
pollution and litter.
- Public Amenities - Access to
services such as health care and the quality of services such as road
maintenance, street cleaning, street lighting and the like.
- Shops and Facilities - Adequacy of
shops and other local services such as banking and postal services.
- Housing/Planning - Levels of
existing housing, housing type; need for further housing in the future.
- Transport - Adequacy of road access
and public transport services. Also quality of walking and cycling
environments; road safety matters; parking.
- Community Safety and Crime -
Perceptions of safety, incidence of crime and levels of policing.
- Representation and Council Services
- How well the village voice is represented by the Parish Council and how
easy it is to obtain information and services from Colchester Borough
Council and Essex County Council.
If you would like to make a suggestion just fill in the form below and click
send:
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