Tiverton and Tilstone Fearnall Parish Plan
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| Final Parish Plan | ||
Background
18 months ago the Parish Council started to look into preparing a Parish
Plan. Funding of £4,706, was awarded by The Countryside Agency for the
production of a Parish Plan in November 2003. The Parish Council also agreed to
contribute up to £333.60 towards the costs incurred.
What is a Parish Plan?
A Parish
Plan is a Statement of how a Community sees itself developing in the future. The
aim of the Plan, is to reflect the views and opinions of the Community, and to
set out an Action Plan, of short and long term targets, that the
Community will endeavor to undertake over the next five
years. It can include anything from litter picking, or wildlife projects
in the short term. Long term goals might include presenting a case for action to
the policy makers to improve transport links. The list for possible
‘actions’ is endless. We have to tailor our aspirations, and set realistic
goals and targets, for the years to come.
Why do a Parish Plan?
Government policy is that rural communities
should play a bigger part in influencing and
shaping their future. If we, as a Parish, show that we do take our future
seriously, a Parish Plan is more likely to lead to further funding and support
from the relevant bodies and authorities, who provide our services and
facilities. The
plan when it is finished, may be adopted
as part of other plans or policies referable to our area, such as the
Chester District Local Plan. Producing a Plan will also help us to develop
better working relationships with the policy makers.
Additionally, we hope that by producing a Plan, it provides a great
opportunity to build community spirit.
Who will produce the
We need
as many people who might be affected, to be involved. This includes everyone
who lives or works, or plays some part in the community, everyone who has an
impact on the community, and everyone we hope
to influence.
We have a Steering Committee,
who are planning and co-coordinating the project.
We welcome any new volunteers who wish
to get involved.
At a
later stage when the issues for the plan have been identified, we will set up discussion
groups. These groups will include residents and representatives from the
various local organisations. We anticipate forming up to 4 or so groups, which
will correspond with the key issues identified, such as transport or recreation,
for example.
Each group will be given information from the questionnaire
results, and they will be provided information
from the relevant authorities. They will then identify priorities for the
parish, identify where any proposals fit in with existing policies, suggest an
anticipated course of action, or suggest further investigation or
representations, to be carried out. They will report
back to the steering committee for their findings to
be included in the final report.
Even if you do not wish to become involved in the steering or focus
groups, you can still take part! We will be
preparing a detailed questionnaire for the residents of the Parish to
complete. The questionnaire will address the issues,
which will have emerged as being of
concern to the community, from the initial feedback,
gathered at Village History Day
How long will the plan take to complete?
The aim is to complete the plan by early 2005.
Over the next 3 months, we will develop a questionnaire
from the feedback collected today, circulate it, and review the results.
A further 3 months will be spent holding the
discussion groups, when the data will be analysed, and consultations will
take place with any relevant authorities and groups.
Another 2/3 months will then be allocated
to drafting the report and action plan, reviewing
the contents with relevant groups before it is launched.
How will the progress of the plan be publicised?
As part of the cost which we have budgeted for, a sum has been allocated
to setting up
a website,
www.tiverton-cheshire.org.uk . The purpose of the website will be to
publicise the plan as it develops, and to
receive any contributions.
The plan is now complete (June 2005)
The plan is in the process of being printed and distributed. A copy in pdf format can be viewed by clicking here. (The file is 2.8Mbyte and will take approx 10 mins to download on a dialup modem)
Our Experiences (Nov 2005)
Other parishes who feel the whole prospect is a
bit daunting may like to read this article,
prepared for The Sandstone News, which provides an insight into the
practicalities of drawing up a Parish Plan and then progressing the final
document. There is also a presentation given on 8 March 2006 to Chester
City Council Rural Area Committees outlining the process we followed; it
can be viewed as a pdf file by clicking here.
Developing a Parish Plan is a task that hasn't got
a clear end date if all the benefits are to be realised and we are still at
early days.