Gloucestershire Parish & Community-Led Plan Case Study

Down Hatherley: 2005

What is a Parish Introduction

and Community-Led r o n

plan? a M Down Hatherley lies in the Green Belt y e

l A Parish & Community- between and in r e e h t the South West of . It has r Led Plan is a document a i H

h which sets out a vision for evolved as an area of farming, small n w s a community’s future holdings, orchards and nurseries, and o r D based on sound local these are still very much in evidence in e t research, looking at the locality. s social, environmental and e economic life. The area enjoys long open views across open farmland and some c u

attractive walks across arable and pastoral farmland along the o It celebrates positive Brickhampton Golf Course. The Cotswold Hills are prominent to the east, l G

features and activities, the Malvern Hills are in view to the north west, May Hill frames the view to , highlights community the west, and Gloucester Cathedral is a key landmark to the south west. y e needs and contains a l r

detailed action plan to Evidence of human habitation in Down Hatherley goes back to Roman e help the community meet h

times. Six-Acre Field, immediately to the east of the A38 and north of t those needs. A Parish & Down Hatherley Lane contains a Romano-British site. It has never been a

Community-Led Plan is H formally excavated but field working in the 1990s by members of the produced by and for the Gloucester and District Archaeological Research Group (GADARG) n

community, based on a w revealed part of a floor, Romano-British pottery, wall plaster, Roman detailed survey and o

coins and a Roman broach. It is estimated that the site was occupied D

consultation process between the 2nd and late 4th century. A Saxon burial site was discovered which involves the whole – in the same field. community. It prompts y action and influences d As well as its 165 households, Down Hatherley includes St Mary and u others. t

Corpus Christi Church, a village hall, the Hatherley Manor Hotel, a cricket S

A robust Parish & club, a garden centre, three plant nurseries, horse stables and four farms. e Community-Led Plans is The services in the village include a mobile police van, mobile library, a s a inclusive and can

community mini bus, and a milk and newspaper delivery service. Although C demonstrate a robust there are few services and no shops in the parish, a shop did exist in n process that ensures its Down Hatherley until the early 1970s, when it was converted to a a quality. It is steered by a l residence. P group of people from d within the community, The Process e including representation L - from the parish or town In 2004, encouraged by another parish who we (Down Hatherley Parish y t council and follows good Council) were watching as they went through the process, we decided at i practice and advice from n

a Parish Council meeting to try to raise awareness through the parish u a neutral independent

newsletter. From the newsletter we had enough of a response to hold an m body. In , interactive open event, which was divided into theme groups doing a GRCC is the lead m provider of advice and SWOT analysis on each topic. o

C support for parish and

After many meetings with the steering group and the community, a d community led planning. questionnaire was put together, delivered door to door and collected by a n

a team of volunteers. The data analysis was done partly by GRCC and h

partly by a community member. s i

A memorial to a previous r vicar of Down Hatherley Open events and meetings took place over a period of months to feed a back the information to the community and to prioritise the issues and P projects.

The results were published in a document, endorsed by the Parish

Council, distributed in 2005 to all households within the community.

Case study produced by Gloucestershire Rural Community Council (GRCC) for the South West Acre Network (SWAN) May 2008.

Down Hatherley’s achievements

Community benefits Roads and Traffic management We feel this process • The “Down Hatherley • Improved road direction and has fostered great hedges (at a cost of £100,000) Happening” newsletter is put spirit within the together and published • Road calming community and made • Hedges replanted to the newly annually by member of the us realise that we need community. redirected road to work together to get • Local bus service re-routed to • There are four notice boards things done. within the village so all the be more beneficial to the community residents can be kept We keep the plan alive updated. • Funding secured for a hand- by reviewing it at every held speed camera (shared with e

r

Parish Council meeting Walking Group Activities i neighbouring parishes) in part, and then • Up to 30 community h

s reviewing it in full members (and dogs) attend r Airport e annually. Progress and • The Parish Council now have the 3-4 walks held in the t updates to the summer months. s representation on the Airport e community are Consultative Committee • Community New Year’s Day c dispersed through the walk. u

o parish council Community, Leisure and Activity l G newsletter and History Talks • The Parish Council have , meetings. • A History group is now in y

changed the format of the parish e place which has carried out l council meeting so the r

It is nice to feel that the e community can speak and have research and given talks to work the Parish h the community – a library of t more of a say on what happens Council does is a within their parish. old photos from the H reflected by the community has been • A local resident is now a information coming n member of the Police gathered to add to an from the Community archive. w Community Partnership o Plan D

• Increased membership on the

Village Fun Day –

village hall committee

• Steering group in place y • An increased number of social assisting with fund raising d

events held at the cricket club u

for the annual Village Fun t since it has been licensed S

Day. • An increase in the number of e people from outside the parish s

Neighbourhood Watch a wanting to use the church since • All areas are now covered C it has been put on the village by a Neighbourhood Watch n

website a

scheme. l

P

Community information Litter, Fly Tipping and d

• A new website has been e

Community Litter Picks L

developed, with links to the - • 6 monthly litter clean up y church and cricket club website t

(there is never a shortage of i and information about the members) n history group. The website is u • Fly tipping has been updated by a member of the m noticeably reduced

community. m

o

C

d

n

a

h “There has been an increase in s i

r

the number of people from a

P outside the parish wanting to use

the church since the church has

been put on the village website”

Case study produced by Gloucestershire Rural Community Council (GRCC) for the South West Acre Network (SWAN) May 2008.

Key advice for Working with partners others

“Learn from others Down Hatherley Parish Plan has helped with partnership working including who have been the Highways, Police, bus company and Planning at Tewkesbury Borough through the Council which has had an impact on a new development. process and Since the floods in July 2007 it has enabled us to not only work with other involve as many of agencies but also with neighbouring parishes. the community as possible by

consulting, e r consulting and “Village members i h consulting again” are more aware of s r e

the concerns of t s

others and generally e c

more involved with u o village life” l G

, y e l r

Hatherley Cricket Club e

h t a

Lessons learnt and future projects H

“This Parish Plan n w

has provided an We have learnt to be more focused on o D

the concerns of the village, giving the

opportunity for the village a chance to raise their issues, –

people of Down recognising early in the process the y importance of community consultation. d u Hatherley to t S We plan to improve ditch drainage to

participate in e

aid any future flooding prevention. We s

framing the future also plan to enable further partnership a C of their community working to address the problem of the aircraft noise and we will focus on traffic n a and village” management and calming. l

P

d e L - y t i n

GRCC is the lead provider of support for parish and u With thanks to community-led plans in Gloucestershire and can offer m

Down Hatherley m

support to communities dependent on the location of the o Parish Council C members and parish. For further information please contact d

clerk for their GRCC n a contributions to

h

this case study s Community House i 15 College Green r a

Gloucester P GL1 2LZ Tel: 01452 528491 Fax: 01452 528493 [email protected]

Case study produced by Gloucestershire Rural Community Council (GRCC) for the South West Acre Network (SWAN) May 2008.