Gloucestershire Parish & Community-Led Plan Case Study

Meysey Hampton, completed 2004

Introduction

What is a Parish Meysey Hampton is a very small and Community-led parish in the South area, plan? located approximately 6 miles from e

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Cirencester and 2 miles from i A Parish & Community- . At the time of publishing h Led Plan is a document s their parish plan, in 2004, it was r

which sets out a vision for e a community’s future estimated that the parish had a t population of around 600 individuals, s based on sound local e

research, looking at spread across a wide area as the c social, environmental and village is made up of a central u o economic life. settlement along a ‘High Street’ and l G

an out of village ‘Home Park’ development called Greenacres which has a ,

It celebrates positive high proportion of retired residents. n

features and activities, o

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highlights community The history of the village dates back to medieval times and the Manor of p needs and contains a Hantone from which the village developed is mentioned in the Domesday m detailed action plan to Book (1086). The name of the parish derives from “Ham” meaning a help the community meet H homestead and “Tun” an enclosure. Taken together, the 2 parts mean an

those needs. Parish & y Community-Led Plans independent settlement. e s

are produced by and for y

communities, based on a The village has a pub, school, village hall and church which are well used e

detailed survey and and supported and until recently (around 2 years ago) there was also a M

consultation process fairly well supported shop. The community is, a resilient one with a – which involves the whole progressive parish council who to engage with residents and work in community, prompts y partnership with agencies and authorities to address issues. d

action and influences u others. t S

The Process e Good Parish & s

Community-Led Plans a C

use the Parish & David Phillips the Parish Council Chairman and having heard of other

Community-Led Planning parishes completing parish plans, he instigated the Meysey Hampton n a

Toolkit framework, are parish plan that was published in 2004. The community, which had l P

supported by external already completed a Village Appraisal (a ‘snap shot’ document) and a

facilitators and can Village Design Statement (a document which focuses on character and d demonstrate a robust e

design guide for any future development,) was asked to get involved. L

evaluation process that - y

ensures their quality. t

Once a steering group of interested residents had been established an i

application was made to the former Countryside Agency for a grant to n carry out a local consultation which would lead to an action plan. u Rural Community Council were invited to present at a m m

public meeting at which the plan consultation o

period was launched, and they provided continued C

support through the development of a d

questionnaire and the subsequent analysis. n a

The questionnaire, which was delivered to and h s i

collected from every household in the parish, led to r a high level of interest in the plan and produced a good statistical evidence to back up the action plan P . developed. The steering group recognised the importance of compiling strong statistics to support an action plan as it enhanced the plan’s robustness and provided required evidence to obtain funding or outside support.

Case study produced by Gloucestershire Rural Community Council (GRCC) January 2011.

Our achievements

• Neighbourhood Watch Scheme:

The whole village is covered by the scheme and there is good communications established Community benefit with the local authority and

police. A representative from the parish council attends the At the time when the District Council led Cotswolds parish plan was Safer and Stronger Communities

published, meetings to pass on information. communication within e r • A well established and run i the parish was limited. The Village Pond, located next to the toddlers group was set up to parish church, needs professional h However since the s address an increasing demand treatment to rid it of a dominating weed. r parish plan, this has The parish council and Water Parks are e in the community. Members of t

changed dramatically. working in partnership to address this s the community now run the A new email database problem. e

group from the village hall and c enables the parish have very good links with the u council to send • Following the publication of the o school to help children in the l parish plan, the parish council

information and G

transition to school. meeting minutes out to successfully campaigned to have ,

The maintenance of the village n around two thirds of • a weight limit installed for the o

pond appeared as a priority in t the community. There village roads. An 18 tonne limit the parish plan. The pond has p is still room for further has reduced the number of since been cleaned and dredged vehicles that can pass through the m improvements, such as a with a JCB digger. However it the desired installation village. The parish council also H has since become infested with of a parish council achieved a desired 50 mph speed y

a dominating pond weed. The e notice board. The limit on the A417 that runs along parish is now working with in s council is hopeful that, the boundary of the village. y

partnership with the Water Parks e with increased • The Village Hall management

to address this problem. M communication within committee is currently working on

• A ‘Welcome Pack’ for new – the parish, a large scale project which, it is

residents has been developed y encouraging future hoped, will lead to a brand new as a result of the parish plan. d community building that will better meet the u

The pack provides details of t involvement in projects needs of the community for the S should be easier. local organisations, relevant foreseeable future. The hall is a local websites and information e vital facility for the community and s about other local services. especially the local school. a

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• A ‘flashing’ speed sign has been Unfortunately it exists on a small installed on the South side of the footprint so major redevelopment n a

village that alerts drivers if they l is not possible however new P are speeding as they enter the innovative designs are being village. d

explored and large scale funding e

• To ensure safer parking around sought. L -

the school entrance, parking y • A committee was set up to work t patrols have been established by on the ‘Best Kept Village’ i the headteacher, police and n competition applications, however u other local residents. This has

as this competition no longer runs m led to much improved parking in

this group has now been m

the area. disbanded. o

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• 2 well attended village ‘Keep Fit’ classes have been set up d

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following the launch of the plan. a

h s i

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“The parish plan was an interesting community led a

P e xercise to undertake that has produced useful results

and project successes and a lot of actions are still ongoing”

Angie Wright, Steering Group Member and Parish

Councillor Meysey Hampton Village Hall

Case study produced by Gloucestershire Rural Community Council (GRCC) January 2011.

Working with partners

The parish council is in regular communications with agencies such as Gloucestershire Highways to ensure the success of community projects. The Key advice for new speed and weight limits in the parish are an example of this successful other parishes partnership working. The District Council and local District Councillor have been involved in progressing other projects since the publication of the parish plan such as the investigation of a community owned car parking facility. “Once completed, do not put the plan Due to the location of the village the parish council also has proactive and away – keep it effective links with its neighbouring parishes. accessible so that anyone in the e r community can i access it when they h s

With thanks to Roger r need to” e Case, Meysey Parish t s

Council Chairman and e

“If, in the future, c Angie Wright, Parish you can see new u o projects arising that Councillor and l

member of the parish G will require specific information, such , plan steering group n as evidence of o

for their contributions t need and support, to this case study p ensure that the m consultations you a H carry out best meet the requirements of y e the upcoming s The results of a recently completed village Future projects y project” s survey, a specific consultation for the village • Continued su pport for the e

hall project, are displayed, in the photograph M development of a new village

above, on one of the village notice boards. – hall. Large scale fundraising

activity is underway in order to y Another consultation technique used solely d

update/replace the current u for the village hall project was a ballot on village hall, which is an ageing t S designs and whether villagers wished to pay post war structure, in danger e

for changes using the parish precept. The of falling into disrepair. s ballot produced a staggering 91% response • Continue to monitor and a C rate. The new parish email database, letters review the need for an ‘older through each door and commitment of children’s’ meeting place. At n a residents were credited for such a high present this is not a high l P response rate. priority for the community. d e L - y t i n

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

support to communities dependent on the location of the o C parish. If you would like further information please contact d

GRCC n a

h s

Gloucestershire Rural i Community Council r a

15 College Green P GL1 2LZ Tel: 01452 528491 Fax: 01452 528493 [email protected]

Case study produced by Gloucestershire Rural Community Council (GRCC) January 2011.