Great Saling Parish Plan By the Community, For The Community Great Saling Parish Plan By the Community, For The Community Contents Introduction – What is a Parish Plan? 3 How the Plan was Produced 4 Vision for the Future 6 A Brief History of the Parish 7 Areas of consideration; a summary of survey results, conclusions and recommended action points:- • Transport 9 • Traffic 10 • Environment 12 • Local Services, Recreation and Leisure 14 • Play Equipment 16 • Allotments 18 • Internet Access and Broadband Speeds 19 • Summary of the Action Points 20 • Local Information 22 • Acknowledgements and Dedication 23 Contents Great Saling Parish Plan By the Community, For The Community What is a Parish Plan? Following a Government White Paper on the subject which was published in 2000, parishes across England are being encouraged to produce a Parish Plan. A Parish Plan is an opportunity for communities to have a say in how their local areas and services are provided and managed. It can make a real difference; both to what people do within your community, and to how they work with others to improve local quality of life. The Government wishes to give rural communities a bigger opportunity to run their own affairs, and to set out a vision for their town or village to guide its future development. Some communities have already prepared Village Design Statements or carried out a Parish Appraisal. Many have looked at local housing needs and the allocation of land for uses such as industrial and commercial development. But a Parish Plan is more than a design statement or survey of housing needs. It should cover everything of relevance to the people who live in the parish including social, economic and environmental issues. It will need to address the needs of the entire community and everyone should have the opportunity to participate in its preparation. In short the Parish Plan:- • Will identify the issues that are important to that community. • Highlights the needs and the aspirations of the community. • Pinpoints the opportunities that exist for improvement. • Every household and business in the Village has been given the opportunity to be consulted giving them the chance of being heard, not just those who speak up at local meetings. • It will enable future projects to be planned with the knowledge that the community will support them. • Through working towards a common goal the Plan brings groups and individuals in the community together. It is a method whereby the community can express its needs and desires so that they can be considered for action by the Parish Council, local authorities and other local groups. With this in mind, the following pages set out how the Parish has gone through this process, along with the results and conclusions that have been drawn. 3 How the Parish Plan was Produced A group of residents came together to form the Great Village Fete July 2009 Saling Action Group early in 2009. The Action Group is a non-profit making constituted group who are working In July 2009 further research was undertaken by the in partnership with Great Saling Parish Council, Braintree Action Group who had a stall/display at the Village fete. District Council, Greenfields Community Housing The display showed the results of the initial survey and Association and the Rural Community Council of Essex. asked for further opinions on a number of subjects that The aim of the Action Group was to produce the Parish arose from the initial survey. Action Group members spoke Plan; the Action Group approached the Parish Council to the public to answer any questions and to show them and volunteered to undertake this process. how to indicate their opinions on the main boards (this was done by asking people to place coloured dots on Initial Consultation various items depicted on the boards – in effect to “vote” for their favourites). The first step in the process was to obtain the opinions of the Parish residents and businesses; specifically, the Action Research Group wanted to find out what kind of improvements and facilities the parishioners wanted to see. During the Autumn and Winter of 2009 the Action Group considered the findings of the surveys and carried out This process began with a written survey of the parish research to explore the issues raised by those results. residents and businesses which was undertaken in March A summary of the topics researched were: 2009. The survey was sent out to 131 households and business within the Parish, covering a number of issues. • Transport and Traffic We received 83 completed surveys; a response rate of 64% which representing the views of 117 adults, • Environmental Issues 17 teenagers and 35 children. • Leisure and Recreation • Allotments • Youth Clubs 4 Great Saling Parish Plan By the Community, For The Community • Play Equipment Steps were taken to differentiate between those who attended the event from within the Parish and those who • Village Shop came from outside. Those people who came from other areas were asked the reasons why they had taken an • Village Pub interest; these appeared to be mostly relatives of Parish residents and visit the Parish on a regular basis. • Internet Access and Broadband Speeds Village Fete 2010 In each case, the Group consulted with professionals in the appropriate field, including local authority officers The results of the surveys and consultations, all culminating (from Greenfields, Braintree District Council and Essex in the Planning for Real event; were displayed at the County Council) for Leisure, Recreation and Environmental Village Fete 2010 and those attending were invited to matters, volunteers for groups such as youth clubs, submit any further opinions and ideas. Transport officials, local police officers, the publicans of the White Hart, manufacturers of play equipment, and designers of play and recreational areas. From this research the main items of interest to the parishioners was identified and it was possible to narrow down the various options suggested to a list of items which merited further consultation. Planning for Real Event The Planning for Real event took place on 14th/15th May 2010. This featured a number of displays centred on the main topics identified in the surveys as matters of interest to the Adoption of the Parish Plan parishioners, along with a three dimensional map (created by the children of Great Bardfield School) representing the The Parish Council and Action Group have considered Parish on which people were invited to place flags also the results of the various surveys and consultations, showing comments and opinions. Once again, people and this information, along with the conclusions attending the event were asked to comment on the drawn, now form the Parish Plan. various proposals (by indicating whether they thought these proposals were “must haves” “good ideas” or “not at all”) to be included in the Parish Plan; and were invited to voice their opinions on the various topics and to make any further suggestions on any subject. Note: Note: The full results of the various surveys and consultations run to some several pages. These results are available to view on the Parish Council website, at www.essexinfo.net/greatsalingpc/ or printed copies can be obtained from the Parish Clerk. 5 Great Saling Parish Plan By the Community, For The Community Vision for the Future All across the country, small rural communities are suffering. If we compare village life now to what it was 100 years ago, the changes have been drastic. Back then, peoples’ lives were generally within the village, people did not have to travel far to go to work, food was grown locally and all essential services were provided in the village or a neighbouring village: in short, the community was pretty much self sufficient and sustainable. It was vital for the survival of the village to work together to maintain the viability of the community. With the increased use of oil and the fast movements in new technology, communities have become less dependent upon each other and considerably more dependent on outside sources for its’ material needs. It is now very common for people to travel great distances to work every day as very few people are employed within the village or the immediate area: on average there are two cars per household, and food travels hundreds or even thousands of miles to get to us and our dependence on the supermarket has over run the local shop. There are also economic factors to consider. With rising prices we need to tighten our belts to enable us to deal with the current economic crisis. In order to combat these problems, communities must once again become more localised and reduce the amount of ever dwindling resources that we consume without compromising our quality of life. By providing this Plan we hope to help the local area move forward without losing the benefits of an old established rural community. Some new housing may be needed in the area and a housing needs survey will be carried out to discover residents opinions. If results show that housing is needed, we hope that this can be made to fit in with the existing style in and around the village. Quality of life will improve by reconnecting with our local community and becoming more in touch with our local environment as a source of food. We must strive for a community where people know their neighbours and look out for each other, a community that is resilient and self reliant for the greatest possible number of its needs. A community that sounds like one from 100 years ago but can harness the powers of modern technology. 6 A Brief History of the Parish The Origins of Great Saling when Martin Carter carried out a major restoration of the whole structure and encased it in red brick.