Community Plan Is a Plan by the Community, for the Community
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Published by the Community-Led Plan Group See [online] at http://www.winkleighplan.co.uk Printed by Blue Sky, Unit 12, Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 8PA. See [online] at http://www.bluesky-uk.com Issue 1 (October 2014) Contents PART 1 1. FOREWORD 6 1.1 Background 6 1.2 Sustainable Governance & Decision Making 8 1.3 Principles 9 2. THE PARISH OF WINKLEIGH 10 2.1 History 10 2.2 A Sustainable & Resilient Future 11 3. ENVIRONMENT & RESOURCES 13 3.1 The Natural Environment 13 3.2 Cultural & Built Heritage 15 3.3 Connecting Villages & Countryside 18 3.4 Energy 18 3.5 Waste & Recycling 21 4. ECONOMY 22 5. HOUSING 28 5.1 Development 28 6. COMMUNITY 31 7. TRANSPORT & TRAFFIC 34 8. A RESILIENT COMMUNITY 39 8.1 Public Services 39 8.2 Emergency Planning 41 9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 43 PART 2 ACTION PLAN 46 KEY FOR ACTION PLAN 49 PART 1 and collaborate with stakeholders to review the 1. FOREWORD Plan every six months during its ten-year life- cycle.1 The Winkleigh Community Plan is a plan by the community, for the community. It is an important The Community Plan is the result of two years’ step towards helping the community take hard work by a team of dedicated volunteers. It ownership of its future, offering an opportunity follows extensive community consultation, four to represent and strengthen the local view to Open Day information sessions, a household agencies that affect change. survey and a detailed review of existing data sources. The Community Plan sets out a sustainable and resilient vision for the future and the principles Many thanks to the residents of Winkleigh who and actions that will help us get there. Together contributed to making the Plan possible and to all with the supporting Action Plan, this Plan will help who got involved and helped produce or deliver us prioritise what is important locally, capturing this Plan, they can be extremely proud of their key issues and, crucially, providing evidence to efforts. help bring in funding. We hope this Community Plan will help Winkleigh A Plan Summary, including the Action Plan, has Parish thrive and continue to be a wonderful been delivered to every household in Winkleigh place to live! Parish. This full Community Plan is available online (at www.winkleighplan.co.uk) or on request at Winkleigh Post Office. Copies will 1.1 Background be sent to key decision makers, such as Devon County Council (DCC), Torridge District Council How the Community Plan was (TDC) and Winkleigh Parish Council (WPC). Prepared During the process of developing this Community This is not the first community-led plan for Plan, North Devon and Torridge District Councils Winkleigh - the last Winkleigh ‘Parish Plan’ was have revised their own Local Plan, so as and prepared and distributed in 2005. A new plan when new policies emerge these may impact our was felt necessary because the parish has Parish. The Community Plan clearly articulates changed with an increase in new residents and the community’s preferences, but where these revised emphasis in some areas, for example on differ from local government objectives, the Plan environmental issues. supports actions to secure the best outcomes for Winkleigh. The context for planning has also shifted; it is now the Government’s aim for more local ‘The new Community Plan is being communities to play an active role in the future undertaken to reflect local aspirations planning of their area. Many of the issues raised for decision makers (and) support in the 2005 plan therefore needed revisiting to Winkleigh’s vision.’ take account of these changes. Whilst ownership of the Plan is seen as being with With the guidance and oversight of the the community, a mandate to help deliver this Community Council of Devon (CCD) and funding from WPC was seen as vital. The Parish Council received from TDC, DCC and WPC, volunteers therefore; recognise the Community Plan and from various sectors of the community formed Action Plan as a robust representation of the the Community-Led Plan Group. These volunteers community’s views - conducted in an open and (many of whom have significant expertise in their transparent manner, support the Community Plan and Action Plan in principle, agree to implement actions and deliver the Plan where appropriate 1 WPC Meeting Minutes (25th June 2014) Page 6 Page 7 fields, eg statistical analysis, planning and local 2014, as well as at small events such as Mini culture/heritage), then spent considerable time Market. A presentation was also made during and effort collecting, analysing and interpreting Winkleigh Fair Week, July 2014. Comments input. Representatives then prepared the have been continuously reviewed, and where Community Plan by identifying issues, outlining representative and appropriate, reflected in the possible actions and subsequently presenting Community Plan and Action Plan. these for public consultation at open days and to WPC. All documentation describing the journey taken in preparing the Community Plan is available on the Community Plan website,2 including; the original questionnaire and youth questionnaire, a gallery of events, the Plan Schedule, minutes of all meetings (28 to date) and the Group’s Constitution. The Community-Led Plan Group (CLPG) has submitted regular written reports to WPC (18 to date) and provided input where this has supported the community view, for example on the Joint North Devon and Torridge District Local Plan. To understand the issues this Plan tackles, a number of steps were taken: • The 2005 plan was reviewed to see how relevant the contents are to the ISSUES Community situation today People A New Places PARISH PLAN Health HAVE YOUR SAY For Winkleigh Environment • An early community open day was If you would like to Housing make a contribution SHARE Roads to how Winkleigh is Traffic held to gather local views about what shaped in future, PARTICIPATE Parking please get involved! JOIN IN Industry Retail was important Commercial WHAT IS IT ABOUT? Employment Youth Winkleigh needs to update its 2005 Parish Plan. Things have changed a bit in the last 7 Education • A questionnaire was sent to every years - the economy, the environment, Training healthcare - so we need to know the important parish TODAY! Services issues for people living and working in the Facilities & household and the responses Resources The Localism Bill wants people to shape their Recreation own communities and the Parish Plan needs analysed Law & Order volunteersand toput help them gather into aviews coherent from form. the parish The issues on the right touch all of us in some have your say. way – but are there others? It is important you WHO CAN VOLUNTEER? • Further open days were held to THIS IS A COMMUNITY LED PLAN, ANYONE CAN Initially, the Parish Council hopes to form a volunteer Working Group (not just the CONTRIBUTE CONTACT feedback survey results and collect Council!) to lead publicity and information NICKI BULLEN (AM ONLY) gathering, perhaps through questionnaires, open days, public meeting, etc. 01837 83981 WINKLEIGHPC1@BTINTER more comments, and NET.COM If you have some timeParish and Plan! think planning our future is important, PLEASE join in - itʼs your • Topic based papers were written, collating all the information that was gathered The community have been involved at every stage of the process; through regular features in Distinctly Winkleigh (11 articles), a comprehensive questionnaire to all households in Winkleigh in June 2013 (727 homes) and at three consultation events held in September 2012, November 2013 and June 2 http://www.winkleighplan.co.uk Page 6 Page 7 process (eg via the ‘Plan Review Group’) and on 1.2 Sustainable a case-by-case basis. To ensure the Plan goes Governance & forward, an ‘Implementation Group’ with new members and/or existing CLPG volunteers, will Decision Making be formed. What is Governance? How will the Plan be monitored, Governance covers who owns and is responsible reviewed and updated? for the Plan, who will keep the Plan alive, who Key stakeholders, local champions, experts, will action the Plan, how the Plan is monitored representatives, the ‘Implementation Group’ and updated and how progress is reported and and WPC should monitor, review and update celebrated. the Community Plan and Action Plan. Reviews should be scheduled with key representatives Who is the Community Plan for? along with the Parish Council ‘Plan Review Group’ and a Report and updated Action Plan issued The Community Plan has been written for a annually. As part of our Local Centre designation for the number of audiences, but principally it is (under TDC’s Local Plan), Winkleigh is a focus for community, by the community and organisations surrounding parishes, so neighbouring parishes whose activities affect the implementation of should also be included in the consultation and any actions identified. A number of issues will review process. involve partnership working for a successful outcome. How will progress and achievements Who owns and is responsible for be reported? the Plan? Individuals or organisations should seek out key representatives to support and help implement community‐led The Community Plan is and their projects, or communicate achievements or provides a tool for the community to achieve successful actions. its objectives and aspirations. The community is collectively responsible for shaping its own An Annual Report and updated Action Plan future, therefore all in Winkleigh own and are should be publicised via local links, including responsible for the Plan. the Parish Council, Distinctly Winkleigh and social media (eg Winkleigh online,3 Community Who will keep the Plan alive? Plan online4 and Facebook).5 The Community Plan is a ten-year Plan. To ensure The Plan is in effect a ‘permanent draft’, so it is kept ‘alive’, representatives from key areas as circumstances inevitably change, the way we (such as youth, business, environment, etc) must see or wish to address issues will necessarily influence and inform the content and Action need to evolve.