CLANFIELD PARISH PLAN FOREWORD As a relative newcomer to Clanfield, I am very honoured to have been asked to write the foreword to the Clanfield and Chalton Parish Plan. We moved to Clanfield in August 2006, and our whole family has been struck by the friendliness of its inhabitants, and also the hands-on nature of its Parish Council. We are all very lucky to live in such a thriving village, where, with its current size and population, we can support so many shops and businesses, a surgery, pharmacy, Co- op, Post Office, Convenience Store, first class butcher and greengrocer, many Takeaways and Restaurants, pubs and hairdressers, Schools and Playground: and yet still be a proper village. We are so lucky to be in the heart of such beautiful open countryside still, all around us: with its open, rolling farmlands, as far as the eye can see, glorious bluebell woods and unspoiled hedgerows. We have wonderful views in every direction. We have much to appreciate here in a sometimes stressful world. Whilst there are still many features that remind us of Clanfield’s past as a tiny farming community centred on the Church of St James: the Wellhead, village pond, Mill House and some very pretty thatched cottages in Old Clanfield, it is the newer parts of Clanfield and expansion of its population that now make it viable and thriving. Change has been necessary and inevitable, to prevent us remaining a sleepy backwater, pretty to look at, but a dormitory village to all intents and purposes, with no facilities at all. The Parish Plan has been devised so that we can all contribute to keeping Clanfield and Chalton as they are, as much as we possibly can, in spite of yet more expansion foisted upon us: to stop us becoming a satellite of built-up areas to the south, and to keeping the identity and names of our villages intact and separate. We need to remain proud of this community and proud of our village. So therefore I urge you to read this Parish Plan, and to take an active interest in any proposed changes and to support those who, like you, wish to retain the status-quo. With very best regards to you all, Lady (Christine) Vincent 1 VERSION 1.0 – JUNE 2009 CLANFIELD PARISH PLAN INTRODUCTION This Parish Plan for the villages of Clanfield and Chalton has been produced by the villagers themselves in the short timescale of approximately 15 months from start to finish. It took as its starting point the earlier “Clanfield Parish Appraisal of September 1999” and includes a wide ranging assessment of the current and future needs of the village. The plan was formally approved and adopted at a meeting of the Clanfield Parish Council on the 2 nd June 2009. Without doubt, our village will see many changes in the years to come and this plan is intended to reflect the way in which villagers would like to see these changes occur. As the plan says, in all ways it must remain a “living document” that with regular revisions and implementation of the planned actions, will have a life to the year 2020 and beyond. The outstanding support of local villagers has been most welcome and with a continuation of this spirit our village should remain a pleasant place in which to live for future generations. Full and future updated versions of this plan can be found on the website www.clanfieldparishplan.org.uk As Chairman of the Steering Group the most difficult task has been how best to thank the many individuals that have helped in the production of this plan. The initial idea had been to produce a list of names at the end of the document, but how do you record the help from local business, government such as EHDC, our Parish Council, the 50 plus volunteers involved with the working groups, the dozen or so villagers who tirelessly entered the data, the 200 villagers who attended the public meetings and the 750+ households who completed and returned the lengthy questionnaire? This has caused many hours of deliberation, because to mention names and then find that someone had been accidentally omitted would be both discourteous and offensive. Therefore the decision has been made to offer a collective thank you, to the many villagers of Clanfield and Chalton who have taken part. This is your plan and without your help, encouragement and enthusiasm it would not have happened. Thank you. Brian Ahern - Chairman, Clanfield Parish Council. 2 VERSION 1.0 – JUNE 2009 CLANFIELD PARISH PLAN 1 Executive Summary ……….. …………………………………………. 2 Glossary of Terms 3 Introduction to Clanfield 4 Why a Parish Plan? 5 The Consultation Process 6 The Survey by Subject 6.1 General Data Summary 6.2 Housing 6.2.1 Introduction. 6.2.2 Summary of survey results. 6.2.3 Proposals. 6.2.4 Actions. 6.3 Transport / Roads 6.3.1 Introduction. 6.3.2 Summary of survey results. 6.3.3 Proposals. 6.3.4 Actions. 6.4 Schools 6.4.1 Introduction. 6.4.2 Summary of survey results. 6.4.3 Proposals. 6.4.4 Actions. 6.5 Shops & Business 6.5.1 Introduction. 6.5.2 Summary of survey results. 6.5.3 Proposals. 6.5.4 Actions. 3 VERSION 1.0 – JUNE 2009 CLANFIELD PARISH PLAN 6.6 Leisure & Recreation 6.6.1 Introduction. 6.6.2 Summary of survey results. 6.6.3 Proposals. 6.6.4 Actions. 6.7 Police & Security 6.7.1 Introduction. 6.7.2 Summary of survey results. 6.7.3 Proposals. 6.7.4 Actions. 6.8 Environment 6.8.1 Introduction. 6.8.2 Summary of survey results. 6.8.3 Proposals. 6.8.4 Actions. 6.9 Health & Medical 6.9.1 Introduction. 6.9.2 Summary of survey results. 6.9.3 Proposals. 6.9.4 Actions. 6.10 Young & Elderly 6.10.1 Introduction. 6.10.2 Summary of survey results. 6.10.3 Proposals. 6.10.4 Actions. 4 VERSION 1.0 – JUNE 2009 CLANFIELD PARISH PLAN 6.11 Signage & Village Profile 6.11.1 Introduction. 6.11.2 Summary of survey results. 6.11.3 Proposals. 6.11.4 Actions. 7 Next Steps 7.1 Acceptance and Endorsement by Parish Council and EHDC. 8 Action Plan. 9 Future Contact Information. 9.1 Parish Clerk. 10 Appendices 10.1 Detailed analysis. 10.2 Copy of Questionnaire. 5 VERSION 1.0 – JUNE 2009 CLANFIELD PARISH PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Clanfield has the benefit of an enthusiastic and competent group of village volunteers ably supported by a forward looking Parish Council. As a direct consequence a number of major tasks that would otherwise have been beyond the resources and scope of a small village have been undertaken on a voluntary basis and completed successfully over the past few years. These include the complete re-engineering of the ancient and dried up village pond and a transformation of the Peel Park recreation ground. This includes the provision of new play and adventure equipment as well as environmentally sensitive fencing and a new and welcoming Lytch Gate entrance. The communities of Clanfield and Chalton are very aware and supportive of environmental issues as evidenced by the enthusiastic and detailed input from the Environmental Working Group. The village has an active Greening Clanfield campaign and various gardening schemes are calling for allotments to be made available. Times however are changing and increasingly, both central and local government are involving local communities in decisions affecting local issues. The preferred method being by the production of parish plans that produce evidentially based information from the local population, in our case from the villagers resident within the Clanfield parish. Villagers have on many occasions been reassured that their views would be taken into account in any future development policy providing that the findings were evidentially produced and realisable. Accordingly the Clanfield Parish Council made a decision in early 2008 that it would support the formation of a group made up of villagers in order to produce such a document. Following a well attended public meeting on 18 th March 2008 the project commenced with the formation of an overall Steering Group and 10 Working Groups made up entirely of more than 50 unpaid village volunteers. The need for such a document became increasingly evident in May 2008 when land within the village previously reserved for development was elevated to the status of being “active”. In order to gather sufficient information a detailed and lengthy questionnaire was sent to all households. The excellent response (40%) from the questionnaire (and two public meetings attended by a total of 350 villagers) has enabled this plan to be presented as being representative of the majority view. This is of immediate importance in submitting evidence to the East Hants District Council (EHDC) groups responsible for the Local and Core Strategies, Development Briefs and also of benefit to the wider communities. It is therefore with pleasure that this Clanfield Parish Plan is presented, having been completed in a little over 12 months by the villagers of Clanfield and Chalton, with active support from the Clanfield Parish Council and East Hants District Council. It is a “Living Document” that with regular updates from yet to be formed Action Groups is estimated to last for at least 10 years. 6 VERSION 1.0 – JUNE 2009 CLANFIELD PARISH PLAN 3. INTRODUCTION TO CLANFIELD The Parish of Clanfield sits in attractive, open, rural countryside in the District of East Hampshire some 12 miles north of Portsmouth and 6 miles south of Petersfield.