Caring for the Parish Final Evaluation Report December 2012 By Gillian Muir, Project Officer, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, The Old Post Office, Main Street, Clapham, Lancaster, LA2 8DY 015242 51002 Katy Penn, Partnership Manager, Nidderdale Plus, 7 The Old Workhouse, King Street, Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire HG3 5LE 01423 714953 CARING FOR THE PARISH Final Evaluation Report, December 2012 1. Introduction to the project 1.1 The aims of the project: Caring for the Parish assisted Parish Councils located in the Dales LEADER area to deliver Caretaker Schemes in their area. The aim was to help Parishes to: • Understanding the aims of the LEADER project • Use best practice • Work with each other • Access and make use of the support of partner organisations • Attract other funding • Think of alternatives to funding 1.2 The specific objectives of the Caring for the Parish project were to: • Run events to engage, train and share information • Encourage and arrange more informal contact between Parishes • Provide technical training to Parish Caretakers • Provide resources to Parishes such as sample contracts • Encourage joint working between Parishes • Help Parishes to seek external funding for individual projects • Connect Parishes to partner organisations for support and advice 1.3 Duration The project commenced on 1 January 2010 and ended on 31 December 2012 1.4 Partnership The lead body for this project was the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. An agreement was signed with the Nidderdale Plus Partnership, who assisted with delivery of the project to Nidderdale Parishes. Other partner organisations that agreed their support (through work in kind) were the Yorkshire Dales National Park, the Nidderdale AONB, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT), and North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) Conservation and Rights of Way Department. 1.5 Project beneficiaries Caring for the Parish aimed to target the following key beneficiaries: 50 Parishes within the LEADER area of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale AONB and 10,000 people over the 3 year period of the project. 1.6 Funding The project was resourced by • Yorkshire Dales LEADER programme • YDMT and Nidderdale Plus internal resources and personnel • Gift in kind from partner organisations Page 1 2. How have we evaluated the project? a. Evidence has been gathered from Parish Clerks and Parish Councillors, using a feedback/comment form on 4 different occasions: December 2010, November 2011, July 2012 and November 2012. b. Annual project evaluation reports have been submitted to the LEADER management Group in 2010 and 2011. c. Evaluations of training events. d. Discussions have been held with partner organisations on a regular basis throughout the project. e. A case study (Appendix A) has been undertaken focussing on the experience of one Parish Clerk. 3. What activities have been undertaken to ensure that the project met its objectives? Project Activities Details Events (and activities) Information Event (Mar 2010): to engage, train and Provided an introduction to LEADER, and the role of the share information Caring for the Parish Officers and representatives from partners including YDNPA, YWT, NYCC and NYFVO. Attended by 18 Parishes. Feedback: ‘useful information’, ‘worthwhile’, well run’. Sharing Best Practice meeting (Nov 2010): Topics for discussion: how the Parish Caretaker scheme has been managed in Lancashire and how it is organised by Parishes in the Dales and in Nidderdale. Attended by 14 parishes Feedback: ‘very interesting to hear other people’s experiences’, ‘I have learned how to communicate with the village about how they want it to be’. Sharing Best Practice Meeting (Jul 2012): Main topic for discussion: sustainability of the scheme beyond the lifetime of the LEADER grant. Speakers from Hutton le Hole Parish in the North York Moors, Rural Action Yorkshire and the Funding Advisors Network. Attended by 7 Parishes. Feedback: ‘well presented’, ‘I have benefitted from the opportunity to network and ask advice face to face’. Promotional activities: Caring for the Parish Project officers Page 2 have provided input to LEADER newsletters, a promotional stand at the LEADER AGM meeting, a leaflet distributed to all Parishes within the Dales LEADER area, a promotional banners for use at events and a series of press releases (including article in the Yorkshire Post). Encourage informal Achieved at every event organised by the project, with contact between networking during the meetings, coffee and lunch breaks. Parishes These discussions also led to Nidderdale Parish Clerks setting up a twice-yearly ‘Parish Clerk symposium’ in order to And share information and best practice on all matters relating to the work of Parish Clerks, to improve their efficiency and Joint working between effectiveness. Parishes Joint working was also encouraged. Some Parishes had already decided to share a Parish Caretaker (e.g. Askrigg/Bainbridge/Carperby and Menwith with Darley/Grantley/Azerley/Tanfield/North Stainley). Others have liaised with regard to partner working (eg High/Low Bishopside/Bewerley Parishes with YWT). Feedback: ‘I have found myself working more closely with our neighbouring Parishes to share experiences and ideas. This has been very positive and the contacts I have made have been useful in other aspects of Parish Council work’. Provide technical Land Registry training (Dec 2011 & April 2012): – training for Parishes specifically ‘Introduction to Land Registry Information’ and and Caretakers ‘Developing Land Registry Knowledge’. Attended by 9 Parish representatives. Caretaker skills training (Sept/Dec 2011, Dec 2012): specifically First Aid, Brush-cutter, Use of Pesticides, and Health and Safety in the workplace. Attended by 7 Parish Caretakers. Desk Top Publishing training (Sept 2012): specific skills and advice for Parish Councils. Attended by 5 Parish representatives. Risk Assessment training (Oct 2012): focus on requirement and practicalities of risk assessments. Attended by 9 Parish representatives. Feedback: ‘Attending this [Desk Top Publishing] course not only showed me what the package was capable of but also gave me some much needed time to play with it whilst there was someone available to question when things didn’t go quite according to plan. All in all it was an exceptionally worthwhile day’. ‘Courses like this, whilst delivering the specific skills intended by the subject, also allow us to network with new people, understand more about life outside our small Parish, and help me bring a fresh approach to my role’. Page 3 Provide resources A sample job description, application form and contract were such as sample available to every Parish at the start of their LEADER funding contracts (21 Parishes), and later to those Parishes who wished to set up their own schemes once LEADER funding was unavailable (contact with a further 14 Parishes). Feedback: ‘It has provided our Parish with the tools to set up our own Caretaker role and also provide the knowledge to safeguard our village greens’. ‘I have valued being able to contact you and feel that the project has been reasonably straight forward which is good’. Help Parishes seek Funding Workshops (Jul 2010, Jul 2012): external funding for Held at Bainbridge and Pateley Bridge, speakers from the individual projects Funding Advice Network. Attended by 15 Parish representatives. Feedback: ‘excellent training course – already used information provided’. ’Useful information’. ‘Very helpful’. Connect Parishes to Information Event (Mar 2010): partner organisations An introduction to partners (see above). Health & Safety and Working with Partner Organisations (May 2011): Held at Hawes and Pateley Bridge: course covering Health and Safety issues related to working on road verges, met with YDNPA and NYCC to discuss wildlife and PROW project ideas. Attended by 14 Parish representatives. Sharing Best Practice Meeting (Jul 2012): Discussed the sustainability of the scheme with Rural Action Yorkshire and the Funding Advice Network. Attended by 7 Parish representatives. Links were also made with the Safer Nidderdale group (June 2011), bringing together the Parish Caretaker, 2 Parish Councils, NYCC Youth Services and local Police to discuss ways of working together to improve experience of living in the 2 Parishes. Feedback: ‘I learned about funding, managing Council property and land, health and safety, and other links to organisations which might be useful in the future to help with other projects.’ ‘The support of those working on this project has been much appreciated’. Page 4 4. How successful has the project been in reaching its target beneficiaries? Beneficiary Target Actual Actual Actual TOTALS number 2010 2011 2012 Parishes / 50 21 140* 161 Villages Residents 10,000 14,947** 14947 People assisted 50 15 28 16 59 in skills development *140 parishes were reached through a promotional leaflet. This and newspaper coverage led to enquiries from 14 parishes. **14,947 is the number of residents living in the original 21 parishes with whom we worked. ***The original target was 120 but was revised downwards mainly for reasons outlined in section 6.3 5. What has been learned about the methods used to deliver the project? 5.1 The provision of opportunities for Parishes to meet together and discuss issues face to face has been most successful. Personal contact has been developed across Parishes and partner organisations resulting in opportunities to discuss training issues, best practice, and support for any issues of concern. 5.2 One-to-one