Parish Plan 2007 -2017 Refresh Project
Timeline:
Week commencing 14th May 2018
Printed copies of the Highnam Parish Plan 2018 Refresh were received and distributed to every household in the parish.
The plan can be viewed by clicking on the link below:
Work is continuing to prepare detailed plans and costings for the major capital projects in the plan and regular updates on progress will be posted on this website.
11th April 2018
Last night the Parish Council approved the Parish Plan Refresh 2018. In practical terms, firstly, it will give us the green light to begin detailed plans and costings for the major capital projects such as the Oakridge path and the improved amenities on the Recreation Park. Secondly it will make it possible to draw down money from the S106 monies due from the Lassington Reach development to make the plans reality.
The approved draft will be posted on this website in the near future.
9th April 2018
The draft of the Parish Plan Refresh will be put in front of the Parish Council tomorrow night. The Council will be invited to approve the Plan in its published form, and if they do so, the Plan will enter the implementation phase, which means that detailed plans and costings can be made, and after due process, that work can start to make the plan a reality, using S106 monies from the developer of Lassington Reach.
When the Plan is approved this website will publish regular updates of progress during implementation.
20th March 2018
The Community Working Party (CWP) have met three times. Progress has been made on a number of items such as ‘Welcome Pack’ for newcommers to Highnam and the creation of a youth club. The Environment Working Party (EWP) met in January and a specialist in wildflower areas has been commissioned by the Parish Council at the request of the EWP, this will take place in the spring. The Leisure Working Party (LWP) has had too few volunteers to commence their work. Anyone reading this who would be prepared to assist in this work would be welcomed, but it is likely that the structure of the working parties will be changed so that there are two working parties handling the workload. The Parish Plan Refresh document itself has not yet been signed-off by the Parish Council due to workload issues, but it is hoped that it should be ready in May; any work done up to that point should be seen as preparatory.
5th December 2017
Site meeting on Highnam Recreation Park. Attending: Lucy Grove, Geoff Gidley, Valerie Tustin Smith and Terry Talbot. Subjects discussed were; the nature educational area, tree management and conservation and the Lassington Oak ‘Tribute’ tree. Details of the discussion were circulated to all EWP members and appear on the EWP blog.
24th November 2017
Community Working Party afternoon meeting at Parish Clerk’s Office.
23rd November 2017
The first round of Theme working parties commenced, starting with the Environment working party(EWP).
There was 100% attendance. After introductions, we ran through the actions which the survey results called for which were allocated to the EWP. There was good lively debate and we found some things which we could get on with. Getting us all up to speed, and acquiring more knowledge to guide our recommendations was seen as 1st priority and it was agreed that we would recommend a baseline survey should be undertaken on possible wildflower areas. Wild Highnam members and Cllr. Valerie Tustin Smith agreed to study the issues around the future management of Lassington Woods and future tree policy in Highnam. Next meeting 1900 4th Jan 2018 Parish Clerk’s office. Update by Facilitator Cllr. Terry Talbot.
Open Evening 4th October 2017
This was a successful event with around 40 residents and members of clubs attending. The purpose was to present the results of the response forms and household survey which was undertaken in April and May this year. Councillor Coats explained how the Parish Plan fitted into the overall planning landscape, and that it was definitely not the same as the Neighbourhood development plan which was a tightly prescribed statutory plan. The Parish Plan would allow us to achieve improvements in the parish guided by the aspirations of the local community as expressed in the responses to the consultations.
Councillor Talbot presented the survey results and distributed handouts to explain the validity and interpretation of the data collected. Questions were taken during the course of the presentation. The point was made again that the Parish Council intend that any changes made should be driven from bottom up, so the widest possible involvement is needed.
Councillor Moir explained that one of the main purposes of the meeting was to enlist some of those attending to join one of the three working parties (Environment, Community and Leisure) and that she would take the details of anyone interested. There was a very good response and 19 people signed up, with a good spread of interests.
If you are reading this you are probably a person who is interested in making Highnam an even better place to live; so why not get involved yourself?
If you have any enquiries or you think you can help in this project please contact any of the following Councillors Terry Talbot, Marian Moir, Charles Coats or the Clerk (Mr Richard Hicks) using the contact details on this website .
The full refreshed Parish Plan covering 2017 to 2031 will be published and available on this website later in the year or early 2018.
Study and interpretation by the Steering Group Summer 2017
Good progress was made over the summer in studying the results of the public consultation that Highnam Parish Council carried out in April and May this year. If you are one of the approximately 250 people who responded with survey responses including comments, we would like to thank you for your help and assure you that everyone’s views have been taken into account during the study.
The initial analysis was carried out by Eleanor Wear of the University of Gloucester, and this early collation of results in the form of charts and comments were key to the Steering Group’s interpretation of the results. In an effort to make the process as transparent as possible we are making the document produced by the Steering Group upon which the design stage and later the implementation phase will be based, available on this website. This document below is the report which was submitted for approval to the Council Meeting on the 12th September 2017.
When you read this material you will see it is set out in fairly broad terms and shows the general brief that will be applied during the design phase. If you would like to get involved to positively affect the design details of the major project elements, or take part in the more research and community based elements, now is the time to come forward.
Household Survey May 2017
Over 900 survey forms sent to all homes in the parish. Two hundred and fifty forms were returned representing 18%.
Drop-in Event Parish Room 8th April 2017
The event had extensive exhibited material, and was a success in making contacts and illustrating the purpose of the refresh. Response forms were collected on the three themes and good feedback was received. Attendance was lower than had been hoped at approximately 50 persons.
February 2017
The 2007 – 2017 Parish Plan due to expire this year.
To see the 2007 – 2017 Highnam Parish Plan click the link below.
Early work to refresh this plan agreed at Parish Council meeting.