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Pressing on with the Neighbourhood Plan

Posted on December 12 2011 at 3:42:17 0 comments

Grassroots leaders are urging the people of Alvechurch parish to get involved with the creation of a Neighbourhood Plan.

The public meeting on 23rd November, reported in December’s Village, started the process of producing a Neighbourhood Plan for Alvechurch Parish. This Plan, following the new Localism Act, should enable local people to have a formal say and influence how they want Alvechurch Parish to develop for the future.

The 60 or 70 people who attended that first public meeting completed a questionnaire about aspects of life in the parish. There was a very clear vote for what people “valued most about Alvechurch parish”. The three elements most chosen were “access to the countryside, green belt and open spaces”, “community services and facilities” and “appearance or feel of the area.”

There was less agreement about what people “most wanted to improve.” However, the main ones were public transport, leisure services and facilities, traffic and parking, youth facilities, range and quality of shops, appearance or feel of the area, and opportunities for new business. There was also agreement on the need for more affordable housing.

To follow on from the meeting, a steering group has been formed to co-ordinate the process. This initially consists of members of the Parish Council, who will begin the initial set up processes of the Plan’s structure, as stipulated by the coalition Government, but members of the Parish community and other people with specific local interests will be invited to join as soon as the formal structural procedures have been set up.

However, the main activity will take place later with a series of topic groups to get down to the business of creating elements of the Plan. These will be initially convened by the steering group but will be open to any parish resident or other people with an interest in the plan’s designated area. These groups can be chaired by their own members to ensure group meetings do not consist of just “the usual suspects” speaking; they will also be workshop style so everyone gets a chance to contribute and learn more as they go along.

Each group will consult with residents and other interested parties in a variety of ways. There will be discussions at local level within the Parish (for example Rowney Green, Hopwood, Bordesley and the other different parts of Alvechurch).

“Amongst these different groups, we hope to encourage involvement from; young people, parents, business people, landowners etc,” said a spokesman.

The work in progress will be regularly reported back to the Parish Council and to the wider community. This will be through all means possible, such as the local press, a website, social media and meetings.

The Plan will have to be approved by Bromsgrove District Council, but once this is done it will have legal status and will have to be taken notice of. The overall aim of the process will be to involve as many local people as possible, and to produce a positive statement of what people do want “in their own backyard”.

“We would be delighted to introduce you to the plan and we want to hear your views on what our community would like to achieve in our area,” said the spokesman.
“This plan is our community’s chance to take control of planning in the area and to make sure that future development is appropriate to our needs and aspirations. There are challenges, but now we can have a real say in what goes where and how it looks!

“Our ambitions through this plan are:
To engage with everyone in our community during the process of producing the plan;
To create a plan that will help our parish to be the best that it can be, now and in the future;
To set out clearly what development is, and is not, appropriate for our community, consistent with the future District Plan and National Policy;
To make clear to potential developers, through planning policies and guidance, what we as a community expect from development in our neighbourhood.

“There are a number of ways for you to get involved in this process. We will be looking for people to contribute ideas and thoughts toward the development of our plan and its content. We will be looking for a range of people with skills to contribute to the plan throughout the process on a variety of subjects that may include:

housing
countryside and green belt
transport
services and facilities
wildlife
And many more.

“We will be holding a number of events throughout the process and this will need people to be available to help in any way they can. It’s a plan for the whole community and we would like to create a list of people to call on should we need assistance at an event to help them run smoothly.

“We will be seeking your views at a number of stages throughout this process and will offer a number of opportunities to give your opinion on a range of subjects that relate to planning in the Parish. These may take the form of:

Online polls
Detailed surveys
Speaking to us at events

“So why not roll your sleeves up? Anyone who would like to be involved in the construction of this radical part of the new planning procedure, whether it be as part of the, steering group, the task groups or as a consultee, if you think you may have some positive skills or ideas that can help with this project, or just willing to be a part of the process in general, please don’t hesitate to contact either the Steering Group or the Parish Council.”

The Parish Office can be contacted Telephone on: 0121 447 8016
Or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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