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Parish Plan Survey - Welcome
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This is an initial report on the responses to the Parish Plan questionnaire from the Steering Group Chairman - Mike Taite.
A further report, detailing subsequent actions and activities arising will be posted here and printed for all parish households
in due course. The great majority of good things listed in the survey relate to the quality of our built environment and its rural setting,
together with community assets such as the school, good neighbours and various community groups. Amongst bad things and concerns are transport difficulties, threats to the environment and the fact that, for significant
numbers of parishioners, there are very few relevant community events or groups. Reflecting this, most of the opportunities
called for different measures which will improve our environment, protect its setting and strengthen our community. Encouragingly,
many of these are, given sufficient support, eminently 'do-able' with few, if any, financial or practical obstacles. Please use these links which are repeated on each page to navigate to the respective sections: Initial Report from the Steering Group Chairman
Highlighting opportunities to improve our community
The good and bad
About the Parish PlanThe Parish Plan has been commissioned by Elmley Castle, Bricklehampton & Netherton Parish Council to find out what the Parish thinks on a range of issues.The findings of our survey are presented on these pages. The Parish Council will take the initiative on some items, where it has the responsibility to so do. Many opportunities highlighted by the survey fall outside the remit of the Parish Council; it is down to individuals and groups within the Parish to take suitable actions that will see us make the most of the opportunities to improve our community. If you'd like to get involved contact Mike Taite on 01386 710600. The strength of the communityThe strength of the community clearly matters: 68% rated it hugely important with only 1% indicating it is not at all important to them. Performance of Local GovernmentLess the 10% of people had concerns about the current performance of the Parish, District or County Councils. From the written comments of the people that provided them, no unifying theme emerged, save that nearly half touched upon concerns over the planning process and as many over road and ditch maintenance. Issues of balance are prominent, for example some feel the Parish Council has too little power and is ignored by higher levels of administration whilst others who feel it has too much power. Similarly, some see the Parish Council as being too passive whilst others criticise it for being intrusive.  |
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CommunicationThis Parish Plan Survey is a means of stimulating discussion in our community. Our survey found that three quarters of respondents felt the Parish would benefit from better communication between residents. Opinion on how this should be done was split almost evenly between notice boards, parish website and The Link, with the last of these slightly more popular than the other two. The notice boards are looked at least once a week by 35% and at least once a month by a further 40% of people. However, from comments, it is clear that many of those looking in Elmley Castle are referring to the notice board beside the entrance to the recreation ground, not the Parish notice board beside the entrance to St Mary‟s Church. Suggestions on making the notice boards more useful concentrated upon their physical condition and being up-to-date. Our wired community!An impressive 80% of respondents have internet access, with 94% of those having broadband access. We therefore thought it appropriate to publish the results of this Parish Plan survey on this web site. |