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strapline for parish plansCommunity (Parish) Plans 


Why should you do a Community (parish) plan?

 

A community (parish) plan is an effective way of giving your community a local voice and help influence local government agendas. The Rural White Paper of November 2000 stated "Rural communities should play a much bigger part in running their own affairs, influencing and shaping their future development ....." As a result, Government fully supports the parish plan process.

What is a Community (parish) plan?

 

A Community (parish) plan is a community consultation opportunity. It gives everyone a chance to say what they think about the social, economic and environmental issues affecting their community.  It gives them a chance to say how they'd like to see things improved in the future and a chance to actually do something about it.

What can a Community (parish) plan achieve?

A community (parish) plan could help you to:

  • Give all local people (not just the confident) the chance to develop a vision for their community, identifying positive and negative issues.
  • Reopen a closed village shop.
  • Provide community transport.
  • Strengthen the Town or Parish Councils relationship with all sections of the community.
  • Create a new play area or place for young people to meet.
  • Identify local needs for affordable housing or community facilities.
  • Develop increased local voluntary action.
  • Produce evidence of need to support community fundraising applications.
  • Reinvigorate local democracy by stimulating interest in community affairs.
  • Produce a design statement for a new development.
  • Give a local dimension to broader planning policies.
  • Encourage partnership working.
  • Make links to the Local Development Framework and Local Strategic Partnership.
  • Provide evidence of community needs and priorities for Town and Parish Councils to plan their resources and effort.

 

 

A community (parish) plan can build confidence and skills within your community and can also develop community spirit.

 

To sum up - a Community (parish) Plan can:

  1. through a highly participative approach, empower local people to become and remain active in the Community.
  2. through an Action Plan, provide a well-defined strategy for the future.
  3. through a Results Report, provide clear, quantitative data - speaking the same language as the funding and statutory bodies. 

 

For more information and guidance, please check out the ACRE Community Planning Tool kit.   ACRE Community Planning Toolkit and the 9 step process - Click Here

 

For more information about starting a parish plan - click here

 

For more information about support for a parish plan - click here 

 

For more information about financing a parish plan - click here

 

For more information or guidance contact us