PARISH PLAN PAGE

This page tells the story of the creation of our Parish Action Plan - Our vision for the future.
The story runs chronologically from the bottom of the page.

THE PLAN WAS LAUNCHED AT THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING ON THURSDAY 22ND APRIL 2004

QUESTIONNAIRES RETURNED 12/09/03

Some 40 of the volunteers who had delivered and collected the questionnaires came together to hand in the completed forms and share their experiences of reaching out to the 1,104 households in the parish. By the end of the evening 664 forms had been accounted for and it was expected that another 40 or so would still be forthcoming. This 60% plus return represents a most excellent response which after analysis should give considerable support to the issues that will form the basis of the action plan.

Image of volunteers enjoying well earned refreshment
Photo by Pete 12th September '03

VOLUNTEERS SHARING EXPERIENCES OVER WELL EARNED REFRESHMENT

PLEASE FILL IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE 15/08/03

Within the next few days all 1,104 homes in the parish should be receiving, hand delivered, a questionnaire which has been compiled from the information gathered from over 200 parishioners reflecting their views on the future of our parish. A good return from the questionnaire will give a strong indication of the direction that action should take to achieve what the majority of parishioners want for the future of the parish A good return will enable the parish action plan to be implemented with confidence and a good return will provide recompense enough for all the helpers who so far have brought the project to this stage. ----- PLEASE FILL IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE ---- It will be collected by the person who delivered. Please ask for any help or assistance you may require by telephoning the Parish Clerk on 581185.

QUESTIONNAIRES BEING ALLOCATED TO VOLUNTEERS FOR DELIVERY & COLLECTION TO ALL 1,104 HOMES IN THE PARISH

UP DATE REPORT PRESENTED TO ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
By Councillor Christine Nuttall-Smith

By now hopefully most of you will be aware of the Parish Plan on which a Core Group Committee of Parish Councillors and other interested members of the community have been working since last October when funding to create the Plan was obtained from the Countryside Agency. However, very briefly, for those of you still not certain of what the Plan entails, it will be a document which outlines what we would like to see happen in our Parish over the next five to ten years. Once we have the Plan in place we can then use it to represent the Parish to obtain funding etc to provide for the changes and improvements that are specified within the Plan.

Obviously our first task was to consult the community about their aspirations for the future and to this end we need to circulate a questionnaire. Rather than simply devise our own questions or have one drawn up by an outside agency we decided to hold a series of meetings at which we could identify the issues about which the community feels most strongly and then create a questionnaire, which will be circulated to every household within the Parish.

An initial meeting was arranged for representatives of all parish organisations at the end of last year at which the concept of the Plan was explained, followed by a Youth Forum at Kingsbridge Community College which was both well attended and came up with some interesting and valid ideas! Our Chairman, Peter Greening, was invited to attend the WRVS Christmas Luncheon Club party and asked the members to fill in a "wish list for the parish" and just after the New Year we held two forums for members of the business communities within our Parish. During March we held a series of roadshows in most of the villages and hamlets within the parish so that no-one should feel excluded from making a contribution and indeed as a Committee we feel that we have achieved an input from a good cross-section of parishioners.

During the past months we have received substantial media coverage from Radio Devon, South Hams Radio and Carlton TV along with articles in the Kingsbridge Gazette, the Parish Magazine and of course we have pictures and reports about the progress of the Plan on the Stokenham Parish website.

Having identified the main topics of importance we are now at the stage of analysing all the comments you made on the "post-it" notes on a particular theme in order to formulate a questionnaire – obviously a time-consuming occupation but one which reinforces the validity of the document since the questions will have been generated by the community.

Finally the Committee would like to emphasize the importance of filling in and returning the questionnaire when it is delivered and would ask you to encourage friends and neighbours to do the same and of course it is still not too late for your further comments and suggestions.

FORUMS HELD IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE PARISH FOR ALL RESIDENTS & VISITORS TO ATTEND MADE VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION.

KINGSBRIDGE SCHOOL HOSTS YOUTH FORUM

With the kind co-operation of the principal 66 youngsters were allowed to meet with representatives of the Stokenham Parish Plan Core Group to contribute their ideas and suggestions for their parish which they would like to be considered when formulating the parish plan.

Image of Youth Forum

Stokenham Parish Clerk Gill Claydon & Geoff Norris address the assembly.

Image of Youth Forum

Geoff Norris facilitates a discussion.

Photos by C.N-S.

A good attendance of representatives of various parish organisations enthusiastically went about generating ideas for inclusion in the Stokenham Parish Plan when they came together recently in Stokenham Parish Hall. Working in groups and with the assistance of facilitators suggestions flowed thick and fast, finally being grouped to provide themes to be added to others and taken out to the parish to seek an input from as many people as possible. In parallel similar exercises are to be undertaken with the youth of the parish and the business community. The ultimate objective is the formulation of a questionnaire incorporating the themes generated. A questionnaire which it is hoped will be completed by a very high percentage of parishioners and which will then form the basis of the action plan for the parish for the next 5 to 10 years.

What is a Parish Plan? ............. What, in all aspects, the residents of a parish believe they would like to see happen to their parish in the foreseeable future.

Why a Parish Plan? ................. When a parish has an agreed plan to action, the parish council and other authorities are well placed to represent the views of the parish in obtaining funding and other assistance that may be necessary to provide the changes and improvements that the proposals specify.

Who creates the Parish Plan? ..... The people of the parish create the plan by feeding their ideas and suggestions into a co-ordinating organisation which in the case of Stokenham Parish is a committee of the Parish Council supplemented by other members of the parish who can contribute their special skills to the project.

Who pays for the cost of preparing a Parish Plan? ........... The Parish Council applies for funding which in the case of Stokenham has already been approved.

What happens next? ................ The co-ordinating committee or core group will shortly begin to organise ways and means of reaching all parts of the parish for the input of ideas and suggestions that will improve the lifestyle and economic well-being of the whole parish and thus creating a vision for the future.

How can I help? ....................... There will be many ways to help, from designing and delivering questionnaires to transporting people to meetings to collating information. But at the very least by making known your ideas and suggestions so that they can be taken into consideration in the plan. To offer your services please contact The Clerk, Gill Claydon, Highfield, Kiln Lane, Stokenham. Tel.581185 or clerk@stokenham-pc.gov.uk You can also submit a message by using the feedback form by clicking HERE