The Husthwaite Parish Plan as of Jan 08 can be downloaded as a .pdf from here:
Parish Plan Makes Promising Progress (Newsletter July 2006)
Peter Davison
Following Richard Wood's comprehensive report of the Parish Plan Consultation Launch in the May edition of the Newsletter, it is appropriate to say a big thank you to everyone who came along to the Village Hall. The attendance of nearly 100 clearly revealed a very high level of interest and support. A fascinating range of photographs, taken prior to the launch, captured many key features and inspired much interest and discussion, as well as providing an impressive pictorial impact.
Ideas supplied by the children of the Primary school were quite amazing, and these, together with all the other suggestions made, are beginning to shape priorities for our Parish Plan. Such a high level of commitment across the whole community is greatly appreciated both by the Steering Group and the Parish Council.
As everyone is aware, we have now moved on to the next stage circulation of a questionnaire to every household. Hopefully, by the time this Newsletter is received, everyone (is that too optimistic?) will have completed their responses to questions raised. Although the Consultation Launch has helped to identify emerging priorities, completed questionnaires will provide the statistical data base needed to give credibility to the final document. It is, therefore, important to achieve our target response of at least 80%. If any questionnaires are still outstanding, it will be appreciated if these could be completed soon and handed in to the village shop. Don't forget, all returns go into the Prize Draw, which will take place in late August/early September.
It may be of interest to note that the anonymous responses to the questionnaire will be analysed and fed into the production of a draft copy of the Parish Plan, which will be circulated for consultation and responses during October. At this stage we are on course for completion by the end of the year. Such promising progress has been achieved as a result if widespread interest and support. May it continue!
Parish Plan Shapes Husthwaite's Future (Newsletter May 2006)
'I like the village green because you can have a picnic.' 'You can see the White Horse' - two of the comments from Husthwaite Primary School children at Saturday's launch of the Parish Plan.
Milkman John and butcher Andrew were shown to be village favourites, along with the shop and the mobile library.
A hundred people, including young children and teenagers, attended the launch in the Village Hall. 'We are overwhelmed by the high level of support,' said Peter Davison, Chairman of the Parish Plan Steering Committee. The committee distributed fifty single-use cameras, which resulted in around 800 photographs of the village. Photos were divided into features people liked about Husthwaite and those they disliked. There were also snaps illustrating aspects of other villages people would like to see here.
The meeting was addressed by Jo Buffey, Development Officer of Yorkshire Rural Community Council. 'Eighty five villages in North Yorkshire and hundreds throughout the country have developed parish plans,' Jo explained. 'This is a response to the huge changes which have taken place in the countryside, including the social mix, car ownership and shopping habits. Nowadays people also want to walk and to cycle. They are interested in the appearance of their villages. There is no knowing what impact will be made on the countryside by the coming increases in petrol prices and by global warming.'
National government directives and guidelines reflect all this change, Jo said. 'They have charged local government with getting communities involved in their own development. '
Peter Davison thanked the Yorkshire Rural Community Council for its contribution of £2,550 in support of Husthwaite's creation of a parish plan. He congratulated lan Yapp, headteacher of Husthwaite School, and his colleagues, for their participation in the launch. Peter drew attention to 'the quality of the children's thinking, the sharpness of their observations, and their radical ideas for the future.'
Launching the Parish Plan
A Sample of Opinions
We Like These:
* recycling centre on Ample Carr * the interior of the Village Hall * a variety of beautiful footpaths * public telephone box * few cars parked on lovely streets
We Can Do Better
* unsightly bins outside cemetery * Village Hall's outward appearance * pylons in the fields
* dirty poles and overhead wires * potholes and dog mess
We Admire These:
* the village halls at Carlton and Coxwold * the recreation area at Alne
'The next stage,' Peter Davison told the Parish Plan launch meeting, 'is for the Steering Committee to analyse the information gathered today. Then we will send a questionnaire round the village. To be taken seriously by local government we need a 75% response.'
Summarising, Peter told the meeting, 'We can't stop change. We want to influence it rather than have it imposed on us.' He quoted a participant in the day who wrote: 'Husthwaite is a lovely village. It is a pleasure to live here. Just a little tender loving care is needed to ensure that it continues to be the place we want it to be.'
Parish Plan to be Launched with an Early Summer Fun Day: Discussions Launched on Husthwaite's Way Forward into 21st Century (Newsletter April 2006)
Peter Davison
Following the publicity given to this initiative in the last Newsletter, developments are moving along swiftly. A Steering Group has been formed and consists of Sarah Aspinall (Secretary), Stephen Crosby, Peter Davison (Chair), Ursula Duncan, Alison Gambles, Phil Lawson, Juliet McDougall, Angela Ovenston, Audrey Raper (Treasurer) and Robin Walton. These enthusiastic volunteers have already had two meetings, at which strategies for developing a Parish Plan have been explored.
A broad framework which is emerging is as follows:
* An official launch, providing opportunities for consultation and expression of ideas, will be held in the Village Hall at 4.00pm on Saturday 20th May. This event will be a pleasant, fun evening with social interaction, free refreshments (wine/fruit juices and nibbles), leading to initial identification of priorities to be considered for the Plan.
In order to build up a visual record of those aspects which are liked/disliked in Husthwaite, some single-use cameras have been purchased for use by villagers. The resulting photographs will be used to provide material for discussion at the launch. It is hoped there will be a good turnout for this important event.
* Following the launch, the Steering Group will collate ideas/suggestions and do a questionnaire, which will be delivered to every household in the parish. Responses will enable a clear order of priorities to be established.
* The next important stage will be to produce a draft document, around October, complete with action plan, and this again will be widely circulated for consultation and feedback from the community.
* Finally, the published document will be printed and distributed by the end of December. Arrangements will be made for a annual review of progress.
The importance of making a specific effort to attend the launch in May cannot be over-emphasised. If the Plan is to have a significant impact on future developments in Husthwaite, widespread involvement is essential. The Primary School is already giving a good lead. lan Yapp, the Headteacher, has kindly agreed that some of the children will participate in a survey of the village to identify those features they like and dislike. Some of the children's photographs, pictures and ideas for making the village an even better place than it is at present will be displayed at the launch. Hopefully, this important contribution by the children will inspire adults to become equally involved in influencing future provision in Husthwaite. Everyone is warmly invited to rise to the challenge and come along to the launch on Saturday 20th May.
An important step in preparing the launch is to ensure that we have a good range of visual material to stimulate interest. Some of this will come from photographs produced by single-use cameras which have been purchased from the grant arranged through Yorkshire Rural Community Council. These cameras will be available from Tuesday 11 th April and may be obtained from any member of the Steering Group or from Anne Dowson at the village shop. Details which might be recorded and deadline dates are given on a record/information sheet issued with each camera. Don't be disappointed. Get in early to ensure you get one!
We look forward to an interesting time over the next few weeks as the whole community becomes active in discussing/recording those features in Husthwaite we like or dislike and things we would like to see in the future.