Parish Plan 2012

Following on from our response to the Blueprint Questionnaire from Winchester City Council the Parish Council has decided to investigate the preparation of a Parish Plan for the Itchen Valley Parish during 2012.

What is a Community Plan?

A Community Plan is a document prepared by a community, which describes how the community sees itself developing over the next few years. It:

• identifies local problems and opportunities
• sets out an achievable and long term vision for the future
• prepares a plan of action to achieve this vision

To prepare a Plan the views of all of the community must be gathered through survey, research and community participation. A Plan can include everything that is relevant to the people who live and work in the community, from employment needs to playgrounds. They can include any social, environmental or economic issues. It is up to the community to decide what is important to them. No one else can set the agenda or determine priorities for action on behalf of the community.

There are different types of community plan - the main ones being parish plan or market town healthcheck.

What is a Parish Plan?

For most of the rural areas of Winchester District, the best option for community planning is a Parish Plan. This is community-led and aims to look at what a community needs, identify how to improve the quality of life for people who live there now and to make sure people can enjoy that quality of life in the future.

The same process and methodology can also be used for neighbourhoods within a more urban area, such as the town area of Winchester.

If your community has a small population, you could consider joining forces with neighbouring parish or neighbourhood to produce a wider 'area community plan'. This would help you to have a lot more influence on service providers and policy makers.

What is the difference between Parish Plans, Village Design Statements and Neighbourhood Plans?

A Parish Plan provides information about a variety of needs concerning well being and social activity of the local population, which incorporates all aspects of life and can include the physical needs of an area.

A Village Design Statement (VDS) only focuses on the physical (spatial) aspects of the community e.g. housing, hedges, lighting, signage. A VDS can be adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance and will then be used as evidence when consideration is given to future planning applications in the area.

The Neighbourhood Plan is a new concept that was presented as part of the recent Localism Bill. Our current understanding is that a Neighbourhood Plan would be instigated by a neighbourhood group, in partnership with the local planning authority and set within the context of the local and national planning policy framework. We await final details of what exactly a Neighbourhood Plan will be and how it will be used.

What happens next?

The Parish Council has organised an event at Itchen Abbas and Avington Village Hall on a Saturday 14th January at 10.30am to launch the development of the Parish Plan, please see the village magazines for more information.