What is a Parish Plan?
The majority of Willingham’s residents live here by choice. They enjoy the real village atmosphere. Despite its proximity to the urban area of Cambridge it remains a self-contained village. It has excellent primary school and medical facilities and residents feel safe. However, there are times when we feel that our enjoyment could be improved. For instance; improved transport links; reduced traffic flow; improved social facilities. Or maybe we just want to ensure that we keep those good features that we already have.
The question is, how can we preserve and improve the life of our village?
A group of volunteers believe that a Parish Plan is the best way to represent the wishes of Willingham’s residents in seeking to improve the village environment and facilities.
So what is a Parish Plan?
A Parish Plan brings together the views, needs and opinions of the whole community. It is a complete document, covering the social, economic and environmental issues of relevance to the whole village. It will set out what is important, whether key facilities and services, or distinctive local character. It gives everyone a chance to guide future development. It will include an action plan which prioritises the issues raised by residents and sets out how they may be tackled.
The concept of Parish Plans was first introduced in the Rural White Paper, “Our Countryside: The Future: A Fair Deal For Rural England” published in November 2000. The White Paper recognised the importance of thriving rural communities to the social and environmental fabric of our nation and suggested that these communities could be strengthened by giving local people a bigger say in managing their own affairs.
How do you produce a Parish Plan?
We are already well into the process of producing the Willingham Parish Plan. A group of volunteers have formed themselves into a steering committee and secured funding from central resources and the Parish Council who have given their full backing to the idea. A public meeting was held in the village school on 18th April which gave support to the idea of a Willingham Parish Plan and helped gather initial views on the hopes and aspirations of residents. Now we are in the process of developing a questionnaire which will be sent to every household in Willingham. This questionnaire will be the main instrument in helping to paint a picture of Willingham and its needs. We anticipate the Parish Plan being completed in late spring/early summer 2008.
But will it be worth the effort?
There may be some who believe the relevant authorities will ignore the output of the Parish Plans. That is not the evidence to date. The current government gave their support to the concept of Parish Plans in the White Paper since when the concept has gained wide all-party support. Already over 3000 parishes have embarked on the production of a parish plan showing them to be a successful way for rural citizens to make their voices heard. Your Parish Council have pledged their support to the Parish Plan and provided £4000 contribution to the cost of the plan. County and District councils are pledged to seek the views of taxpayers in developing and delivering policy and at the end of the day the Parish Plan represents your views to your elected officials.
So what can I do?
There is no doubt that the production of the Parish Plan is a significant undertaking. We will therefore need to enlist the help of volunteers to undertake a variety of tasks including the distribution and collection of questionnaires. So use this web site to volunteer your services now.
However, whether you are able to offer your help or not please pledge your support by completing and returning the questionnaire once it is circulated. Give a voice to your hopes and aspirations for an improving village life.