December 2016 Newsletter
It seems ages since our meeting on the 16th April at Trentham Rugby Club. You will remember that it was suggested that we pursue the matter further to find out what funding and consultancy help was available from central government.
Following a bit of research and conversations with the experts at www.ty.org (the leading nationwide network of settlements, development trusts social action centres and community enterprises) we invited quotations from a number of consultants who specialise in Neighbourhood planning. We also completed an application form for a Neighbourhood Planning Grant and Technical Support. We have been granted £6,210 and professional assistance from AECOM.
We have accepted the quotation submitted by Clive Keble Consulting Ltd. The company is based in Derby and has helped communities in Anslow and Duston create and obtain approval of their Neighbourhood Plans – the company is presently working with Denstone District Council.
We have held a couple of meetings with Clive Keble Consulting Ltd and are now at a point where we have a plan that we firmly believe will enable us to form our own Neighbourhood Forum by April 2017.
Our task during the next few months will be to …
- Establish which areas of Hanford & Trentham want to be included in the Neighbourhood plan. AECOM have recommended that we carry our a ‘Neighbourhood Identity Survey’ – ie we simply ask a cross-section of residents living in the area and record their views
- Spread our into our community explaining what Neighbourhood Planning is all about, what benefits it can bring to their Neighbourhood and generally make Hanford & Trentham a better place to live and grow up in.
- Empress on everyone that the Neighbourhood plan will be their plan. The success of our plan will depend entirely on their offers of help and cooperation.
- To get at least 20 residents and business owners who truly represent the cross-section of folks and business residing in the Hanford and Trentham area to become members of our Neighbourhood Forum. We need to establish a fully constituted Neighbourhood Forum to oversee the creation of our Neighbourhood Plan.
We will be putting together a ‘Roadshow’ after Christmas to help us start spreading the news, finding out who wants to be involved and building a consensus as to what areas should be included in our Neighbourhood Plan. Clive Keble Consulting Ltd will be producing photos and
texts to explain what we are about, there will be a questionnaire for individuals to indicate whether or not they think their Neighbourhood should become part of our Neighbourhood Plan and, most importantly whether or not they would like to become part of our exciting project by joining the Neighbourhood Forum.
I’m sure that you’ll agree that we have covered a significant amount of ground since our meeting in April. We now know where we need to be going and have the necessary funding and professional expertise on hand to assist us.
We hope that you all have a good Christmas and a prosperous New Year – and dare I suggest- we hope that you can find a few minutes now and then to consider how you will be able to help us move this exciting project forward next year.- Best wishes – Peter and the rest of our small steering group.
