PARISH PLANS
Creating a Vision for the future
Hutton Parish
Council
Parish Plan presentation
• Where have Parish Plans come from?
• What can a Parish expect from a
Parish Plan?
• The Parish Plan process
• Why should a Parish undertake a
Parish Plan?
Where have Parish Plans
come from
• Previous forms of consultation
– Village Appraisals
– Village design statements
– REAL
• Rural White Paper 2000
“Our countryside: the future”
– Empowering Rural communities to take charge of their
own destiny and to be able to voice their concerns.
What can a Parish expect
from a Parish Plan
• A Parish Plan is a document which can
– Identify local problems & opportunities
– Provides information to local service providers
about the Parish’s needs
– Provides evidence of need for funding bids
– Sets out an achievable & long-term vision for the
future
– Prepares a plan of action to achieve this vision
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Does The Work ?
• Parish Council Support
• Steering Group
• Community Involvement
Parish Plan process
Can be broken down into four stages
•
•
•
•
Application
Consultation
Action Planning
Production of Parish Plan
Parish Plan process
Application
– Applying for funding to assist in the process
• Includes creating a budget and timeline for the
process of around 12 months
– Setting up a group to drive the process
• Should ideally include members of the
community, group representation, businesses &
Parish Councillors
Parish Plan process
Consultation
– Gathering information
– Keeping people informed
•
•
•
•
•
•
Questionnaire to cover all aspects of the Parish
Involve local groups, clubs and businesses
Workshops – Schools, Youth, Elderly
Suggestion boxes
Stands at local Fete’s and events
Flyers, newspaper articles to keep people informed
Parish Plan process
Action Planning
– Solutions to the issues
– Working groups
• The Action Plan should identify
–
–
–
–
–
Action for the Community
Action for others i.e. Parish Council, Agencies
Funding needed & potential sources
Short, medium & long-term actions
Further study
Parish Plan process
Action Planning
Parish Plan process
Production of the Parish Plan
– The group decides on the format, design, style etc.
• Copies sent to the relevant authorities and
service providers
• Copies also held on file for the Parish
• Either a complete plan or a summary can
be distributed to each household
Why should a Parish undertake
a Parish Plan
 Encourage community participation
 Be used to influence Service Providers
E.g. Health service, youth & community services,
police, Borough and County Council.
 Help access funding by providing evidence of need
 Be a Historical document for community
 Statutory authorities are now aware of Parish Plans
and are looking to them for evidence of need
and work that needs to be undertaken
Frequently asked questions
Q. Are the results of the Parish Plan binding on the
parish council?
A. The parish council should endorse the final plan
and use it as a statement of policy. They may be
responsible for taking forward some of the actions.
Q. Does the local authority have to take any notice
of our plan – does it have any formal status?
A. Parish Plans do not currently have any formal status
and they cannot override agreed planning policy. But,
if you start a dialogue with the local authority at an
early stage in preparing the plan, you will be able to
identify where they can help you.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Will it help us get a new village hall/youth club?
A. Yes. If you have consulted widely with the community
and come up with clear evidence of need, a Parish Plan will
certainly help you make the case to a range of funding
bodies for cash for such projects
PARISH PLANS!
The Purpose of a village, parish or town
plan is to focus the community on setting
out a vision of what is important, the
problems that need to be tackled and to map
out the facilities the community needs to
safeguard the future.