Parish Plans

NEWSFLASH!!! NEW ONLINE, INTERACTIVE DEVON PARISH PLANS DATABASE LAUNCHED!

Have you seen the 'Communities in Action' online database? If not; Go to http://www.communitiesinaction.org.uk !

The 'Communities in Action' online database will eventually hold every Parish Plan completed in Devon. You can make sure that your Parish Plan is on the database by going to the website, registering as a user and entering the details of your Parish Plan. The website includes a help page to guide users through the process. You can update your Plan, provide news of how the implementation of your Action Plan is going and how individual projects are succeeding.

As a publicly available database you can search on particular subject headings to see which Plans share the same issues and how they propose to address them. Or you can read through the issues highlighted in individual Plans.

This is a major, new tool for community planning.This database will, for the first time, allow parishes, Districts, the County and the general public to search across issues and see where they arise across the County.

If your parish is thinking of doing a Parish Plan, you can go online and see how other parishes in Devon have already tackled the job!

Visit the 'Communities in Action website at http://www.communitiesinaction.org.uk !

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your PC to access some internet links below. This is a FREE download. [ Download Acrobat Here ]

Parish PlanningTopics on this page

The Background to Parish Plans
Why Do a Parish Plan?
View Devon Parish Plans
Funding for Parish Plans
Resources for DIY Parish Planning
Implementing Your Parish Plan
The CCD Implementation Roadshow
Village Design Statements
The CCD Community Planning Team

To view the relevant section, please scroll down the page!

FOR LINKS TO AVAILABLE ONLINE PARISH PLANS PLEASE GO TO BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

The Background to Parish Plans

The Government’s November 2000 Rural White Paper stated that Parish Plans should “identify key facilities and services, set out the problems that need to be tackled and demonstrate how distinctive character and features can be preserved”. They should set out a vision for the community in the future and identify the action needed to tackle issues of concern in addition to including everything that is relevant to the people who live and work in the community, from employment needs to playgrounds. The Parish Plan should consult everyone and give them a chance to say what they think about the social, economic and environmental issues affecting them and how they’d like to see their community improved during the next 5, 10 or even 15 years. The whole community has to be involved, not just those who come along to Parish Council meetings.

Consultation event 4

Why Do a Parish Plan?

Parish Plans;

enable communities to engage meaningfully with the local planning process
make known those issues that affect your community
identify and prioritise Key Issues with your community
produce an Action Plan to promote the changes that communities want to see at ocal, district and county levels
are useful in influencing the maintenance and creation of community services and facilities such as;
- identifying new uses for the Village Hall or other community buildings
- encouraging the setting up of a parent and baby clinic
- providing after school child care and a holiday club for school children
- improving liaison with the police and establishing a neighbourhood watch scheme
- feeding into district and county strategies, through Local Strategic Partnerships
are useful in Influencing the planning system by;
- identifying local needs for affordable housing or community facilities
- producing a design statement for new development
- identifying which open spaces are needed and valued for community use
- giving a local dimension to broader planning policies
- working with the planning process to deliver sustainable development
are useful in identifying and planning action that the local community can undertake itself, such as;
- re-opening a closed village shop
- producing a community newsletter
- providing a community transport scheme
- carrying out environmental improvements
- creating a new play area and place for young people to meet

View Devon Parish Plans

To view the Devon Parish Plans available online, go to the list of links at the bottom of this page and click on the name of the parish. Some plans need a little time to download. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer which can be downloaded free from the internet (See the link ABOVE).

Funding for Parish Planning

The 2007/8 funding from the Rural Social and Community Programme (RSCP) to support parish planning activity in Devon has been exhausted. There will be no RSCP funds available for 2008/9. However, for a list of other sources of funding for Parish Plans in Devon [ Click Here ]. For more information contact Paul Edwards on 01392 383292 or email him at paul@decvonrcc.org.uk.

Resources for DIY Parish Planning

You can still do a parish plan! Here is a list of resources that will help you do a less expensive plan.

Want to see an example of 'Good Practice'?

Here is a link to an example of a "good practice" Parish Plan:[ Knowstone Parish Plan ]. This Parish Plan is a good illustration of what a well-laid-out, sound Parish Plan might look like.

Community Plan Toolkit

The Community Plan Toolkit is a 'How To' guide to parish planning, [ Click Here ] to view and download!

Community Consultation Techniques

The Community Consultation Techniques Toolkit ( Click Here ) will enable you to do a robust community consultation without the need for a formal questionnaire.

If you would like to look at further Community Consultation techniques for to make your consultation events more interesting and more fun [ Click Here ] for some inexpensive, easy-to-do ideas from Oxfordshire RCC.

Want to do a formal Questionnaire?

If you would still like to do a formal questionnaire, we can provide a Excel sample template (unfortunately too big to put on this website) which you can use to draft your own community questionnaire. Please ring Heather Holmes at CCD (01392 383292) or email heather@devonrcc.org.uk for a electronic copy.

You can find easy-to-follow advice for constructing a formal questionnaire ( Here ).

Advice on Drafting Your Action Plan

The Action Plan is, in may ways, the most important part of your Parish Plan. For specific advice on developing your Action Plan [ Click Here ]

More ideas...

For more ideas on community-lead planning see the Community Planning website ( Here )

Implementing your Parish Plan

What do you need to turn your action plan from ideas to reality?

Grants, loans and financial investment?
Feasibility studies or business plans?
Technical expertise?
Project/group development advice?

Members of CCD’s Community Planning team are keen to visit you and discuss ways forward with your group. We can give a presentation, and pointers as to what help and resources are available when it comes to delivering new facilities and services in your parish.

Want to start a Community Enterprise?

If, as a result of your Parish Plan, you decide you need to start a community enterprise, such as a Community-owned Shop, click on this link [ Link to Community Enterprise ] for more information.

Village Design Statements

As a result of your Parish Plan, you may decide to do a Village Design Statement, the purpose of which is to manage change, whether in relation to a major new development or just cumulative, small-scale additions and alterations. For more information [ Click Here ].

The CCD Community Planning Team

Here at the Community Council of Devon we have a team of Community Development Officers who can advise and support you with the development and production of your Parish Plan. Also check out our training page for information on Parish Plan training opportunities [ link to training page ]. Your contacts are:

Heather Holmes Tel: 01392 383292 or email: [ heather@devonrcc.org.uk ]

Greg Davies Tel: 01392 383292 or email: [ greg@devonrcc.org.uk ]