How the plan is being produced

BACK

One of the first tasks for the Group was to find out how other steering committees had sought the views of their own Parishoners when producing their Plans. Having looked at some options, we decided to conduct the consultation process first of all by holding an Open Morning at the Village Hall and then to produce a survey.

The Open Morning

This was held at Lytchett Matravers Village Hall on Saturday 3rd November 2007. The Group promoted the Open Morning through a local poster campaign, roadside boards, in the Lytchett Link, Primary School Roundabout and other community newsletters, and on the day displayed a large banner at the Hall and manned signs at Tesco Express.

It was well attended, with well over 200 people enjoying the chance to get together over our shared concern for our village, and being suitably refreshed by the Guides' able provision of drinks and cakes. Cllr. Fred Drane and Annette Brooke MP were kind enough to attend, as well as some of our very own village VIP's!

Some of the talking points were provided by the interesting and thought-provoking visuals of the village - and some ideas for its improvement - by local architect Mr. Ken Morgan.

Visitors were also able to view proposed development to the Village Hall itself, and information about local groups. Many ideas and opinions were expressed and many post-it note messages left for us. The Group will be processing these over the coming weeks and months, along with the comments on the completed surveys, which are now being returned.

There were also a number of people who offered their help and involvement in the coming months while we prepare the Plan for publication, so we offer our gratitude to them and welcome them aboard!

The Survey

We delivered a survey to every household in the village so that everyone over 11 years old could be given the opportunity to give us their views. We also decided to make the survey available to people in the outlying areas (e.g. Rushall Lane, Wimborne Road, Organford and Slepe) because even though they may not be 'officially' part of the parish, we discovered that many feel a great affinity with Lytchett Matravers. Others who were invited to fill in a survey were those who work in the parish and other 'stakeholders' such as parents of children attending the school, although we did ask that those living outside the parish indicate this on the form.

We used information gleaned from other Plans (including the 2002 Lytchett Matravers Village Appraisal) to produce some headings for the survey. These were not intended to influence people, but to provoke thoughts and ideas and to help residents to think about all aspects of our village environment and community. These headings were:

VILLAGE FACILITIES: The village Hall, the schools, the churches, the shops, the doctor’s surgery, the sports and recreation ground, the library and the pubs.
GENERAL ENVIRONMENT: Housing and development, open spaces, greenbelt, waste management and recycling, tourism, noise.
TRANSPORT AND RIGHTS OF WAY: Roads, traffic control, parking, public and community transport, cycle routes, school traffic, footpaths, bridleways.
PEOPLE: Community spirit, clubs and associations, needs of different age groups, employment, activities and entertainment, education including adult education.
SAFETY AND HEALTH: Policing, public and personal safety, animal fouling, antisocial behaviour and road safety.
ANYTHING ELSE? This is your opportunity to say what else is important to you in your village.

We delivered the surveys from 29th October 2007, and set the deadline for return as 19th November 2007. Collection points were placed at Hanhams, The Post Office, Tesco Express, Heath Cottage Doctors Surgery, The Royal British Legion, The Rose & Crown, The Chequers Inn, Lytchett Matravers Library, Lytchett Matravers Primary School and at Goldy’s - the committee would like to thank all of these locations for their support.

What next?

We had over 300 surveys returned so together with over 170 comments given to us on post-it notes at the Open Day, we now have over 3,000 comments to read, digest and analyse! Our current task is to divide the comments into their different subjects and form working groups to find the main themes. We have had extra volunteers join us for this process and are beginning to call in help from contacts from local councils etc. to investigate the issues. Please contact us if you feel you may have some spare time to join us in this!