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Minutes of the Meeting of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group held in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Bideford on Wednesday 8 January 2020

PRESENT:

North Ward:

Cllr J Herron

South Ward:

Cllr Mrs S Langford
Cllr R Wootton (Chairperson)

East Ward:

Cllr J Craigie

IN ATTENDANCE:

Mrs H Blackburn (Town Clerk)
Mrs L Dixon-Chatfield (Town Clerk’s Assistant)
1 Member of the Public

As the Chairperson was unable to attend the meeting, and the Committee has not yet selected a Vice-Chairperson, The Town Clerk called for nominations for a Chairperson for the duration of the meeting.

Proposed by Councillor Herron, seconded by Councillor Craigie and

RESOLVED: That Councillor Wootton is elected as Chairperson for the duration of the meeting.

(Vote For: 4, Against: 0)

026.     APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Councillor R Craigie (East ward – illness).

027.     DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

028.     PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SESSION

The Member of the public present at the meeting advised that she had previously shown an interest in Bideford’s Neighbourhood Plan. As a former Town Planning Officer she supervised 25 parish plans which were the forerunners of the Neighbourhood plan. Her roots are in Devon, and her experience of town planning lies in Cornwall. She offered to bring the group some experience from Cornwall. Cornwall is ahead of Devon in terms of Neighbourhood Planning. She advised that a recent BBC programme highlighted the fact that ordinary people are being engaged in Neighbourhood Planning She could help the group with this. She left some advisory documentation concerning Neighbourhood Planning with the Clerk.

029.    MINUTES

Proposed by Councillor Langford and seconded by Councillor Craigie, the minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2019 were approved and signed as a correct record.

(Vote – For: 4, Against: 0)

030.   QUESTIONS FOR FORTHCOMING INFORMAL MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF NEARBY NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING COMMITTEES)

Members agreed the following questions as the basis of the discussions to be held with representations of nearby Neighbourhood Planning Committees:

• Did you have an overall theme – e.g. housing, climate change etc or does your Neighbourhood plan cover general issues.
• What was the best way of engaging the community?
• Can you give us some do’s and don’ts?
• Would you undertake the process again? Can you see what benefits having a plan will have for your community?
• At what stage did you engage a consultant?
• At what stage did you apply for funding?
• How much did you reference the local plan?
• Have you put anything in place to ensure that new housing stock is in line with the climate emergency?
• Have you put anything in place in line with the survey of housing needs?

The Member of the Public indicated that she had a document to share with the Committee.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Proposed by Councillor Wootton, seconded by Councillor Herron and

RESOLVED: That Standing Orders are suspended to allow the Member of the Public to speak on this agenda item.

(Vote For: 4, Against: 0)

The Member of the Public advised that she had some written guidance on the Neighbourhood Plan which would be very useful to the Committee, and that she would leave a copy with the Clerk.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Proposed by Councillor Wootton, seconded by Councillor Craigie and

RESOLVED: That The meeting returns to Standing Orders.

(Vote For: 4, Against: 0)

031 a.   TO AGREE A DATE AND TIME FOR INITIAL OPEN DAY EVENT IN THE TOWN HALL FROM THE AVAILABILITY IN THE CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2020

Proposed by Councillor Craigie, seconded by Councillor Herron and

RESOLVED: That the initial Open Day event will be held in the Town Hall on Wednesday 25 March 2020 between 11.00 and 19.00.

(Vote For: 4, Against: 0)

b.          TO AGREE COVER SCHEDULE

The following cover schedule for the Open Day was agreed:
Councillor Herron: 11.00 – 13.00 and 17.00 - 19.00
Councillor Wootton: 11.00 – 14.00
Councillor Langford will advise nearer the time.
Councillor Craigie is available all day and offered to slot in as required.

In addition, a Member of staff will be present throughout the day.

032.    CONTENT / WORDING FOR POSTERS FOR FUTURE OPEN DAY EVENTS.

Members viewed some example posters and agreed that a simple poster should be produced. The Administration Assistant will be asked to draft a poster and circulate it amongst Committee Members for approval. The title “Have your say day.” was agreed.

033.    CONTENT FOR THE SURVEY / FEEDBACK FORMS FOR THE OPEN DAY EVENTS

Councillor Craigie suggested that the simple survey questions used in the “Neighbourhood Plans Roadmap” guide should be used.

o What is good about the area?
o What is bad about the area?
o What are the neighbourhood’s qualities as a place to live and work in?
o What issues affect the area (now or in the future?)
o What change would you like to see?
o What does the word Neighbourhood mean to you?

The Town Clerk suggested that an Expression of Interest section is added for those wishing to become involved. This should include space for contact details and a list of key skills and experience.

Members discussed producing posters for the walls – possibly one-liners to stimulate conversation e.g. “Housing, Jobs”. They also discussed producing outline information on Neighbourhood Planning – which could be displayed on the projection screens.

Proposed by Councillor Craigie, seconded by Councillor Herron and

RESOLVED: That draft surveys and posters will be produced for agreement at the next meeting.

(Vote For: 4, Against: 0)

034.     INITIAL PLANNING OF HOW THE ROOM WILL BE SET UP FOR THE TOWN HALL OPEN DAY EVENT

Members agreed that both The Town Hall and Council Chamber will be booked out for the open day. Information will be on the walls and projected via the screen. A table will be provided for completing surveys, with the availability of a facilitator to help complete forms. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided in the lobby.

Councillor Langford advised her progress in communicating with the local schools as follows:

Bideford College have agreed to undertake a survey across the year groups within their tutor groups.
St Marys – Councillor Langford will attend an assembly, and the school have agreed to a survey.
East-the-Water School will run a survey themselves.
West Croft – Their response needs chasing up.
Kingsley – Due to be contacted shortly.

Councillor Herron offered to approach the youth club with a view to conducting a survey.

035.    IDENTIFY THE NEXT STEPS

It was agreed that this would be to contact the youth groups and schools as detailed in the previous minute.

036.    DATE OF NEXT MEETING

Proposed by Councillor Herron, seconded by Councillor Langford and

RESOLVED: That the next meeting will be held on Wednesday 26th February at 5.00 pm in the Council Chamber.

(Vote For: 4, Against: 0)

The business of the meeting having been completed, the Chairman thanked the members for their attendance and the meeting concluded at 5.55 pm.


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