A VILLAGE APPRAISAL FOR SANDFORD ON THAMES

   The village appraisal is a quite large project, consulting the whole village and working out an action plan, will obviously involve a lot of people and take several months to complete. The main decisions, at the different stages in the appraisal process, are made at the meetings as listed above. But, in the background, progress is also being continually made by many people as they carry out tasks necessary to make thing actually happen. A lot of hard work does go on behind the scenes, including task organisation, checking out ideas, sorting out contributions, following up requests, budget and grant applications and the inevitable paperwork.

   So to all who have helped to keep the village appraisal running smoothly,
a very big thank you.

An agenda item at a meeting of the Parish Council.

    The continuing idea of a Village Appraisal had been discussed with the ORCC (Oxfordshire Rural Community Council) prior to the Parish Council meeting, and they agreed to come along and give a talk at the Parish Council meeting.
    An exhibition was been set up prior to the meeting and David Fisher (ORCC) made a presentation describing the advantages, purpose and methods of preparing a village plan.
    It was agreed to set up an appraisal committee to consist at first of Mick Hills and Irene Reveco who would contact various interest groups in the village and an advertisement in the next Link for interested villagers to contact M Hills to form an appraisal group.
    Also Katherine May (ORCC) spoke about transport issues and said a village plan could help a community to approach the authorities with greater strength.

This initial discussion meeting was organised to assess the feasibility of running a village appraisal for Sandford.

    Representatives from the, youth club, village hall, toddlers group, Sandford web site, Parish Council, Sandford ladies group, neighbourhood watch and church, were all invited to come along to hear the concepts behind parish plans and village appraisals, and see if it was practicable to organise one for our village. David Fisher from the ORCC (Oxfordshire Rural Community Council) came along with some display material, to explain some of the details on what we could achieve for the future of the village.

    After an interesting presentation and some encouraging and constructive discussion, it was decided to go ahead with a further meeting, open to the whole village. This would publicly launch the village appraisal project and explain to the village the general ideas involved. This would be advertised in the September issue of the village magazine, as well as a leaflet to every household, and given a favourable response, ask for those interested to help set up and run the project.

This was a meeting open to the whole village, to launch the village appraisal project.

    At the public meeting on Mon 22 Sept, over 65 villagers came along to hear about the Village Appraisal and the County Structure Plan that could remove the green belt. A larger than expected turnout at this meeting to launch the village appraisal project, was very encouraging, with people concerned not just with the green belt issue, but the future of the village as a friendly, rural, quiet community.

    David Fisher from the ORCC (Oxfordshire Rural Community Council) who specialise in helping rural villages in projects of this kind, had brought along several displays explaining some of the details of village appraisals. Whilst looking over the displays and samples of other villages' work, people took part in a mini-survey, which would help us gauge the key concerns of those taking part.

    People were asked to place a small flag in to a map of the village, to show whereabouts they lived. Also there were coloured notes on which people could make their own comments and add them to the existing list of 'likes' & 'dislikes' about the village (started at the meeting on 20th August) as well as any general 'suggestions' for improvements they would like. Another area was provided for provided for comments on local bus services, which would give some very useful information for the county transport review.

    Steve Daniels talked about what a village appraisal is and why we should bother to have one for our village. He went on to explain some of the ways it can help Sandford in the future, and the advantages of conducting a full appraisal of all the village. He also outlined the basic steps in the overall project, from the current starting point, right up to monitoring the final action plan. The next stage in the appraisal process was a request for volunteers to help set up a working group, and after discussions, interested people were asked to leave their name at the end of the meeting.

    This resulted in a very encouraging response from 36 people, who volunteered to assist with the running of the appraisal project. A further meeting was arranged at the end of the month, for those who volunteered for the working group to meet together, find out more details and start planning for a full village appraisal.

The volunteers from the previous launch meeting came along to this working group meeting, to hear more details and discuss the next stages in setting up the appraisal itself.

    The various stages involved in setting up and running a village appraisal were outlined, and a planned timetable was discussed and a broad outline was agreed. We are still at the early stages, but we hope to have most of the details sorted out by Christmas, and be ready to go in early spring, with results available in the summer of next year.

    Each of the group kindly filled in a 'skills survey' so we could assess how various people might like to help in running the appraisal. The other members of the working group, would also be asked to fill in a 'skills survey' This would enable the groups be aware of any useful existing talents, and also indicate possible areas where we may need extra help in running the project.

    The outcome of the 'likes and dislikes' which most people took part in at the launch meeting, gave some interesting results. The vast majority like the idea of a small and friendly, green, rural village outside the city of Oxford. The major dislike was the amount and speed of traffic through the village, along with some problems of crime and vandalism. The most suggestions received were for traffic calming and a village shop. This of course was only a small sample, but proved quite interesting and will be very helpful in setting out the next stages of the appraisal.

    Funding was also considered and the relevant people will be notified of our intention to conduct a full village appraisal. Grants would also be applied for, from the Countryside Agency and the District Council, as well as our own Parish Council. The application details were already being looked into and we were hopeful of meeting the acceptance conditions.

    The group considered all the different groups in the village, with which we would need to consult during the appraisal process. These were add to a long list for later evaluation. This would also prompt a list of organisations with which to discuss the results and to agree the items in the final action plan.

    Ten people came forward and agreed to form a 'steering group' to go into the full details of the Village Appraisal process at a meeting later in the month. This would help setup the next stage and take the project up to the consultation stage.
    After this very encouraging start, and with the help of the full working group, the whole village will be able to have a say in the future of Sandford.

The Parish Council fully supports the Village Appraisal.

    Following the initial meeting, a very successful public meeting had been held attended by about 70 residents representing all the different areas of the village. From that had come 36 volunteers and at a subsequent meeting 24 people had come to form a working group from whom about 10 would form a steering group. The Chairman Nigel Northcott congratulated Mick Hills on the very successful progress so far, he hoped the momentum could be kept up and wished it to be recorded that the Parish Council unanimously offered all possible support.

The first meeting of the newly formed steering group.

    This meeting chaired by Steve Daniels, discussed the details of setting up and running the village appraisal. After an initial introduction and a recap of the current position, the next stage in the appraisal process was discussed. These were to consider applying for grants, setting up of budgets, and inform local authorities of our intentions to proceed with the appraisal. Also who and how to involve, and the best way to consult all the different groups within the village

    Details of the grant applications we were intending to apply for were outlined. The main source of funds would be the Countryside Agency (C.A.) who were promoting the idea and had up to £5,000 for villages who qualify under their 'parish plan' scheme. However the C.A. would only supply a maximum of 75% of the appraisal budget.

    Fortunately the South Oxfordshire District Council were also keen on assisting villages who were applying under the C.A. scheme. They would be willing to support the village appraisal with up to £1,000 by working with them as this supports the councils 'strategic objectives'. Also the Parish Council agreed to contribute to the initial setting up costs, with £500 and helping out with the hire of the village hall for meetings. Other funding was also being looked into from Siemens and the 'Living and Learning scheme' from Oxfordshire County Council.

    A later meeting would discuss the grant applications and a proposed budget, once the full details became clear. Notification of or intention to proceed with our village appraisal had already been sent, to various agencies and local government offices, so they would be prepared to assist us in the later stages of the appraisal.

    The group organisation was discussed and using the results from the skills survey, it was suggested which group members would take the lead role in the various functions needed to run the appraisal: Publicity & Marketing - Jacquie Shanahan and Jon Wood;  Events & Catering - Aileen Waller;  Data Analysis & Presentation - Anna Gasking;  Youth Consultation - Alice & Paul Daglish;  Distribution & Leafleting - Phil Buck;  Local Knowledge & Information - Derek Bloomfield; Steve would continue in the role of project coordinator and Mick would cover the administration side.

    Various options for the consultation phase of the appraisal were considered, covering how and who could be approached during the appraisal. The issues raised at the previous meetings were grouped under general headings, covering the various areas of concern. The topics were: General, Traffic, Environment, Village Life, Working Life and Housing. With the special addition of a youth section for the younger members of the village.

    A suggestion was made and agreed of offering a prize, selected from raffle tickets handed out for completed questionnaires, would to help encourage people to take part. Also the involvement of the local pubs and the hotel by using suggestion boxes would be looked into. Direct meetings with the identified village clubs and groups could help raise the level of interest. An alternative source of opinion could also come via the web site. The use of a photo study, along with census data and an open meeting to present the interim results would also be used to add to the eventual action plan.

    Over the next couple of weeks the working group would be asked to consider and note down, what could be included in the village questionnaire. Suggestions should be passed on to Mick, in time for consideration at the next meeting. The resultant questions could be tested on the working group over Christmas. An article in the village magazine, to inform the village of our progress and planned timetable, as also agreed.

The finance group met to discuss the budget for the grant applications.

    As the C.A. needed a specific budget to confirm a grant, a small meeting was arranged to go through some rough figures previously drawn up. Various options and costings were considered and, hoping for reasonable support, a preferred budget was drawn up. This would have to be kept within the maximum grants available to us and keep the C.A. contribution to within their 75% limit.

    The guiding principal for the budget was, the execution of a well presented consultation process that delivers a visually attractive, obvious quality, action plan that would be treated seriously by villagers, authorities and service providers alike.

    The budget has since been submitted for consideration along with the grant applications, and early indications suggest we will receive the grants we hoped for.

The second meeting of the steering group, focussing on the consultation questions.

    The group met to discuss and review the suggestions made by the full 'working group' for the consultation questionnaire, which was requested at the previous meeting.

    Several group members had forward various contributions under the seven main key topics identified at the previous meeting: General, Traffic, Environment, Village Life, Working Life, Housing and Youth. The suggestions were grouped loosely together under similar topic headings, prior to the meeting, so similar ideas could be considered together. Also included was comprehensive list of questions, used in another village appraisal, to help stimulate discussion and suggest alternative ways of forming some of the questions.

    Six steering group members worked through the full list of over 200 questions, each being considered and evaluated by the group. Many questions were amalgamated and re-worked in to a more suitable form, ready for the initial trial. After a long meeting and much discussion, the questions were finally trimmed back to a more manageable size.

    Once the list has been organised and reformatted into a appropriate form, using a 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree' approach. This will then be circulated back to the group for approval, as the draft copy of our questionnaire. This draft is intended to be trialled, on a small sample group over the Christmas holiday period, and the results and comments collected before the next meeting on 12 January. The findings can then be discussed and consideration given to the feed back generated by the trial. It is hoped that the resultant, final draft can then be demonstrated, to a full working group meeting on 26 January, who will then distribute it throughout the village for completion

The third meeting of the steering group, discussing on the results of the pilot consultation questionnaire.

    A pilot version of the questionnaire had been circulated to all members of the working group. So a big thank you, to the twenty four people who have so far managed to return their draft copy, many with useful comments and suggestions for improvements. These were discussed and most would be incorporated into a revised, final version.

    The final cost of printing the questionnaire in the preferred layout of six sides 'gate folded' proved to be a strain on our reduced budget. Alternative layouts and costs were considered, and a 8 page booklet was considered to be a better option. It was thought that the extra white space would improve the layout, without making the questionnaire look to large. Anna agreed to modify the original 6 sides to fit the new layout, and would also look at a poster design, which Aileen would get printed for us. Jacquie would continue to deal with the printers, and also to test out the draft youth questionnaire.

    Proposals for distribution and collection of the questionnaire were considered. The village was divided up into 28 sections, with each section covering an area of about 20 to 25 homes each. Working group members, living in or locally to each section, would be requested to take on the delivery and collection for their own areas.

    Other groups and people, who were identified at a previous meeting, with which the appraisal should consult, were considered. Members associated with each group would be asked to discuss and seek opinions on issues of importance to the group. Hopefully this, along with the questionnaire and posters, would help raise the profile of the village appraisal, and produce some useful feedback.

This was a full meeting of all the working group to arrange the distribution of the consultation questionnaire.

    Steve, our project coordinator, opened the meeting with a welcome and thanked over twenty five people for coming along, and offering their support to the next, vital stage, in the village appraisal process. Members of the steering group had been quite busy over the last couple of months, and he summarised what had been happening since the last full meeting.

    The grant applications were now almost complete, and though not quite what we had hoped for, it was sufficient to allow us to proceed, with some re-budgeting, with a full appraisal. Steve mentioned the feedback from the pilot questionnaire, which most of the working group had returned, the results of which had been considered for the final version which was now ready. Unfortunately, due to a recent change in management at the Four Pillars Hotel, we were unable to confirm the raffle prize, but it was hoped that this would be agreed later in the week.

    Steve went on to speak about the general ideas and design of the final version of the questionnaire in more detail. We had maintained the original five topics from the original discussion meeting, being: Housing and Development; Working Life; Traffic, Travel & Transport; Environment and Village Life. Along with a few general questions, and the option of an additional youth questionnaire, these were the main elements of our questionnaire.

    The questions had been all been designed to identify the extent of agreement with a few strong statements to promote clarity, but keeping an overall balance with no hidden agenda. The pilot of the draft version showed that it took about 20 to 30 minutes to complete about 85 questions, and this seemed to be reasonable for people to be able to complete. The smaller youth questionnaire would be left with all those with children, when the main questionnaire was collected, to make sure the views of the younger members of the village could also be taken into account.

    It was explained that the idea of attaching raffle tickets, was so that one half could be kept by the person filling in the questionnaire, and the other returned to be entered into the prize draw. The raffle numbers had been mixed up and attached in a random order for delivery. The other half of the raffle ticket would be collected along with the completed questionnaire, but would not be used to identify anyone, and the questionnaire would remain totally anonymous throughout. The vicar would be asked to draw the winning raffle number from the returned questionnaires in March, this would then be announced in the Spring issue of The Link, and also displayed on this web site, The lucky winner would be asked to come forward with their matching half, and claim their prize.

    Steve went into the arrangements for the distribution of the questionnaires, as discussed at the previous meeting, and listed in the handout given to all those present. There were about 20 houses per section or 'walk' most of which were local, or very near by, to most people's own homes. The time of delivery and collection would be at time that suited the people themselves, but it was suggested that the delivery could be made over a next week. The easiest time for collection could be written on the bottom of the questionnaire and up to two weeks for completion could be allowed. Any youth questionnaires could be handed out at this time, and perhaps asking them to drop it through the collectors letter box as soon as it was completed.

    Ideally we would like all returns passed on to Steve by the end of February, or earlier, to assist with an early start to the creation of results. Any problems should be passed to Steve, who's contact details are on the questionnaire. People kindly offered help to areas next to their own, and Steve thanked those who offered help fill in with one or two gaps in the distribution. Several people agreed to work together as a team, to help cover some larger areas together.

    The meeting finished with a very big thank you to not only, all those who had been able to come along, but also to those who had offered their help but had not been able to attend the meeting.

The village appraisal questionnaires have now been collected from households in the village. RETURNED: 284     FROM: 577 That's an amazing 49% DO WE HAVE YOURS ? IF NOT PLEASE LET US KNOW WE STILL HAVE A FEW LEFT IF YOU WOULD LIKE A NEW ONE

THE WINNING RAFFLE TICKET NUMBER IS 399 The Four Pillars Hotel has very generously donated the raffle prize, of a Sunday carvery lunch for two in their splendid river room restaurant. The winning ticket was drawn by the vicar, Bob Morgan, who selected the lucky number 399 out of the hat, after church on Sunday 7th March. If you're the lucky owner of this ticket please contact us as soon as possible and claim your prize.

This update meeting for the steering group covered the progress of the village consultation and the setting up of our new database for analysing the large amount of responses received.

    Steve gave a full progress report and an update of the current consultation position. Steve had reported to the Parish Council their meeting last week, and had updated them on our current progress and outlined our forthcoming planned timetable. He also mentioned the possible Parish Council's direct involvement in the latter stages of the project and their continued long term support for the project.

    Mick spoke about the new Community Action Planning grant that was available, which should make our budget a little easier to manage and make it possible to deliver a very high quality result. Also an article had been placed in The Link magazine giving a progress report to the village and announcing the winning raffle ticket number drawn by the vicar, Bob Morgan, after church on Sunday. This was number 399. Posters advertising the winning number would also be put up round the village, and confirming the prize, generously donated by the Four Pillars Hotel, for a meal for two in their splendid river room restaurant.

    Steve gave the good news on the questionnaire, almost all of which had now been collected, and that we have achieved an amazing 49% return. This very positive response had included many comments and suggestions, covering a wide range ideas, which will be very useful in the later planning stages.
The response from the youth questionnaire had been a little disappointing, with 34 being handed in, however most of these were very useful and would provide a good starting point for further consideration. Several suggestion were made on how to involve the youngsters in the village and these would be followed up before the next meeting.

    The new database had been set up by Jason Henry of Broadhurst Gardens and two versions of access were available, that could be used by those with either older or newer computers. By spreading the questionnaires amongst several people it was hoped the data entry will soon be completed, over the next couple of weeks.
An initial overview of the results would then be available for the next full working group meeting to be held in early April. The resulting main topics and issues, would be split between several teams for further detailed analysis and the resultant action planning. The teams would than report their findings back to the full working group and the results formed into the draft Parish Plan. This would then be the subject of village consultation in an event in May.

This was the third meeting for the working group, which gave an overview of the consultation results, and set up groups for a more detailed review of the main topics. From which the draft action plan will be derived.

    A brief recap of the results, from 281 questionnaires returned, representing 49% of the village, had given the group over 790 individual comments and suggestions to consider. The main results from each question were also quite varied, a few examples of quite strong consensus, some apparent ambivalence, and a few surprises, shown below.

Strong Consensus
	Most people expect to stay put, but their kids will need to move
	Sandford heading towards a dormitory village
	Speeding vehicles, 'danger spots' & traffic management
	Parking problems, including need for more off-street
	Bus service improvement
	Make more of the 'green space'
	Noise not a problem (possibly an area exception)
	Retaining the current village character, an excellent place to live
	Ozone facilities are a valued addition
	Want more neighbourhood watches
	Facilities for young people are inadequate
	Parish Council doing a good job and Link well received.
	The Vicar is a 'poppet'
	No additional taxes for more services
	More activities.

Apparent Ambivalence
	Housing to be affordable
	Entering and leaving village difficult (area differences?)
	More pedestrian crossings (ditto)
	More cycle lanes (cyclist / non cyclist split?)
	Road state (does it vary by area?)
	Attractive village, litter problems
	Impact of Stadium & Ozone (area related?)
	Street lighting improvements (area related?)
	Crime and vandalism has got worse (area related?)
	Neighbourhood watch effectiveness. (area related?)
	Maintenance of play equipment (variation of with / without children?)
	Village GP (Age related?)

Surprises
	Building of up to 50 homes
	Demand for very local job opportunities
	Smoke not a problem
	Pedestrian access, pavements and pushchair suitability
	Flooding not a problem (possibly in one area?)
	Willingness to help an elderly neighbour
	Apparent potential for a profitable village shop.

    There were a few items of general concern, brought out by the results, that could be fairly easily improved on, but most needed further analysis. An example was given, listing over 40 suggestion for village clubs and societies, as a sample of the findings that could be extracted from the collected data.

Clubs & Societies
11	- Yoga
7	- Youth Club
7	- Exercise
6	- Monthly Social /Singles
5	- Disco
5	- Football Club
4	- IT
4	- Play Group / Holiday Play Scheme
4	- Cubs & Scouts
4	- Continuing Education
4	- Brownies & Guides
3	- Tai Kwon Do / Martial Arts
3	- Amateur Dramatics
3	- Art & Crafts
3	- Bridge / Whist
3	- Fetes / Xmas Party / Village Green Party
2	- Pilates
2	- Keep Fit 4 Pensioners
2	- Tennis
2	- Car Boots / Jumbles
2	- Live Music / Folk
2	- Book Club
2	- Hobbies
2	- Ballroom Dancing
2	- Line Dancing
2	- Illustrated Talks
1	- Advice Clinic Sessions
1	- Business Service Days
1	- Weight Watchers
1	- Toddler Group
1	- Cycling Club
1	- Walking / Hiking / Rambling
1	- Treasure Hunts
1	- 'Kids Pub'
1	- Bowls
1	- Cricket
1	- Badminton
1	- Afternoon Teas
1	- Languages
1	- Flower Arranging
1	- Snooker & Pool
1	- Wine Tasting
1	- Car Maintenance
1	- Over 50s

    With a large database to work from, it will be easier to split the results into several smaller topic areas. Each will be investigated by a small team, led by a steering group member and supported by various people from within the working group. Members who could not make the meeting would be given an opportunity to join one of the teams, and assist in reviewing the data and compiling the results in the topic area.

Topic Groups
	Housing and Development - Chris Redgate
	Traffic management and highways engineering - Jon Wood
	Transport services and employment opportunities - Aileen Waller
	Village appearance and attributes - Steve Daniels
	Environment management and recycling - Anna Gasking
	Policing, crime and unsociable behaviour - Paul Daglish
	Clubs, Societies and facilities - Mick Hills
	Youth matters - Jacquie Shanahan

    The teams would be asked to look at the results and consider the comments and suggestions relating to their topic area. Common themes and areas of consensus could then be drawn up, and further investigated and researched. A list of proposals for inclusion into the draft Parish Plan could then be drawn up, ready for reporting back at the next meeting

The focus of this steering group meeting was to receive initial reports from each of the eight topic groups and identify any common trends.

    Paul Daglish talked about the findings that he and Roger Hutchings had derived under the topic 'policing, crime and unsociable behaviour'. Aileen Waller gave the main findings from the 'transport services and employment opportunities' group. Mick Hills spoke about the 'clubs, societies and facilities' and Jacquie Shanahan covered the results from the 'youth' side. A report from Anna Gasking on 'environment management and recycling' was also available.

    The initial conclusions and possibilities for further investigations were discussed, and suggestions for further work to be carried out in some areas. It was interesting during discussions, how several of the topic areas overlapped with each other and how a joint approach could be considered to form a solution to common problems. One particularly common theme was the need for good publicity about what already exists. As an example, many households have requested activities and clubs that are already available in the village hall.

    The group also briefly considered the type and style of the draft plan, a simple and straightforward news paper style seemed most appropriate. It was felt that if more time was necessary to produce a better plan, from the large amount of really good information obtained in the survey, then a slight delay in the publication of the draft plan would be the right way to go. The suggestion of an appraisal 'report-back' event at the July fete was thought to be a very useful fallback for the planned event on June 12th.

Further progress from the topic groups was discussed at this meeting, along with the timetable and format ideas for the draft plan were considered.

    Jon Wood spoke about the findings from the 'Traffic Management & Highways Engineering' topic group, and they would be investigating the state of the roads and speed of traffic among other concerns. Aileen Waller gave an update from the 'Transport Services and Employment Opportunities' topic, and was continuing to talk with the bus companies about services. Mick Hills was continuing to examine 'Clubs, Societies and Facilities' in the village, and would investigate the suggestions made by other group members.

    Anna Gasking gave a full report from the topic group considering 'Environment Management and Recycling' and explained that, due to other commitments, she would sadly, not be able to continue with the group at this stage. The conclusions would be adopted by Steve Daniels along with the 'Village Appearance and Attributes' topic group, A written report was available from Paul Daglish and Roger Hutchings, considering the 'Policing, Crime and Unsociable Behaviour' topic. Also Jacquie Shanahan had forwarded written reports on 'Youth Matters' from the main and youth questionnaires, for the group to consider. It was noted that Jacquie's house has sold meaning that we will be losing two stalwarts!

    The group went on to consider further the aspects for the layout of the draft action plan, along with the style and format needed to present the appraisal findings in a readable manner It was decided that due to the time needed by the topic groups to properly investigate the results, that the we will aim to have the draft action plan ready for circulation before the annual village fete on 10th July.

    Recently, Mick attended a "Parish Plan Workshop" run by the ORCC (Oxfordshire Rural Community Council) who actively support village appraisal groups in our county. This was a very interesting and informative event, and proved a good opportunity to gauge our progress and a chance pick up a few tips, not just from the experts but from other working appraisal groups. Comparing notes with other villages of a similar size, we are progressing well and continuing very much on the right lines. The workshop proved very encouraging and indicated we are well placed, as we progress on to our own Parish Plan.

Final updates from the topic groups were discussed at this meeting, along with the latest version of the Draft Action Plan.

    Aileen had some further news on the revised bus timetable from Thames Travel and more useful information on Salters Steamers. Paul and Roger had some more feedback from the Thames Valley Police. Jacquie had a summary of the youth report, and Mick had a revised shop report. Steve had completed the housing and refined the traffic summary.

    Some of these updates had already been incorporated into the 'rough' Draft Action Plan which was discussed in detail, with many suggestions for inclusion into the final copy. The updates and review of the new material would be completed by the weekend, ready for printing early next week. The plan would then be ready for delivery to all households in readiness for the Village Fete.

    Arrangements are underway for a small marquee to house the appraisal 'stall' and allow a display of the findings to be set out. The 'stall' has been advertised in The Link and most people will bring their completed feedback forms along. Spare copies would be available on the day.
Most of the group will be available to answer any questions and discuss the results with those interested in the appraisal. It was hoped to sell a few extra tickets for the Fete Grand Raffle too!

The Village Appraisal display at the annual Village Fete.

The Village Fete was an ideal opportunity for may people to come along and see the work the Appraisal team have been doing on behalf of the village, and to hand in their completed feedback forms. We were positioned at one end, behind several of the main stalls, but till managed to attract quite a few interested people. Luckily Steve had managed to obtain the loan of a small marquee for the Fete, which proved very useful, especially when the unseasonable weather took a turn for the worse.

People were able to look over a number of displays, set out in the marquee, showing the main results of the consultation work already completed, and inspect the complete details showing the full results. Visitors were able to take samples of a wide selection of leaflets, covering the green box recycling scheme and the latest bus timetables, along with information on crime reduction and the neighbourhood watch.

Also available were lists of the current activities at the village hall, and information on the mobile library and the local free bus to Tescos. There was a large map of the local area on which people, by sticking a pin in, could indicate their preferred location for any new housing in the village. The large pile of green recycling boxes from SODC were soon all picked up, but people were still able to leave details for a free delivery at a later date.

    Several of the steering group were on hand to talk to villagers about the appraisal and give further information on the Draft Action plan recently circulated to the whole village. A few people managed to remember to bring along their yellow feedback forms, and despite the weather many of those who did visit indicated their appreciation of the work carried out.

    Our local County Councillor, John Howell, visited the Fete and was interested to hear about our progress, also the chairman, Nigel Northcott, along with most of the Parish Council came along to look over the displays. We also asked our local policeman Brian Price, who was able to find time from his busy duties to visit us and talk to people at the Fete.

The Steering Group met to consider our appearance at the Village Fete.

    The general consensus of the meeting was the event turned out to be slightly disappointing. Not only with the unsettled weather, and the reduced number of expected visitors, but with the apparent lack of reaction to the Draft Action Plan. To date (19 July) only 16 Feedback forms have been received.

    Whilst all were supportive, it was felt that this response (about 2½%) cannot be considered to be representative or provide the strong 'mandate' needed to move forward. However the lack of comment on the Draft Action Plan, could also be seen to imply that most people were happy with the proposals, and didn't feel the need to comment more, than they had already in the village questionnaire.

    After discussing various options, it was decided that a reminder note will be delivered to all households giving a new feedback deadline of 14th August. And by including a few alternative drop off points for the Feedback Forms, along with some posters in the noticeboards and bus stops, it was hoped to encourage a few more Feedback returns.

The next Steering Group meeting was due on 16 August.
to consider in detail the Feedback from the Draft Action Plan, and review the work necessary to development the final Parish Plan.

  Due to work and holiday commitments this meeting has been deferred.

An open meeting for all who are interested can attend is been organised at the village hall to pass on information about our existing local Neighbourhood Watch Schemes and to form new ones in our present 'gaps'.
More information will be available in the next edition The Link.

Presentation to the Parish Council, outlining progress to date.

Steve gave a brief review of our main consultation subjects, the level of response from half the village and the significant about of comment and suggestions received. The report went on to outline the main concerns raised and the formation of the resulting Draft Action Plan.
Despite the low level of response from the Draft Action Plan, the main issues were clear and the Appraisal Group would proceed to format them into suitable Action Points to make the basis of the Parish Plan. This would need some consideration by the members, as some of the work and responsibility would be undertaken by the Parish Council.

Steve said a draft version should be available for the next meeting, but work was quite busy and the Appraisal Group interest had reduced since the Fete, but a couple of initiatives were progressing.

The Parish Council consider the draft version of the Parish Plan

A draft version of the Parish Plan, highlighting 46 Action Points for consideration, was available before the meeting for members of the Parish Council.
The report was generally quite well received and some comments for additions and improvements for clarification along with several suggestions were noted.
These would be considered and used to improve the Parish Plan, and a revised version should be ready for the next meeting prior to the full Parish Plan being available for adoption by the Parish Council. It was also note that some of the initiatives were already under way by the Parish Council, and others were due to be taken up in due course.

Parish Council meeting.

Unfortunately a revised version of the Parish Plan was not ready in time for the meeting, a few points of interest were discussed, but the full version would be considered at the next meeting.

Appraisal results displayed at the Neighbourhood watch meeting.

The final display of the appraisal results could be seen at the recent Neighbourhood Watch meeting, organised by the Appraisal Group as part of the developed action plan.
This initiative was undertaken by the Appraisal Group on behalf of the village as it had been highlighted as of major interest, due to the many requests to develop and expand the existing groups during the appraisal consultations.

Parish Council meeting.

A final draft of the Parish Plan was considered by the Parish Council. This was well received and with very little change, was officially adopted by the council to be considered as a basis for the future development of the village. The Parish Council thanked all those involved for all their hard work on conducting the Village Appraisal.
Once the Parish Plan had been submitted to the Countryside Agency, under the terms of their grant, it was hoped to have it printed and delivered over the Christmas period.

The Parish Plan comes off the press.

After many months work by the Appraisal Team the Parish Plan has now been printed, and will be delivered to all households in the next few days.

Village Appraisal final accounts presented to the Parish Council.

The closing claims on the three grants awarded to us, were all approved after submission early last month, happily we came within our strict budget requirements, and no problems were encountered.

The Countryside Agency initially awarded us £1,615 back in January 2004, but our final claim was only £1,003.26 thus a refund of £611.74 was necessary.
However our claim from South Oxfordshire District Council of £417.50 was met in full, and also the claim from the Community Action Planning for £328 was paid.
The Parish Council contributed £80 for the hire of the village hall for meetings, and £33.55 in misc expenditure (£29.42 reclaimable vat)
Our overall expenditure came to £1,862.31 the majority of which was spent on printing costs (78.6%) and hire of the hall (12.3%)

Parish Plan progress reports now available.

With the official adoption of the Parish Plan now completed, the final phase of implementing the proposals will now continue over the next couple of years.

To keep up to date with the various developments a new Progress Reports section to the Village Appraisal web pages has now been added. These reports are intended to show the current situation and progress made on the various sections of the Parish Plan, and will be updated as they develop in the coming months.

Update report in Spring issue of The Link.

An article on the Village Appraisal and Parish Plan appeared in issue 97 of The Link, and gave the current situation on the main development of the Parish Plan.

Parish Plan update article in Summer issue of The Link.

A report on the Parish Plan appeared in issue 98 of The Link, and gave an update on recent developments.

The centre pages also contained an interim copy of the Local Directory, which has been compiled as part of the Village Information section of the Parish Plan. Given sufficient interest it is hoped to develop this further, into a full directory of all services available to villagers.