The main feature this period has been the ‘activation’ of our two principal Work Groups who, under the general guidance of the Steering Committee, will study the priority issues of ‘The Shop’ and ‘Traffic’.
The first of these is headed by Sue Cooper and consists of Harriet Akoulitchev, Margaret Blake, Claire Scott-Bowden, Gemma Clive and Dee Rosier. They will concentrate on researching all aspects of establishing some form of village shop and look into the options of running a shop as a viable retail outlet including location, funding, staffing, opening hours, etc.
The second Group, under the leadership of Hugh Fallon, consists of Brian Connolly, David Cooper, Alex Nicholas and Abi Winfield. They will be looking into areas such as speeding, parking, public transport, road conditions, etc.
They will report their findings periodically to the Steering Committee with a view to finalising strategy and defining actions required – by whom and when!
It goes without saying that your views are VITAL and, if you wish to make any points for consideration, please contact any of these individuals. It may be that we will need to carry out another questionnaire survey (yes, another one!) and – should this be necessary – please participate.
Other issues have not been forgotten, of course, and other research is on-going in the areas of Youth Activities, Affordable Housing, etc., etc.
Contacts with the relevant parties – mainly in County and District Authorities – are being fostered where ‘outside agency’ assistance or input is likely to be required.
We have also noted recently the concerns related to the future of the Church in the village after Martin retires and how this might impact on our community.
We are also beginning to think about the ‘bigger picture’ and the ‘longer term’ in so far as any issues that this might highlight will probably require longer lead time for resolution and need actions to be identified sooner rather than later.
Finally, a ‘Bulletin Board’ has been established in the Village Hall which we will use to post progress notes, up-coming activities, relevant statistics and any other news snippets.
........Watch This Space!
Brian Smailes, Chairman, Steering Committee