Growing numbers of people in all types of communities are coming together to develop a plan for their community. Two examples of this in Baildon were the Design Statement where people expressed their views about future development in the village; and the Urban Village Plan which allocated a pot of money from Bradford Council on some immediate needs. Now that Baildon has a Parish Council, it is time for the people of Baildon to think long term about how they see the village in 10, 15, 25 years time, and have the Parish Council work on that vision. These long term views are worked out with the community and published in a Parish Plan.
Parish plans do not have to have a standard format or have a fixed list of subject areas. Through meetings, consultations, questionnaires, and community planning sessions, the ideas of the population are identified so that the community can set out its vision, decide which issues it would like to tackle, agree priorities for action, and present the information in a way that is accessible to all. An important part of this process is an audit of existing local plans, and of local skills and resources. Actions arising from the planning process can be set out in the plan within the short and long term goals of the council. Issues covered in parish plans include planning, transport and travel, access to medical services, meeting halls/places, recreation and open spaces, footpaths, litter, support for local businesses etc.
The Parish Council is in the early stage of drawing up a specification of what the planning process could be and who it should reach. We are taking guidance from a range of agencies that will help us to do this. The finished Plan will not only set the agenda for the Parish Council in the years to come, it will also provide it with a framework and “business plan” to attract funding and to discuss service provision and management.
