28/04/2011 - Permalink

Chance to share views about life in Diddlebury parish

Related topics: Community

People who live in the parish of Diddlebury are being invited to share their local knowledge about life in the area at a special event in June 2011.

The one-off event will be held at the Corvedale Primary School in Diddlebury on the morning of Saturday 11 June 2011, with refreshments from 9.30am ahead of a 10am start. The event will finish at around 12.45pm.

Shropshire Council is looking for up to 30 local people to take part in the event, aged around 11 years and up.  Bookings will open on Tuesday 3 May and will close on Friday 20 May 2011.  The council would like to hear from people of different ages and interests, and from different parts of the parish, and people will then be mixed into group discussion tables.

Anyone interested in taking part in the event should contact Lois Dale by 20 May 2011 on 01743 255667 or email lois.dale@shropshire.gov.uk.

The event will use an interactive visual approach, already in use with rural parishes in Shropshire, and based on a set of questions about what makes a community sustainable.  The same questions are asked wherever it is used, so the answers can be used as a guideline for planning priorities and community priorities in an area.

Councillor Cecilia Motley, Shropshire Councillor for Corvedale, said:

“We are keen to hear from people who may not have been involved in anything before but would be able to give up a morning, as well as from people already active in the community who want to share their views.  This will help to ensure that we have the best quality information possible about life in the area, based on local knowledge and views, as well as on the information that we already have about Diddlebury parish.  If we get more than 30 people, we will draw names out of a hat.”

Councillor Gwilym Butler, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for community working, added:

“We need people to come along and take part to tell us what Diddlebury is like, its positives and negatives. This will form a base for us to work from to plan for the future, delivering what the community wants and needs.”

People will also be asked to give their views on what community benefits might be important to the area, and help their community develop and thrive in the future.

The end results on the day will be an improved evidence base about the local area to help long term decision-making about future developments and services, and an immediate visual snapshot of the community.