Call for people who live in the parish of Whitchurch Rural to share their views about life in the area
Shropshire Council is issuing a call for up to 30 local people from across the Whitchurch Rural parish to take part in a one-off event to share their local knowledge and views with each other so an up-to-date picture can be drawn of life in the area.
The results on the day will be an improved evidence base, and a visual snapshot of the community arrived at using colour wheels. The event will be held at the Primary School in Tilstock on the evening of Tuesday 27th November 2012. There will be refreshments before a 7pm start, and local cakes at a midpoint break.
People are asked to book their places in advance on a first come first served basis. Organisers will then mix them up into group discussion tables prepared ahead of the event, depending on their ages and interests and where they are from in the parish. There will also be a parish councillor on each table.
As the parish includes settlements from Ash to Tilstock, having the event at the primary school is seen as a way of picking up on a wide catchment of people.
Participants will be asked to share their views with other local people on a range of topics like housing, the environment, local jobs, and local services, as well as telling the Council more about the different social and leisure activities that go on in the area.
Local Shropshire Councillor Gerald Dakin will be there to listen to what people have to say about what life is like in the parish, and Shropshire Council officers will be taking the notes.
There will be hot drinks and squash from 6.30pm, ahead of the 7pm start. The midpoint cakes will be sourced locally, and alternatives will be arranged for those who are gluten free, etc. The event will finish at around 9.45pm.
Councillor Gerald Dakin said:
“It would be really good to have a mix of perspectives from young and old alike, and from all across the parish. I know that the Parish Council is as keen as I am to make sure that we have the best-quality and most up to date information possible about life in the area, from the people who know. Shropshire Council would like to hear from young people aged 11 upwards and parents, right through to people who are retired, whether you are already involved in any community activities or not. If you can give up this one evening of your time, we will do our best to make it enjoyable.”
Anyone interested in taking part in the event is asked to please contact Mrs Lois Dale by 1.p.m. on Monday 19th November 2012 to make a booking, on 01743 255667 or via email address lois.dale@shropshire.gov.uk. Mrs Dale will then contact people and further information will be posted out to participants ahead of the event itself.
The event will use an interactive toolkit approach, based on a set of questions about what makes a community sustainable. The same questions are asked wherever it is used in Shropshire, so the answers can be used as a guideline for planning priorities and community priorities in that area.
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.
Gwilym Butler, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for Flourishing Shropshire Communities, added:
“We need people to come along and take part to tell us what living in the parish of Whitchurch Rural 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. Every event brings something different, because every locality is different, and I am sure that we will learn something new and different from this one as well.”
