Share your views about life in Highley

People living in Highley are being invited to share their local knowledge about life in the village at a special event on Tuesday 22 March 2011.

The one-off event will be held at the Parish Hall, with refreshments from 6.30pm ahead of a 7pm start. It will finish at around 9.45pm.

Shropshire Council is looking for up to 30 local people to take part in the event.

Anyone interested in taking part should register by Tuesday 15 March by calling 01743 255667.

Participation will be on a first-come first-served basis and the aim is to have a mix of people of different ages and interests.

The event will provide a chance to find out people’s current views about what it is like to live and work in Highley. It will also help ensure that Shropshire Council has the best quality information possible about life in the village, based on local knowledge and views, as well as on the information that the council already has.

One of a series of similar events being held in market towns and villages across the county, the event will use an interactive 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 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. They will also be asked to share with their local councillor any ideas that could help to revitalise their market town using investment through the Market Towns Revitalisation Programme.

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

“We all want to make sure that Shropshire Council decisions are based on the best and most up-to-date information possible, which is why we need local people to get involved and tell us. These events are great opportunities to gain a shared understanding of local priorities for each of our market towns, based on listening to local people.”

Mary Nicholls, Shropshire Councillor for Highley said,

“We recently had an extremely well-attended Local Joint Committee in Highley where villagers gave views and raised their concerns with councillors and officers. I am hoping this much less formal event will be equally well attended at the Parish Hall. Highley will shortly be bidding for £45,000 to £50,000 to be spent in the village and the ideas of local people could very much assist in the application to the Market Towns Revitalisation programme.

“It should also be a pleasant night out whilst helping the local community to focus on what Highley has to offer and what the village needs.”