Do you want a say in what happens in the village in the future?

Do you want to help ensue Swanton Abbott is a great place to live?

Do you want to help make sure local businesses thrive?

Then come along to the Village Plan Initial Meeting which will be held on Saturday 17th November at the Wesleyan Chapel. The programme starts at 10:30am and refreshments will be provided.

These are many issues a Village Plan can cover – how we can all have a say in what sort of village we want over the next 10 to 15 years and beyond.

The Parish Council is supporting this work and hopes that everyone in the village will be able to get involved in one way or another – But why bother?

If we get it right, the plan can:-

• Bring the whole community together to plan for the future
• Discover what local people want for the village
• Provide a means of conveying information and opinion to local councils and other organisations such as the Police and Health Authority
• Identify problems and opportunities
• Determine priorities for the future
• Help support funding applications to provide improvements

The plan will take the form of a report and a detailed action plan to make sure something actually happens!

The first priority is to understand local issues and people's views. We will therefore be asking you over the coming months what you think on a range of issues such as

• The local environment - open spaces, recycling facilities, drainage etc
• Transport and traffic
• Crime and anti-social behaviour
• Housing need
• Access to leisure and the countryside

But first we need to know how you want to be consulted - questionnaire survey? at public meetings? at local events? or have you any other ideas?

We need residents and local organisations to play a role in this work. If you want to make any comments at this stage on the village plan process, how we should consult residents, or to get involved in helping produce the plan please contact the Steering Group at villageplan@swantonabbott.co.uk.