Parish Plan Document – Vowchurch GPC

Contents

Page

Foreword

Section I

Setting the scene – what is a parish plan?

Our parish areas

Producing a parish plan for our area

How we produced this parish plan

Questionnaire

Section II

Action plans

7 – 12

Annexes

Annex 1 – Members of the parish plan steering group

Annex 2 – Results of the questionnaire from 2010

Annex 3 – Action Plan

Annex 4 – Adult Questionnaire

Annex 5 – Young People’s Questionnaire

How to use this document

The most important part of this document is section II. This summarises actions that

reflect the issues that local people say are most important to them. The first part of

the plan document sets the scene for the rest of the report and describes how the

work has been done. Those who are interested will find a summary of the results of the

questionnaire produced in 2010 in Annex 2.

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful for the support we have received from Chris Gooding and the local

team from Herefordshire Partnership who support the production of parish plans.

Foreword

The work of producing this plan highlighted some of the issues that affect life in a

rural community.

Protecting the environment is one issue. The beauty of the area, its wildlife and the

opportunities it offers are greatly – and equally – valued by people who were born in the

parishes and those who have chosen to live here.

Having a sustainable community is another issue. People attach value to the idea of a

balanced community of younger and older people, including families with children who go

to local schools. This is reflected in a wish to make it easier for younger people with

families to live in the area and find employment. It is also reflected in a wish to retain

local schools.

Discussion at public meetings convinced us that few of the issues identified can be seen

in isolation. For example, the environment is the product of natural processes and of

human action over many years. To a very considerable extent the landscape today – its

field structures, hedges, trees and woodlands and its commons – reflects the way in

which the land is used.

Any changes in the way the land is used – for example, through changes in farming

practices or the introduction of more buildings and roads – will alter how the landscape

looks and have an impact on wildlife. Supporting farming is important in maintaining the

environment. Take away farming, remove sheep from the uplands and the land would

change – for better or worse.

At the same time people recognise that changes are inevitable. More people who live in

the area want to work and run businesses from home. This makes better

communications essential, principally through the internet and mobile telephones.

Farmers themselves are finding internet access indispensable for receiving information

and completing the forms their businesses require. We are lucky that our area is part

of a wider initiative to introduce faster broadband and this Plan supports this

unreservedly.

Local people need to be able to respond positively to such changes and, with their

representatives, be able to influence the impact it makes. Having a strong Parish

Council and working together to agree priorities for tackling issues is essential. We

hope this Parish Plan will make a contribution to this.

Section I

Setting the scene

occupations or are retired. The

What is a parish plan?

proportion of younger people with families

is smaller and the proportion of older

people greater. Even so the area and

adjoining areas have valued primary

schools (in Longtown, Michaelchurch

Escley and Peterchurch) and secondary

schools (in Kingstone and Peterchurch).

A parish plan identifies the most

important questions – social, economic and

environmental – facing rural communities.

Parish plans identify actions for the

Parish Council, individuals and groups

within the community and other service

providers and statutory bodies.

In recent years the ability to make a

living from farming in the upland areas has

become more difficult. Younger farmers

may now need to have a second job to

produce enough to live on and many work

off the farm or have adapted farm

buildings to provide additional income. An

increasing number of young people have

the opportunity to go away to college or

university and often do not return

The process of producing a parish plan is

laid out in national and local guidance.

Limited financial resources are available

to support the work, in this case from

Herefordshire Council and the Parish

Council.

Our parish areas

because job opportunities are greater in

urban areas. Recent years have seen an

inward movement of active retired people,

as well as some young families.

The parishes of Michaelchurch, Newton,

St Margaret’s, Turnastone and Vowchurch

lie in the Golden Valley and in the foothills

of the Black Mountains on the eastern

edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park,

an area of great natural beauty. There

are upland areas in the west and east,

with low-lying flatlands between in the

valley of the River Dore.

None of the parishes has a significant

village centre. Most houses and farms are

dispersed, many stand alone, some are

quite isolated. This lack of village centres

and the dispersed nature of the houses

means that none of the parishes can be at

all self-sufficient. But there is a feeling

of social cohesion and social and other

activities bring people together. There

are several excellent locals halls which

provide venues for many of these

Historically this was predominantly a

farming area, in which most people were

employed on the land or in service.

Changes in farming practice have, as

everywhere, reduced the need to employ

large numbers of people, so today fewer

local people are involved in farming.

activities.

A major feature of the area is that, apart

from two small shops and a few garage

workshops, people have to travel out of

Agriculture remains the largest source of

work, but today a significant proportion of

people in the area either work in other

the area for much of what they need.

Doctors’ surgeries are in Ewyas Harold,

Kingstone and Peterchurch; local shops

are in Ewyas Harold, Longtown and

Peterchurch. As mentioned above most

schools are outside the area. Hereford

and Abergavenny provide a concentration

of shops, including supermarkets and

garages and Hay on Wye is the nearest

market town. Many people also make use

of the internet to buy some of what they

need.

includes those who took the time to

complete the questionnaire we circulated

and those who attended various public

events between 2008 and 2011 to tell us

what they think.

Producing a parish plan is an act of faith.

It is based on an assumption that

sufficient people will want to be involved

in implementing the proposed action plan,

rather than leaving it to the Parish

Council, who are, after all, volunteers

themselves. Our assumption is that some

people want to play a part in improving

their local communities.

One characteristic that became clear in

the course of this project is how much

people value living in the five parishes.

They wish to protect the environment and

preserve and enhance their communities

by enabling those young people who wish

to do so to remain and bring up families.

Retaining local schools is seen as

How we produced this Parish Plan

The Parish Council considered the

question of parish plans in 2008. The

Council was aware that many other

parishes in Herefordshire and elsewhere

were producing such a plan or had already

done so. It felt that local people should

have the chance to benefit from a similar

process here. The Council therefore

decided to hold a public meeting to

consult local people about whether to

produce a parish plan.

particularly important.

Producing a Parish Plan for our area

A small group of local people has been

working to identify some of the issues

that are important to local people in the

five parishes and suggest ways of tackling

these.

A meeting in November 2008 was

attended by about 50 people. In

discussion people identified the issues

they felt were important . At the end of

the meeting there was very strong

support for the idea of producing a plan

for the five parishes.

Producing a parish plan involves the whole

community, as well as the Parish Council.

The work draws on information provided

by people through surveys and at public

meetings. It is wholly based on what local

people – our neighbours – have told us. All

of the issues and actions have been

discussed with people who live in the five

parishes. Everyone who lives in our

parishes has had an opportunity to

contribute.

A second event in January 2009

considered how to produce a plan and

identified volunteers to lead the process

through a steering group. A list of the

core members of this group is shown in

Annex 1.

We are very grateful to those people who

have contributed to this work. This

The first phase of work for the group

involved building up a picture of local

issues. We began with the subjects

raised at the first public meeting and

used these to plan further events at

which people were invited to identify what

they believed might improve life in the

area.

an opportunity to express their views and

makes it possible to identify how

widespread interest and support is about

particular issues. The key is to identify

whether most people responding have a

similar view.

We were helped to develop our

questionnaire with guidance from the

research team at Herefordshire Council.

Producing a parish plan can involve a range

of formal or informal processes at this

early stage. Given the nature of our five

parishes, with no village centres and

scattered houses and farms, we decided

to hold fairly informal events at which

people could record what issues were

important to them.

The themes contained in the questionnaire

for adults to complete were as follows –

the rural environment, housing and the

planning process, roads and road safety,

getting about and using transport, local

resources, supporting local communities,

crime and policing, facilities for children

and young people. We also produced a

separate questionnaire for children and

young people to complete.

We prepared a range of material for

these events and this was arranged

around a number of “themes” based on the

issues raised at the first public meeting.

These were – the local environment,

housing, transport and roads, business and

employment, local facilities,

The questionnaires were distributed at

the beginning of May 2010. Most were

delivered by hand by a member of the

steering group or another volunteer; some

were sent by post. Every person living in

one of the five parishes should have had

the opportunity to complete a

questionnaire. If we found that anyone

had been overlooked in this process copies

of the document were provided so that

they could participate.

communications, crime and community

safety, leisure and health.

The events were held in September 2009,

to avoid the summer holidays. We held

afternoon events on Saturdays, at

Michaelchurch and Vowchurch. These

were both very well attended and people

participated enthusiastically. As a result

we gathered a good range of views. What

people told us enabled us to add to the

list of subjects with which we were

working.

The survey enabled us to refine further

the list of issues of importance to local

people. We felt that crime and

community safety had been shown to be

of relatively low concern locally and

therefore did not need to form part of

the final plan.

Questionnaire

We developed a questionnaire from late

2009 to reflect the issues that people

had consistently identified. (See Annexes

4 and 5) A questionnaire gives everyone

Similarly, public transport does not seem

to be a major issue locally, though the

survey of young people’s views did suggest

a wish to see better and cheaper bus

services. It seems likely that the lack of

adult concern about public transport

reflects the fact that most people need

to have their own vehicles and feel unable

to rely on public transport.

public meeting, delayed by bad weather

until January 2011. The meeting was well

attended and there was a good discussion

of the survey results.

The meeting marked the final stage in

gathering people’s views about what

matters to them about the future of the

five parish areas.

We discussed the outcome of the survey

in the steering group and then took it to a

Section II

Action Plans

The whole process of producing a parish

additional homes in the area.

plan took just over two years. Asking

people to identify the issues they felt

were most important to them produced a

list of questions which we grouped into a

number of themes. In the course of the

work some of the issues were put to one

side when it became clear they were not

shared by a significant number of people.

For this reason and to keep the

The survey showed broadly even support

for or against having any additional homes

in the area. This in itself is not a basis

for decision; some people would prefer to

maintain the existing number of homes,

others would perhaps be prepared to see

at least some new homes created.

questionnaire to a reasonable length we

put aside questions about community

safety, health and public transport.

Several issues emerged, including the

difficulty for farming families in providing

housing to keep farms viable and within

the family for the next generation, the

demographic imbalance caused by young

people having to move away to find work

and the shortage of affordable housing.

Whether a majority of local people would

think it appropriate for new homes to be

built in these circumstances is not clear.

The response rate to the questionnaire

for children and young people was

relatively low and the results were

inconclusive. As a result no clear mandate

for action regarding children and younger

people was established. However, it will

be important to ensure that the actions

described below in relation to the various

themes take account of the interests of

young people.

Bearing this in mind, there is broad

agreement that, if there were to be any

additional housing, this should be for local

people and affordable and built in ways

that are consistent with the traditional

style and materials of existing houses.

The final group of themes are – housing

and planning; the environment; roads and

road safety; supporting the local

community. The section below describes

the main issues and the actions we have

identified in relation to these. Actions

are summarised in Annex 3.

Action – the Parish Council should adopt

this principal in looking at planning

applications.

The current position

Housing and Planning

A public meeting held to discuss the

results of the survey was followed by a

meeting about housing and planning, which

was well attended. This meeting heard

from officers of Herefordshire Council

about the existing planning rules which

We deal with housing first, not because

this is necessarily the most important

issue (though it is important), but because

it is one of the most difficult. The broad

question is whether there is a need for

govern whether new homes might be

permitted and about the housing policies

which affect the provision of, for

example, affordable housing for local

people.

In a few years it might be possible for

local people to engage in a discussion

about housing needs and agree whether

there are any circumstance in which there

could be new homes. For example, some

landowners being able to build on their

own land for members of their own

What is clear is that there are currently

very few circumstances in which planning

permission would be given for new homes

in a rural area which is designated as open

countryside. This reflects the policies set

out in Herefordshire’s Unitary

Development Plan which does not provide

for any housing development for the

villages within our area.

families and stopping the drift of young

people away from their home communities.

Such discussions would be informed by a

number of considerations. Foremost

amongst these is the protection of the

environment. There is unlikely to be the

need for – certainly there is not the

support for – major new housing

There is unlikely to be a way to provide

affordable homes due to these

developments in our area. But it might be

necessary to consider some limited

housing development to try to create and

maintain a vibrant community. Factors

which affect possible future

developments include the continued

existence of high quality local schools, the

development of better public transport

and changes in the housing market

brought about by national government

policy and market conditions. It would be

essential to devise policies which are

limited in their impact and can be

constraints and the limited funding

available. However, a key starting point

for any such development is a Housing

Needs Survey and the area is now the

first in the list for such a survey in this

financial year. Issues about site

availability, methods of funding and

intended occupants are all secondary

issues to this initial survey.

The future

administered fairly, while recognising the

need for protection against speculative

developments which would have a major

impact on the character of the area.

The UK Government wishes to make major

changes in local government. These

include passing more responsibility to local

areas thereby creating a bigger role for

town and parish councils. Under these

proposals a parish council would be able to

develop its own policies in relation to

planning applications, which could, for

example, be designed to meet local

housing needs. Such plans would need to

have very significant support from local

people if these policies represented a

departure from Herefordshire Council’s

own development policies.

Much therefore depends on factors which

are currently beyond the control of the

Parish Council. This position may change

significantly within the lifetime of the

current Government as a result of the

Localism Bill, In the future it might be

possible to produce a community led

Neighbourhood Development Plan within

the context of the Unitary Development

Plan. This might be something that the

Parish Council and the community may

want to consider seriously once the

results of the Housing Needs Survey are

known.

significant by national and local

organisations, including Natural England.

Steps are already being taken to protect

and improve the local environment. There

are individual projects, for example, the

Monnow Project, which has been under

way for several years (see below).

Natural England works with local farmers

and other landowners through

environmental stewardship schemes.

These are intended to look after the

countryside and fund farmers and

landowners to manage their land in ways

which protect and improve the

The Local Environment

The survey makes it clear that the great

majority of people recognise that we live

in an area of great natural beauty which

should be given every protection. The

results reveal support for some modest

steps to look after the environment and

its wildlife. These would supplement the

work already being done by some farmers

and landowners through stewardship

schemes and local projects.

environment – the wildlife, landscapes,

historic features and natural soil and

water resources.

The survey and subsequent discussions

made it clear that people realise that

changes in the future will affect the

environment. There is some agreement

that the community as a whole could play a

role in minimising the impact of such

changes on the environment, though it is

not yet clear how this might be done.

There are several levels of stewardship

scheme. The significance of the wider

region within which our area lies, means

that Natural England has made it a

priority for encouraging farmers and

landowners to join its Higher Level

Stewardship Scheme. This scheme’s

objectives are to achieve higher

Whilst the survey showed that some

people are interested in seeking

protected status (for example, “area of

outstanding natural beauty”) for the wider

area, this is not yet shared by everyone.

Some people have understandable

concerns about the implications . In any

case, other parish areas would need to

support the change and the process would

probably take some years to achieve. This

plan does not therefore propose that we

seek such a change for the time being.

standards in relation to protecting

biodiversity, the historic environment,

landscape and resources.

What actions can we take to protect

the environment?

This Plan suggests that, as a community,

we might work in parallel to these

stewardship schemes to look after the

countryside. We can begin by doing some

work to look after the more public areas,

such as the roadside verges and possibly

commons. .

The people who live in the five parishes

are not alone in considering their area to

be important. The whole area from the

Black Mountains to the river valleys of

the Monnow and Dore and the eastern

slopes of the Golden Valley are seen as

One way of supporting these existing

schemes might be by sharing information

about what is being done to increase local

understanding. Indeed encouraging public

access to and understanding of the

countryside is a feature of the

stewardship schemes. There are

organisations who will work with willing

farmers to organise visits to local farms

to explain and demonstrate the work that

is being done.

of special value. This should mean that

they are maintained in a way which

protects the species they host. We

believe there is a case for surveying more

of the verges to identify other places

where valuable flora and fauna can be

found in order to take steps to protect

them. This is something on which advice

is potentially available from

As a starting point we have identified

some practical steps that might be taken

as a first step to achieving this aim.

Herefordshire Nature Trust. It is also

work that could be done by volunteers,

possibly those people who have mentioned

an interest in joining some kind of nature

group. There may also be some people in

the area with expertise, including

Action: We propose that the Parish

Council sets up an environmental

biologists and botanists.

stewardship group of interested local

people and parish councillors. This would

oversee the work described below. It

might also facilitate the creation of a

local nature group in response to the

interest shown during the work on this

plan. The group could carry out surveys

of wildlife in specific areas to set a

benchmark for conservation work. Advice

and support is available for such work.

Monnow Project – this project has been

going on for several years and aims to

improve conditions on the river, to

encourage the rejuvenation of the trout

population. This is being done with the

participation of local farmers through

improvements to the river banks by

coppicing and fencing which prevents

access by livestock and encourages fish

and other wildlife. Other aspects of the

scheme include the re-introduction of

voles and eradicating the mink population

which have severely depleted the vole

population. Local people have been

employed by the project and others have

volunteered for work. A report should be

sought from the Project as a basis for

identifying whether support might be

provided from the Parish Council.

Specific actions

Litter – We believe Herefordshire

Council has contracted for an occasional

collection of litter on the B roads in the

area. We need to establish when this

takes place and check that it is being

done satisfactorily. In relation to the

minor roads we propose that a survey is

done locally in which local people are

asked to identify any places where litter

is a problem. If there are any problems

we suggest that volunteers be invited to

clear the areas as part of an organised

programme of work. Equipment, including

safety clothing are available to borrow.

Light pollution – the objective of

maintaining low levels of artificial light

was supported by a majority of people.

There appears to be little scope for

controlling domestic lighting in the

current planning process, but some

possibility of influencing external lighting

in commercial developments. In the

Verges – There are one or more roadside

verges in the parishes which contain flora

future there is the possibility of the

Parish Council exercising more influence

on planning decisions if there is strong

local support. We propose therefore that

when these changes take place, particular

attention should be paid to proposed

external lighting levels in commercial

planning applications. Looking ahead it

might also be possible to encourage low

levels of external lighting in domestic

buildings.

Council should ensure that all local people

are aware of who their footpath officer is

and how to contact them to report any

problems.

Roads and road safety

Whilst recognising that the condition of

local roads sometimes gives cause for

concern, the survey and public meetings

suggest that the major concern is about

the safety of the junctions in Vowchurch

with the B4348 and, to a lesser extent,

the junction of the road from Madley and

the same B road at Bacho Hill.

Field run-off and flooding – action can

be taken by the Environment Agency if

problems with field run-off or flooding

occur, but they do need to be notified

promptly. We propose that the Parish

Council should monitor these potential

problems and encourage local people to

report them should they occur so that the

Environment Agency can be informed.

These concerns have been discussed with

Herefordshire Council over the years

with, as yet, no agreement to what might

be done. It is, perhaps, significant that

there have been no major accidents and

so neither junction is seen by the Council

as an accident “black spot”.

Mud on roads – we propose that details

of the programme of road cleaning

commissioned by Herefordshire Council is

obtained so that the Parish Council can

decide whether this is satisfactory. If

there is no regular programme we propose

that the Parish Council asks for one to be

introduced.

Action – We recommend that the Parish

Council initiates discussion with the

Council to discuss limited steps to improve

safety. Additional steps could be taken

to make the junctions safer without major

road works being carried out. For

example, double lines in the centre of the

road to stop any overtaking; and signs in

both directions to encourage drivers to

slow down and take care.

Footpaths and bridleways – the key to

tackling any problems with footpaths and

bridleways is to know when they occur.

The Parish Council has three volunteers

who between them have the job of

monitoring local footpaths. At the

moment these do not report to the Parish

Council. They notify the Public Rights of

Way Warden who can then commission any

work necessary to sort out problems. We

propose that in future the Parish Council

should receive a report from the

“footpath officers” twice a year at their

meetings. We also propose that the

Community fuel purchasing

Supporting the local community

There is support for a scheme to support

communal fuel purchasing which should

reduce the cost of fuel oil. A scheme is

now being set up on the initiative of a

local resident. People who wish to

participate are being asked to put their

names forward and the details of how the

scheme will work have been worked out.

Such a scheme will be of potentially great

benefit for the local community.

This section is concerned with what could

be done to support people and improve life

within the local community.

Renewable energy

There is clear support for action to meet

local energy needs by steps such as

community oil fuel purchasing, switching

energy supply to a green tariff and free

residential energy checks.

Information sharing to support local

activities

The installation of commercial wind

turbines which would disfigure the

landscape were opposed. This is not to

say that small domestic wind turbines

might not be appropriate for some homes

where they could be installed without

making an adverse impact on the

environment.

In addition to local businesses, there is

already an impressive diversity of local

activities from a gardening club, to a

study group, to folk singing, keep fit,

whist, local quizzes and so on. The survey

showed that people would welcome the

chance to be involved in more local

activities, for example, a nature group. It

is also clear that people are unaware of

some existing activities.

Actions – We recommend that the

Parish Council sets up a small renewable

energy group to develop some ideas about

renewable energy, including establishing

links with organisations which might

provide advice. This group could

This plan does not propose any central

action to set up clubs or groups as such;

this is more appropriate for enthusiastic

individuals. But what could make it easier

to run or set up groups would be better

ways of sharing information to supplement

existing parish newsletters, which provide

a very wide range of information and are

valued.

cooperate with the environmental

stewardship group mentioned above, for

example, to explore the generation of

local timber for local people to buy.

Photovoltaic panels have been installed on

several nearby village halls. They are

expensive but have the potential to

generate income from the sale of

Actions

electricity to the National Grid. However,

national schemes to support such

Setting up a Website

developments are currently uncertain.

This is an area to keep under review and

for the Parish Council to support locally.

The Internet offers an additional means

of communication. There is no question

that people value the ability to obtain

information using the internet. The

survey showed significant support for

setting up a website for the five parishes.

broadband simply because of the greater

costs of providing the service to

scattered populations as opposed to

concentrations of people in cities.

However, there now seems to be both a

national and European move to introduce

broadband to rural areas.

Having a website for the Parish Council

area – with links to other websites such as

those of the churches, neighbouring

parishes and Herefordshire Council –

would increase the sources of information

available to people.

South Herefordshire (with adjoining parts

of Gloucestershire) was chosen to be one

of four national pilot sites for the

We recommend that the Parish Council

establishes a group to oversee the

creation of a website. This should

identify what is involved in setting up a

website, including the costs. It should

then commission someone to create the

website and establish a mechanism for

placing information on the site, keeping it

up to date and ensuring that people know

about the site and how to make use of it.

introduction of fast broadband. At the

same time Herefordshire Council has

produced its own strategy for introducing

faster broadband across the county. The

two initiatives will work in tandem.

There is also a separate scheme which

would see the provision of wireless

broadband access from transmitters on

local churches and other buildings.

The website should offer facilities to all

local people and organisations . This

includes local businesses, including farms,

bed and breakfast providers and the

Parish Council itself. It also includes local

voluntary groups and services, such as

Dore Community Transport, and clubs

such as the gardening, keep fit and study

groups.

The initiative is being managed by a team

from Herefordshire Council working with

a national government agency. A private

sector provider will be identified through

a formal bidding process that is now

underway.

A key feature of the pilot work is that it

seeks local community involvement

principally through Parish Councils. There

is also a need for the local communities

concerned to demonstrate their

commitment and support to the

introduction of faster broadband. Parish

Councils will begin to be involved from

summer 2011.

Broadband

The ability to use a good broadband

connection to the internet varies greatly

in the area. It seems to be better in the

east than in the west, but nowhere are

speeds very fast. The survey showed

strong support for faster broadband for

local homes and businesses.

If this work succeeds the result would be

much better broadband connections for

everyone.

Until quite recently it seemed likely that

rural areas would lag behind urban areas

in the move to introduce faster

Action – This Parish Plan therefore

strongly supports the work that is

underway and wishes to see the Parish

Council take whatever action is necessary

to ensure that the objectives are

achieved.

There is some support for a scheme which

would enable people to share cars for

journeys to work or for shopping. A

number of people have given their names

as being interested in sharing journeys.

Mobile telephones

Action – This is for those who are

interested in such a scheme to take the

lead. However, the proposed website

could provide information about a scheme

once this is established.

Mobile telephone reception is generally

poor in the area. Most networks do not

provide a signal. The survey identified

support for better mobile reception.

The most likely solution to this problem

appears to be through the introduction of

faster broadband. The intention is to

enable mobile telephone providers to be

able to extend their services by making it

more economical for them to do so.

Information for people moving into

the area

Action – We propose that the Parish

Council develops a welcome pack for

people moving into the area. The core of

this pack should be what is contained in

this parish plan. This would identify the

issues that are of local concern and the

work that is being done to address them.

The pack would also contain information

about the website, parish newsletters and

the work of the Parish Council.

Action – We suggest that the Parish

Council offers support for this work when

invited to participate by Herefordshire

Council.

Car sharing scheme

Annex 1

Members of the Parish Plan Steering Group

Jane Baxter

John Baxter

Harry Franklin

Glenys Gladwin

Keith Hortin

Liz March

Ann Marshall

Paul Mason

Alan Picton

David Price

John Pritchard

Wilf Prosser

Sylvia Teakle

Annex 2

The Results of the Survey

The estimated population of the five

parish areas is in the region of about 600.

We circulated 576 adult and 155 young

people questionnaires. The total number

of adult questionnaires returned was 234

and of young people questionnaires was

36.

questionnaire. Given the proportion of

the population completing a questionnaire

we believe these views are consistent with

those of the rest of the community.

In relation to the rural environment 98%

of people replying thought that life in a

small rural community and the peace and

beauty of the local environment were

important. The same percentage again

thought it was important to protect and

enhance the local environment.

Although there were few responses from

18 to 24 year olds, this reflects the small

number of people in this age group living in

the Parishes. In fact, we were

encouraged by the number of 18 to 24

year old males who responded as they

were slightly over-represented in the

survey results. There was under-

representation of 25 to 44 year olds of

both genders, but particularly of males.

Female respondents aged between 45 and

74 were over-represented in the

responses, as were males aged 75 and

over.

More than 80% of people thought it was

important to improve the local

environment, for example, by seeking

protected status for all or part of the

area, preserving woodland, preserving

commons, creating more wildlife-friendly

habitats, protecting rivers and streams,

adopting a policy of “wildlife-friendly”

management of hedges, verges and

commons.

The returns by parish were – Newton – 24

adult and 3 young people; Michaelchurch –

43 adult and 9 young people; St

Margaret’s – 64 adult and 14 young people;

Turnastone – 28 adult and 3 young people;

Vowchurch – 72 adult and 7 young people.

Over half of those replying thought that

field run-off and mud on roads were

problems: around 40% thought litter,

flooding and poorly maintained footpaths,

hedges and bridleways were problems.

In relation to housing and the planning

process roughly equal proportions of

people would be happy (43%) and unhappy

(45%) if any additional housing was built in

the area. This does not suggest there is

very strong support for any major housing

developments in what is essentially a rural

area. But it does suggest that a fair

proportion of people recognise that some

very limited development might be

Views we received

A copy of the analysis of the survey

results produced by Herefordshire

Council is available on request (and will be

available on the website when this is set

up.) The following is a brief summary of

the results for each section of the

questionnaire. It should be born in mind

that here we are talking about the views

of the people who completed a

necessary in order to sustain a vibrant

local community.

The most commonly supported road safety

improvement was to introduce blind spot

mirrors and the next common was to

introduce lower speed limits.

In the event of any new housing being

built, support was greater than opposition

for affordable homes for local people,

realistically priced starter homes and

small or medium sized family homes.

There was strong opposition to

In relation to getting about and using

public transport a majority use local

footpaths regularly. About 40% of people

supported dog flaps in stiles, better signs,

better route information and better

footpath maintenance. The same

developments of executive homes.

The majority would like any new houses to

be keeping with existing local, mainly

stone built houses. Half of the

proportion opposed gates replacing stiles.

respondents would like any new houses to

be carbon neutral. Support was strongest

for converting redundant buildings for

local families to live in. Opposition was

highest with regard to converting

buildings for open sale, holiday lets or

tourism. A majority would be happy to

see the establishment of small businesses

and workshops.

It is clear that only a minority, 15%, cycle

even occasionally, most people do not use

a bicycle.

Over half of people would use the bus

service if there was a more frequent

service, whilst just under half would use if

it was cheaper or if it went to more

places.

In relation to roads and road safety a

majority of people thought that the

maintenance of the road surface on B

roads and minor roads was poor. Just

under half of people % thought that the

maintenance of road verges, ditches and

drains on B roads were average, while half

% thought it was poor or very poor on the

minor roads. Over half of people were

satisfied with the arrangements for

gritting the roads and that salt bins were

in the best places; but only a third of

people said salt bins were regularly filled.

22% of respondents would use rail

services at least monthly if Pontrilas was

re-opened as a station.

The most common method of transport

that respondents were willing to use at

least occasionally was a community bus

service.

There was a group of questions about local

resources and services, including

sustainable energy.

The following suggestions to meet local

energy needs were supported by more

than half of people – water turbines on

the local river, community oil fuel

purchasing, switching your energy supply

to a green tariff, free residential energy

checks. The installation of (commercial as

opposed to residential) wind turbines were

opposed by 51% and supported by 34%.

More than two thirds of people thought

there were adequate road signs. And

three quarters of people had concerns

about using the junction of the road from

Michaelchurch, Turnastone and

Vowchurch with the B4348 from

Peterchurch and Kingstone.

did not or did not know.

A majority of people were likely to

support a plan to reduce the carbon

footprint, though they were less likely to

want to be actively involved.

A large majority of people use a local

newsletter at least occasionally to obtain

information. There was also a high

potential use of a community website to

find out about local services, events,

advertise goods or services, etc.

In relation to existing services 60% of

respondents thought TV reception was

good; over half thought radio reception

was good; 80% thought mobile phone

reception was poor. Broadband speed is

also poor and over two thirds of people

would support bringing high-speed

broadband to the parish if there was no

extra cost, but only 25% if there was an

additional charge.

We asked adults and young people about

issues facing the latter. The responses

do not appear to suggest major concerns.

For adults the most popular proposed

facilities for young people were youth club

and after school club. Of the

respondents whose children used

school/college bus services, 91% said that

the service was good or very good.

In relation to supporting local

communities 21% of people said they

would be interested in helping to run one

of the local halls. People also expressed

an interest in extra local activities the