Community Consultations

Below is a list of the four Community Consultation techniques that were used:

A public meeting in Wedmore Village Hall in October 2001.
Monthly calls for topics, in the June2002 Isle of Wedmore News and July 2002 Isle of Wedmore News, and in the Cheddar Valley Gazette.
Direct contacts with various community groups in the parish.
An exhibition of findings in Wedmore Village Hall in May 2003, when an exhibition of the findings was mounted, followed by a further public meeting

Request for Content published in June 2002 Isle of Wedmore News

If you live in the Isle of Wedmore Parish, and you agree that its future matters, then there is good news ahead. Thanks to an initiative from central government, every parishioner can now directly influence the future development of their own village. An Action Plan will be drawn up over the next twelve months, and all who live in the Isle of Wedmore villages - including children and young people - can have a say as to what goes into it.

Stage One will be a Community Appraisal. This is a detailed survey of the views of every parishioner, and it's your chance to vote for what you want to happen in the parish in the future, and also what you don't want! Although actively supported by the Parish Council, the Appraisal and Plan have to be carried out by parishioners themselves, not by the council, so it is true democracy at work. The more people who contribute their views, the more valid will be the survey and plan, and the more likely we shall be to influence planners, government and funders in the future.

Here is an extract from the government White Paper on the subject:

"People in rural communities care strongly about the places where they live, about the services and activities that hold the community together, the local landscape and its features, and how it is likely to evolve in the future. Every country town and village has its own priorities, local strengths and distinctive features which are special and unique.

We recognise that diversity and local pride. We want to enable rural communities to improve their quality of life and opportunity. We want to give them a bigger say in managing their own affairs and the chance to give everyone in the community a say in how it develops. To achieve this we will help all rural communities develop Parish Plans to indicate how they would like their town or village to develop, to identify key facilities and services, to set out the problems that need to be tackled and demonstrate how its distinctive character and features can be preserved."

It seems they really mean it! They will provide funding (which we have already applied for) to run the survey and produce the Plan, and a meeting of volunteers, recruited through this paper, has now elected a Committee to run the programme for the next year. They are:

Sue Rippon (Chair)	713125
Simon Emary (Treasurer, and PC Clerk)	713087
Mary Lou Denny (Secretary)	713706
Jenny Ash	713605
Di Culliford	713287
Tessa Podpadec	712172
Simon Tomes	712891
+ up to 2 Parish Councillors

If you would like to register a concern or issue you want included in the Survey, or you’d like to volunteer to help with this important project, please contact any member of the Committee or any member of the Parish Council.

Request for Content published in July 2002 Isle of Wedmore News

Following our first full Committee meeting on 27^th May, the team is now gearing up to launch the questionnaire in the Autumn. The most important priority is to get the views of as many of the community beforehand as to what they would like to see included in the questionnaire. The recommendations that will be set out in our eventual Parish Plan will influence future decisions by planners and council/government funding organisations. Watch out for our stand at the Street Fair this month, or contact anyone on the Committee, or fill out and return a suggestion form, or visit our brand new Website at www.isleofwedmore.org.uk (you can also reach this site via a hyperlink from the Wired Wedmore site).

The full committee (of which six are shown in our photo this month) is as follows :

Sue Rippon (Chair)	713125
Simon Emary (Treasurer, and PC Clerk)	713087
Mary Lou Denny (Secretary)	713706
Jenny Ash	713605
Di Culliford	713287
Marina Jonas (co-opted as Publicity Manager)	713984
Tessa Podpadec	712172
Simon Tomes	712891
+ up to 2 parish councillors

All of us on the Committee look forward to hearing from all residents of Wedmore and the other villages in the Parish about what you would like to see go into the Plan.

To facilitate this, we shall try to talk to as many of the active groups and societies in the Parish as we can, as well as landowners and other interested parties such as the Surgery, the Police etc.

Organisations and Individuals Consulted in Drafting the Adult Questionnaire

Organisation	Individual	Summary of outcome
SCC Adult Learning + Leisure Service	Holly Cole, Manager	Happy with suggested questions and suggested some extra courses to include; "unbelievably useful" for them to have quantified data on courses wanted. Have already responded to other communities’ VA results by laying on village classes.
Wedmore Neighbourhood Watch	Roy Millward, Co-Ordinator	Requested questions which have been included more or less unchanged. V. content: "more comprehensive than I could have hoped".
County Police and Traffic Engineer.	Sgt Graham, Traffic M’gement Comm; Mrs Norman, Sedgemoor Traffic Eng	"No taboo questions. Both are prepared to consider any suggestions" Would need evidence of a large majority in favour (e.g. of parking/speed restrictions).
English Heritage	Conservation Areas Department	Double yellow lines are allowed in Conservation areas
Wedmore Surgery	Dr Matthew Dolman, Partner	Suggested two brief questions which were rejected by committee. Happy to go along with committee’s preferred questions. (By telcon: ‘there will be no all-singing, all-dancing Health Centre in Wedmore. However, the present surgery will continue as it is for the foreseeable future’).
IT for the Terrified	Mrs Angela Vivian, Founder	Had difficulty formulating suggested questions, but rejected the notion of being included under ‘Adult Education’. (By telcon: happy to have a question on PC ownership, by age and number in household.)
St Mary’s Church	Rosy Hasler - Church Warden	Requested two questions, of which one accepted by the Committee. Tel message informing her, and inviting response, if unhappy with this. No objection received.
Isle of Wedmore News	Liz Bull - joint editor	Suggested questions ok so long as it’s made clear that there is no implied criticism of present contributors, and this is just for guidance to editors on length of features.
Wedmore VH Committee	Muriel Welch - member + PC member	Question suggested and incorporated, re Wedmore VH unable to cover running costs
Youth Club	Mrs Maxine Ingrouille- Kidd : Youth Worker	Will discuss all Youth Matters and Survey as part of planning for the Youth focus groups.
Wedmore Theatre Club	Sue Rippon, Vice Chairman	No questions required, but we would want to participate in any eventual proposals for changes to the Village Hall.
Wedmore Opera	Marylin Johnstone, Director	Would like to know what kind of arts provision people would like more of. In particular, information to show that not ‘everyone in Wedmore is wealthy’ - the normal response she gets from grant-awarding organisations.
Wedmore Over 50’s Club Committee	Muriel Welch - member + PC member	Specific questions still to be submitted from this group, but many general questions expected to be of major importance to Over 50s, esp sheltered housing, public transport and health services. Plus, focus groups planned for this group.
Local Police	PC Will Danning, Cheddar Station	Would support a one-way-system, and any moves to prevent inconsiderate parking on corners and hill-brows. Reckons people do avoid double yellow lines, as they are recognised as statutory. Not much faith in warning or advisory signage.
Countryside Agency (sponsoring body)	Saveria Moss	Suggested several questions to be included, some of which she ‘insisted upon’. All incorporated bar one.