Parish Plan

Section 3 - A brief summary of the Research Findings

Section 4 - Plan Content - Objectives and Possible Solutions

Section 5 - Structure of the Parish Plan Organisation

Exhibition of Findings - June 2003

Section 4 - Plan Content - Objectives and Possible Solutions

The Major Issues

Working Group	Objective	Possible Solution(s)	Relevant research finding
Traffic	Establish parking policy	Village car park Double yellow lines on bends/hills Passing and disabled places	Qualitative (from 516 ‘yellow pages’ of verbatim comments) 90% concerned. 70% want. Qualitative (from 516 ‘yellow pages’ of verbatim comments)
	Implement speed restrictions	20mph in Wedmore centre 40mph between villages Speed gun (separate initiative)	89% concerned. 64% want 89% concerned. 57% want. Post-survey consultation (WPC).
	Restrict HGV traffic	Establish ‘access only’ zone around Wedmore	88% concerned. 80% want.
	Provide specific pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements	Cycle paths (WPC has tried this) Pavements (where ?) Pedestrian crossings (Borough + Church Street) Walking school bus (separate initiative) Safe routes to school (separate initiative)	56% concerned. 67% want. 79% concerned. Qualitative ( from focus groups with elderly people) Post-survey consultation (Axbridge group) Post-survey consultation (local mums + head teacher).
Housing, development and the environment	Housing for elderly people	Sheltered/disabled housing Old people’s residential home Brownfield + infill first; then ‘concealed’ boundary expansion (East slightly preferred) Refer to demographic forecasts Low-energy ‘eco-housing’/ sustainable materials	Of those in favour of more housing (56% of all adults), 96% want this. Of those in favour etc…87% want this Of those in favour etc…91% want this 65+ age group to grow by 18.6% 55% to 60% of adults want these
	Affordable housing	For first time buyers For local people For all owner-occupiers, regardless of age. Refer to Worthington Close experience, and demographics	Of those in favour of more housing (56% of all adults), 96% want this Of those in favour etc…95% want this Of those in favour etc…95% want this Anecdotal evidence; Office of National Statistics (ONS)
	Business units	Employment survey needed Brownfield + infill first; then ‘concealed’ boundary expansion (East preferred).	To establish demand/jobs. Of those wanting any building (56% of all adults) 91% want this
	Green spaces	Communal ‘village green’ Woodland and nature reserves	66% want this. 82% want this.
Crime	Reduce incidence of ‘avoidable’ house burglary and vehicle crime	Roy Millward (Neighbourhood Watch Chairman) will ask police to provide monthly Wedmore crime statistics, with crime prevention tips for householders/ vehicle owners, for inclusion in IoW News.	house burglary: 87% concerned,;16% affected. vehicle crime: 81% concerned; 12% affected.
Community Code	Devise strategies to encourage parishioners to observe a ‘Community Code of Conduct’, designed to reduce anti-social behaviour for the benefit of the whole community.	Target groups: Motorists not parking on blind bends and hills. Parents supervising their children, especially at night. Publicans not selling to under-age drinkers Dog owners not leaving dog mess Litter droppers not dropping litter. Motorists not speeding in the villages. Children to be able to walk or bus to school safely. Farmers clearing unsightly rubbish from their fields Farmers not burning plastic silage bags.	90% concerned. Qualitative (from focus groups with elderly people). 84% concerned. 82% concerned. 80% concerned. 89% concerned. 79% concerned (87% of parents). Qualitative (from 516 ‘yellow pages’ of verbatim comments) 49% want this
Community Forum	Reconciliation between groups of parishioners with differences	Ad hoc meetings to bring together groups with apparently opposing views/needs. Debate moderated by an independent individual; held in a ‘neutral’ location, and achieving resolution and agreed action plan.	e.g. - teenagers and the elderly - road users and landowners
Youth facilities	Seek the provision of facilities for young people aged 12-17	Skate park (with ramps and shelter) Hard-surfaced sports area for e.g. basketball, football, volley-ball Community Bus to other centres on Friday nights. Low-cost access to existing Wedmore sports facilities (e.g. tennis) Access to Hugh Sexey swimming pool in holidays. Alcohol-free gigs in VH, featuring local school bands. Coffee bar/internet café/after school homework + games club.	All qualitative findings from focus groups with teenagers aged 12-16. Angela Vivian on the case.

All Other Issues

The research findings below are from the Survey, but this Plan does not currently propose any action on them. Interested parishioners can see the full findings in the ‘Community Appraisal Findings’ report, or apply to the PPSC for a detailed analysis of any of these topics.

Issue	Key Finding
Churches/ chapels	Important for 58%-77% of adults, for a range of purposes
Transport	Dissatisfaction with, and low usage of, public buses (31% ever use) Very high appreciation of daily Community Bus service for shopping
Village Hall	98% want existing VH to continue. (Only 0.6% wanted a new VH). 69% want it paid for by more fundraising.
Health and Social Services.	V. high usage (84%) of Wedmore surgery, and Chemist (90%); v. high levels of satisfaction of all village health and DSS services. GPs have issued statement pledging to keep Wedmore Surgery, but new health centre now not possible, due to change of NHS structure and policy. Only 44% use Wedmore dentist. Of those who don’t, 54% go elsewhere to get NHS treatment. 70% of these would switch if NHS available in Wedmore.
Retail Services	V. high support for all, especially PO and Paper Shop. Strong potential support for farmers’ market/farm shops.
IoW News	General satisfaction. A bit less of some items + request for some new ones, especially monthly WPC reports.
Technology	Overall, higher PC ownership (74%) than the national average. But some groups - farmers, low-income families - quite low. 55% of all adults want better mobile ‘phone reception. 51% want broadband.
Childcare facilities	Little evidence of need. 8% would use after school clubs; 8% would use holiday play schemes. All else 3%-4%.
Adult education	Some interest in languages (19%), arts/crafts (17%), Keep Fit (17%), advanced computing (11%).
The Arts	V. high interest, esp. in adult theatre and classical music.
School facilities	49% want swimming pool access; 42% sports halls access.
Sports	44% would use a swimming pool; 18% a squash court. All else 3%-4%. Almost no one (1% - 2%) interested in starting up any new sports teams!