The Village Appraisal cover as it appeared in 1996.
The concept behind the Village Appraisal which was undertaken in 1996 was to find out how local people wanted to see the parish develop – or not develop – in order to influence the changes in rural life which would inevitably happen over the next decade.
The clear and overwhelming conclusion was that residents wanted to see the parish remain essentially as it was – a working and retirement community in which village spirit and environment were the most highly valued features of daily life.
154 questionnaires were issued, one to each household in the parish plus another nine for the residents just outside the parish boundary although very much pan of the village. 123 were returned representing an 82% response*.
The survey covered Housing, Employment, Education, Local Countryside and Environment, Health and Social Services, Policing and Security, Retail Services and other Facilities, Sport, Social and Entertainment, Transport and Highways, Information and Communication, Religion and Local Government.
As a result of the appraisal a number of actions were taken which included the setting up of the Good Neighbourhood Scheme, the launching of the village newsletter ‘Village Live’ and the acquisition of a car park for the Village Hall. Some other recommendations did not come to fruition or have since fallen by the wayside the most ambitious of which was to acquire a recreation field as a project for the millennium. Although this has not happened the Parish Council did set up a fund with the long term aim of enabling this, originally called ‘The Millennium Fund’ it is now titled ‘The Way Forward Fund’. The Parish Council adds £1,000 each year into this fund but it has been used to fund other vital village institutions for example repairs to the Village Hall. Consequently the Way Forward Fund currently (May 2017) holds just short of £9,000.