07/10/11…..Planning for your town’s future
THE first major consultation event for the Thame Neighbourhood Plan started today and will continue tomorrow, Saturday, October 8, and Sunday, October 9, in the Town Hall. The event will be a mix of drop-in events, workshops and town tours, so something for everyone!
The purpose of the event is to find out in more detail what the issues are locally for Thame and to gather together the ideas people who live or work in the town have for what could be better so that the team working on the plan can understand face to face what people think.
The Neighbourhood Plan idea comes from new legislation proposed by the Government to give local communities more say in their area and the right to put together a plan for submission to the District Council for approval following a public vote, or referendum.
The details of what the Government proposes for Neighbourhood Plans are still being finalised but Thame Town Council has been awarded funding for a pilot scheme so has been able to get a head start to ensure that a strong vision is developed for the future of Thame, in partnership with residents and businesses.
The Town Council has appointed consultants to help them with the Neighbourhood Planning process and is hoping that residents, businesses and others who use Thame will attend the events and get involved.
The team are very aware that there are lots of things already happening in the town but want to make sure that they hear them directly from those involved.
The events on October 7 and 8, are open to anyone to come along. Members of the team will be around to listen, talk and share ideas. The event is being organised by Tibbalds, the consultants appointed by the Town Council to lead the production of Thame?s Plan, in partnership with staff from the Council, Town Councillors and local people. Hilary Satchwell is one of the team from Tibbalds working with the Town Council. Hilary is an urban designer who works with communities to help them be clear about what sort of place they could be living in over the next 10 or 20 years.
?I am really looking forward to hearing directly from residents about what they value about Thame at the moment and their aspirations for the future,” she said. “Thame has a really interesting town centre with a fascinating history. I also want to know what really annoys people, things like where it is really hard to cross the road, or which areas find it hardest to get to the town centre. We also want people to think about what their vision is for the town in advance of the events on October 7 and 8, if they can,? she added.
As part of the two days of drop-in sessions at the Town Hall, there will be workshops that will look at key housing and town centre issues in more detail, and these can be signed up for on the day. The programme for the two days includes:
Friday, October 7
Drop-in – open to all from 11am to 9pm; come any time you like
Workshops on Future Housing at 11.30am and 7pm
Workshop on the Future Town Centre at 2.30pm
Saturday 8 October
Drop-in – open to all from 10am to 4pm; come any time you like
Workshop on the Future Town Centre at 11.30am
Workshop on Future Housing at 2.30pm
Sunday 9 October
Summary session probably from 11am until 1pm
The team will feed back the initial results from the workshops and drop-ins.
This is not going to be the only consultation event, but it is a really important event in terms of making sure that the issues are well known early on. Other events are planned to follow, for particular groups or sectors, as well as a second major event in November.
The Town Plan will be a major piece of work and the Town Council are looking to have a draft document prepared in Spring 2012.
Further information will be posted on:
The Thame Town Council website (www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk), Thame Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/thametown) and Twitter users can get involved @ThameTownPlan or by using the hashtag #ThameTownPlan.
