Parish Plan drafted

The Steering Committee of the Audlem Parish Plan met yesterday and went through the draft contents of the plan in detail. It covers a wide range of local issues which have been studied by working groups involving almost fifty volunteers throughout the spring and summer.

Part of the Plan dealing with Local Governance was debated at this week's Parish Council meeting and the recommendations were endorsed unanimously.

Action Plans, which will help ensure the plan's recommendations are taken forward, have also been drawn up and will be published as part of a draft plan that will be put out for public consultation next month.

The working groups have used the feed-back from the Parish Plan questionnaire which went to all local households in Audlem Parish late last year. Pupils at Brine Leas also completed questionnaires.

The plan starts on a very positive note – 99% of adults and 95% of pupils who responded to the questionnaire said they liked living in Audlem.

ChangesThere have been many changes since the last Parish Plan in 2005 with many new businesses opening and significant investment in others. Audlem has seen an unprecedented expansion of its retail provision. Eight new shops opened in the past twelve months, possibly the fastest ever expansion of shops in Audlem's history – and a remarkable contrast with most villages and market towns.

Since the publication of the 2005 Plan, Audlem has won a host of awards – the national award from Defra for the best village in the whole of England for its Community Spirit; numerous awards for Best Kept Village and winner of the Calor Northern Village of the Year competition. A welcome plethora of plaques are now displayed in the Square.

Despite this success, many issues still remain which, it is hoped, have been tackled in the draft Parish Plan. The Steering Committee wants the residents to judge if that is the case next month.

FeedbackNews on the public consultation will be published on Audlem Online and elsewhere in the village in October when the Steering Committee will be pleased to receive feedback on the many recommendations made by the working groups.

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