Rural consultations
Rural Planning Project
Also known as the Rural Masterplanning project
The District Council and its partners have been undertaking detailed work in the District's larger rural communities (Alrewas, Armitage with Handsacre, Fazeley, Little Aston, Shenstone and Whittington) to help inform the development plans for the District, and also to provide information which communities themselves can use, e.g in preparing Parish Plans, funding bids etc.
The project focussed primarily upon the District's larger villages. A similar, but separate project was run at the same time for Fradley, but was facilitated independently by CLG's Advisory Team for Large Applications (ATLAS). For more information on Fradley click here
Local people have been involved in drawing up plans for their villages. We have prepared reports for each village which can be viewed by following the links below. Each village report needs to be read with the Introduction report, and Conclusions report. This is because each report represents a process of consultation and engagement with local communities over many months. Each village report was consulted on in September 2011, and we have left the village reports just as they were when these events were held. Community feedback is contained in the final Conclusions Report (December 2011).
For quick reference, we have also produced a summary containing the final Vision and Guiding Principles for each village.
Rural Planning Project Introduction report
Alrewas Rural Planning Project
Armitage with Handsacre Rural Planning Project
Fazeley, Mile Oak & Bonehill Rural Planning Project
Little Aston Rural Planning Project
Shenstone Rural Planning Project
Whittington Rural Planning Project
Rural Planning Project Conclusions report
Rural Planning Project Conclusions Appendix
Summary of Village Visions & Guiding Principles
Fradley Masterplanning - separate project
Background Information
The Rural Planning Project resulted from a successful bid to the Homes and Communities Agency. This meant that Lichfield District Council and its partners have had the independent support of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) between April 2010 and March 2011 to work with rural communities, finding out what the residents of our villages want and need for the future. The information gathered will be used to inform the Development Plans for the District as well as other local plans and strategies.
Throughout summer 2010, Lichfield District Council distributed questionnaires and held exhibitions at a variety of rural locations. The results of the survey were analysed and presented at a preliminary workshop in November 2010 aimed at Parish Councils, District and County Councillors, and key stakeholders.
The District Council collated the information resulting from all of these events to form a picture of each of the larger villages, in terms of what people had said so far. A series of exhibitions and workshops were then held in February 2011. These were run as informal drop in sessions where people could vote on whether they agreed or disagreed with what had been said so far, and were invited to add their own comments. Plenty of background material was provided showing how the village has evolved over time, how it relates to the local landscape, and where services and facilities are located - both within the village and relating to other villages and towns nearby.
The drop in sessions also featured presentations by CABE and other masterplanning advisors. People who then wished to actively participate in drawing up plans and ideas for the future of their community then stayed on and worked with CABE in facilitated groups.
We have collated the information from the February workshops and you can view this by clicking on the relevant village link below:
The CABE enabler (the independent facilitator for the Rural Masterplanning project) prepared a report, which represented his personal views and which makes some recommendations for the future. Rather than representing a final outcome, the report is intended to be thought- provoking and to stimulate further debate.
Following the publication of CABE's report and community engagement to date the District Council drafted a report for each of the six larger villages and we consulted on this by holding a series of exhibitions in the villages in September and October 2011. People's views from these events were taken account of when preparing the final Conclusions report.
NB: the remit of the Rural Masterplanning project was to specifically focus upon the District's larger villages. However, we are happy to assist smaller villages who may wish to draw up their own plans for the future. If you would like us to be involved we will be pleased to help, just contact the Development Plans team on 01543 308192 or email developmentplans@lichfielddc.gov.uk
Thank you to everybody who has taken part so far, we look forward to seeing you and many others soon.
