CHOLSEY'S 2020 VISION -- developing our Parish Plan for the future Spring Issue Article for The Forty

Currently we are focusing on identifying what residents and businesses feel are the key issues (see Likes, Dislikes and Wants below).  You may already have seen us around the parish with clipboards collecting opinions.  On 8/9^th April there will be a chance for everybody to express their feelings at an event which we are putting on in the Lawrence Hall.  I urge you to come along between 10am and 4pm – we want every resident to contribute to the making of this plan.  It should also be a lot of fun!

If for some reason you cannot make these dates or don’t come across one of our researchers, then please do let me know your views by telephone or email.  Alternatively, visit our web site at www.cholsey.org/parishplan.

In May we will move on to the next stage of the project to put together a questionnaire which will be delivered to every household in the parish.  The questions will focus on the issues identified in the first phase and will seek to quantify feeling.  For example, how many people want to see the return of a doctor’s surgery and how many people would use it?  There is nothing like hard numbers to convince officialdom – they are much harder to dismiss than ‘the views of isolated individuals’.

The questionnaires will be distributed in the summer and will be followed by a period of careful analysis.  We hope to publish the final Parish Plan in November.

Other local villages, such as Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, have already produced Parish Plans and seen real results from the subsequent action plans.  But we do need help with all the many tasks involved.  If you can spare some time or have any views you would like to contribute, then do please contact me on 652910 or by email to g.kelly@tiscali.co.uk.

Geraldine Kelly, Chair, Cholsey 2020 Vision Steering Group

Likes, Dislikes and Wants:
At the Cholsey 2020 Vision kick-off meeting held last year, over 100 people contributed to a brainstorming exercise on the issues facing the parish.  Post-it notes were used to allow everybody to express what they particular liked about Cholsey, what they disliked, and what new things they wanted.  Likes are as significant as the other two categories because we need to protect the things that people feel are important.

Having collected a stack of issues, all the participants were asked to tick the views that they agreed with.  This meeting was only the starting point for the consultation exercise (the parish has another 3,200 residents with perhaps different views), but it will give you an idea of some of our Likes, Dislikes and Wants.

In the summary below, similar views have been grouped together.  The number of ‘ticks’ is shown in brackets.

Community & Leisure

LIKE          Clubs and community spirit (73)
WANT        A better replacement for the Pavilion (7)
WANT        Improved library facilities (6)

Economy
LIKE          Local shops (32)
LIKE          Restaurants and pubs (16)
WANT        More local employment opportunities (5)

Environment
LIKE          The river, the countryside and rural location (55)
LIKE          The allotments (22)
DISLIKE     Vandalism (18)
DISLIKE     Litter and dumping (13)
WANT        To limit land use and prevent gravel extraction (11)

Health
LIKE          The Pharmacy (9)
WANT        A Doctor’s surgery (50)

Housing
LIKE          Growth of the parish leading to improved facilities (12)
DISLIKE     Over-development of the village (24)
WANT        More affordable housing (18)

Transport
LIKE          The train service (25)
DISLIKE     Increasing traffic and speeding (19)
DISLIKE     Parking problems, especially in the centre and with Tesco deliveries (24)
WANT        Cycle paths, especially to Wallingford (11)
WANT        Better bus service, especially in the evening (10)

Youth & Education
LIKE          A caring school to be proud of and a valuable village amenity (27)
DISLIKE     Noise and anti-social behaviour by youths (20)
WANT        Activities and a meeting place for young people (21)