Parish Plan

Parish Plans were first announced in the Rural White Paper of 2000, to encourage local communities to play a greater role in planning their futures. A Parish Plan was seen as comprising two parts: a survey of the community and an action plan based on the data collected. The plan would have no statutory function but it would provide a valuable record of the community at a particular point in its development, and an agenda for change.

The decision to make a Parish Plan for Walberswick was confirmed at a public meeting in February 2009 and a Steering Committee was formed to undertake the survey, using methodology developed for the purpose by Suffolk Acre (now Community Suffolk). The survey results and a review of the information gathered were published as the Stage 1 Survey Report in May 2011. The report, which can be dowloaded by clicking appropriately in the left hand margin, proposed setting up focus groups to investigate issues identified by the survey and to make recommendations for the Stage 2 Action Plan. The proposal was approved at the public meeting held to receive the report, and the focus groups were established later in the summer of 2011.

Following more detailed analysis of the data, and based on the work of the focus groups, the Stage 2 Report and Action Plan was drawn up and published by the Steering Committee in October 2012. The Report, which can also be downloaded from this page, included more than 50 recommendations for action and envisaged a series of Working Parties to develop and implement the proposals in collaboration with the Parish Council.

The Report was endorsed at a village meeting and the Steering Group was asked to continue to develop the Plan towards implementation. It was recognised that, as a result of the resignation of the Parish Council a few days beforehand, progress might be restricted and in some respects that has proved to be the case. However, with new councillors elected, the partnership required to achieve the aims of the Plan is now developing.

The activities of the Working Parties were summarised in the Steering Committee's report to the Annual Parish Meeting of April 2014, see Reports. To view the most up to date information, please click the appropriate Working Party. Further developments will be reported as they occur.

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