VILLAGE OPEN MEETING….and beyond

A sunny Saturday morning on the 20th May marked the launch of Plan Bledington, the Parish Council's initiative to support the development of a Parish Plan. This was in response to the concerns, ideas, and suggestions raised for shaping Bledington’s future at the Village Open Meeting last November. 

The morning took the form of a workshop to offer everyone a chance to discuss, investigate and pursue the opportunities Plan Bledington, or Plan B for short, might afford. It was emphasised at the outset that the direction and scope of Plan B will only be decided and dictated by the wishes of the community and will only come to fruition with the involvement and engagement of the community. 

Broken down into three sections, everyone was asked to: 'Choose your ideal village'; 'Dig a Little Deeper'; 'Make Your Voice Heard'.

In the first part of the meeting a form offered choices of what "The Ideal Village" looked like. Of the just over 50 completed 'Choose your Village!' forms initial analysis shows very strong support for a friendly and safe village, and very little support for the concept of being a suburb of .... anywhere! Bledington as a diverse and connected community resonated well. A fuller analysis (and the 'scores'!) is available under 'Results of 'Ideal Village'.

'Dig a Little Deeper saw focus groups exploring and developing the themes identified in November covering: Housing; Environment; Transport; Facilities; Foundation and Ecosystem; Security and Safety; Other Factors and Aspirations. 

After refreshments, a free session allowed people to concentrate on issues that were of particular interest or concern to them and to offer the opportunity to become involved in Plan B.

We all know Bledington has a huge amount to be proud of exemplified by all the good work, goodwill, and community spirit which the village is renowned for. However, we are all facing challenges locally and in the wider world. The conclusion from the morning seemed to be that in dealing with challenges, we can identify what we don't want to change and manage what we do.