Community
What you said:
Having a facility such as the village hall for village community events is extremely important. Having social events organised is a 'nice to have' rather than essential, but it is good to have occasional events such as the Jubilee Party and the Gardens Festival because they bring the village together and encourage community spirit.
There is a real need for some organised activities for young people and we would like to see greater support for the elderly. In addition, a significant number of villagers work from home and would like to see some form of support network for home-workers.
Many members of the community are willing to volunteer to help with activities in the village, but only have limited time available. Volunteering often seems to mean making a bigger commitment of time than many people can manage.
Acre Stores is very important for social reasons as well as the retail facilities it offers. Hill and Valley, the shop and friends are the major means by which you find out what's going on in the village, although modern communications mean that broadband access and having our own website will be increasingly important.
What else is important:
We have an active Parish Council, a Village Hall Committee, and many individuals and groups who already organise leisure and other activities within the village. Others are willing to organise events/activities, but often don't feel they know where to start with things like venues, insurance, a bank account or getting grants for equipment etc. It is also clear that some people are simply not aware of services and facilities that already exist for the use of people in the village. In many cases this is simply a communication issue.
A new community hall is being built as part of the school improvements. Active management will be required to ensure maximum community use whilst respecting the needs of the school. A Management Committee representing all the main elements of the community has recently been established.
The existing village hall requires considerable investment to bring it up to modern standards. Decisions will need to be taken in the next few years about the future of the hall, but this will only happen:
- when we have experience of how the new community hall is working in practice.
- with the needs of the whole village community, and all potential facilities, taken into account.
The Parish Council, the church, the school and the Village Hall and Community Hall Committees are very much aware of the issues and we will continue to work with them to help optimise the availability of the new facilities to all the user groups.
Our consultations have confirmed that the shop is of vital importance to our village. You have highlighted that this importance is not simply as a place to buy provisions but also as a focal point within the village for information and chat. There is universal agreement that we must support the shop and do all we can to help it continue to thrive in the future. The Parish Plan Committee has spoken to Pat and Ann Burke about our findings. They are grateful for our interest and pleased that the village values the service they provide so highly but they do not feel that the time is yet right for any further discussions about how the shop will continue in the future. However, they have assured us that, when the time comes, they will do all they can to ensure that this vital amenity is not lost to the village. For our part we have offered our help and full support whenever it might be needed.