The Village Plan For Dry Drayton
Latest update November 2011 - opens a pdf in a new window
Update September 2008 - links to text below
Introduction
Exciting times in Dry Drayton. A Parish Plan has been prepared for the Village, called The Village Plan For Dry Drayton. The plan has taken almost a year to prepare so far.
A first draft discussion document was circulated throughout the village with the Village Newsletter during the first week of June 2008. Views on the draft were sought and the plan was discussed at a public meeting, before a final draft was adopted by the Parish Council on 19th May 2009.
What is a Parish Plan?
We asked South Cambridgeshire District Council this question. Alison Talkington, their Senior Planning Policy Officer said,
"A Parish Plan is a community led consultation document that helps communities to indicate how they would like their village to develop, to identify key facilities and services, to set out the problems that need to be tackled and demonstrate how its distinctive character and features can be preserved.
In the new planning system where local authorities have to produce a Local Development Framework for their district there is great emphasis in devising policies that have a good evidence base and if a village has a parish plan this can provide some of this evidence base especially if there has been great involvement by the local community in preparing the plan.
The Parish Plan can also provide bottom up information to inform other local authority strategies such as the Community Strategy. Those plans that have already been prepared include topics that go beyond the scope of planning matters."
Who Prepared the Plan?
The idea of a Parish Plan appealed to the Parish Council after it was promoted by Cambridgeshire ACRE, (Action with Communities in Rural England) who also offer guidance and some funding support for these projects. The Parish Council organised a public meeting back in October 2007 and the following became the steering group for the project.
Neil Harris neil.harris@ozone-sec.ch.cam.ac.uk
Nick Irish nicki@doctors.org.uk
Roger Swain swainrog@aol.com
Will the Plan make any difference for the Future?
Neil Harris stated in the March 2008 Newsletter that the Village Plan "Will be useful in itself as a source of information and views for ourselves and for the Parish Council and will increase the chances of getting funding for any developments such as play areas or sports grounds."
Cambridgeshire ACRE state:
"It is envisaged that a "Parish Plan" will "help all rural communities to indicate how they would like their town or village to develop, to identify key facilities and services, to set out the problems that need to be tackled and demonstrate how its distinctive character and features can be preserved".
So - what's in the plan adopted by the Parish Council?
This link will open the complete plan - as a pdf. This link will open a pdf of the action plan for implementation.
Selected highlights addressing many of the things that could be better in Dry Drayton include:
- Proposal for a survey of housing needs to determine whether the village should grow or not.
- Some sort of bypass arrangement to prevent traffic passing through the village from the A428 East to the A14 Northbound and a review of road safety measures in the village. Introduction of speed cameras, a ban on heavy vehicles and prevention of flooding on Madingley Road from Callow Brook.
- A new network of off-road cycleways.
- Footpath improvements.
- A village green, nature reserve, amenity area and duck pond.
- A Dry Drayton biodiversity action plan to protect habitats for wildlife in the village.
- A coherent group of measures to reduce the village's carbon footprint.
- A childrens' playground and recreation ground.
- More allotments.
- Continued support for the village school, which should feed into Comberton as well as Impinton Village College. Longer term building provision for the Little Owl Playgroup.
- Improvements to the Village Hall and introduction of a cyber cafe there.
- Re-opening the village pub.
- Improved bus services and public transport.
- CCTV and better communications with the local police.
- Local first aider provisions.
- Continued support for the Freaky Friday Youth Club and provision of an outdoor under-cover meeting place for youths.
- Greater involvement of local businesses in the community.
- Raising the profile of and attendance at Parish Council meetings. Budgeting for provision of improved facilities in the village.
- Twinning with somewhere overseas.
The Village Plan will be implemented by an Action Plan, which picks up on three common themes -
A. Village green and multi sports facility
B. Improved choice of transport options
C.Environmental issues.
What is it going to cost and who will pay?
Come to future Parish Council Meetings to follow progress and costs.
September 2009 THE VILLAGE PLAN - AN UPDATE
This is a brief update on the Plan just in case you thought it had dropped off the Radar.
It was adopted by the Parish Council in May and since then we have submitted copies to Cambridgeshire ACRE who are in charge of helping us to implement it.
This process has not been as quick as we had hoped because of staff changes and the Summer Break. We now have a dedicated officer at ACRE and she will arrange for us to present the Plan to their Local Strategic Partnership Committee as soon as possible in the autumn. This Committee has on it all the necessary Officers of the County and District Councils who we need to keep in touch with so that we can get the money and commitment to get the plan implemented.
We have however not been entirely idle whilst waiting for the machinations of the various bodies even though it has been holiday month in August.
- The final version of the Plan is now with the Printers. Enough are being printed for each household to have a copy and there will be an electronic copy on the Web site.
- The Bike Path Working Group is continuing to develop plans for a safer recreational route to Cambridge in conjunction with Madingley.
- Various improvements are planned for the footpath network including a new Map.
The Parish Council agreed that a small subcommittee is needed to translate the Action Plan into a working document. We have initially asked the Steering Group and David Wyatt to do this so we have a clear plan to present to the Local Strategic Partnership. We plan to meet before the next PC meeting in September. We would like to be able to distribute the final Plan document and Action Plan with the October Newsletter so we can then start working with the various groups and individuals to get some results from all this work.
Finally a Housing needs survey has been arranged for the Autumn via Cambridgeshire Acre. A plea from the Organiser: Could as many people as possible fill in the forms when they arrive including those who may have moved from the village and want to move back.
- Watch this Space - Nick Irish